Day 6 Sweetwater Pool to Leliyn (Edith Falls) and Back to Darwin - Jatbula Trip

 Day 6 – Thursday 22 August

Sweetwater Pool to Leliyn (Edith Falls) and Back to Darwin

https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/200590/jatbula-trail-maps-booklet.pdf

https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/200594/jatbula-trail-information-sheet.pdf

https://northernterritory.com/katherine-and-surrounds/see-and-do/sweetwater-pool

We were again awake about 5:45am, but chose a slow start to today’s short walk, leaving about 7am.

The first 350m of today’s walk was very slow going over rocks.  There were many burnt areas from the recent bush fires and from the controlled burns to contain the fires and protect the park.  In some areas we could still smell the burn.  In some places the fires had clearly been uncontrolled as the burn went high up into the trees and all the way down to the waterline.  We saw one trail runner, one macropod and one tiny snake on the way to Longhole.

We arrived at Longhole around 7:45am and had the pool all to ourselves for a swim. Two black cockatoos flew over while we were swimming.  Just after leaving Longhole we saw another two macropods.  When we reached the junction between the Jatbula Trail and Leliyn Trail we chose to take the longer route to Edith Falls. 

First stop was Leliyn lookout. 

We then went for a swim at the Upper Pool. There were lots of day visitors here of all ages. 

We exited the pool valley on the opposite side of the pool with a steep ascent to Bemang lookout. This was followed by a steep descent to the Lower Pool.

https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/413837/leliyn-edith-falls-fact-sheet-and-map.pdf

https://nt.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/nitmiluk-national-park/leliyn-edith-falls

At the Lower Pool there were a group of rangers examining the entrance to the pool and deciding on maintenance and potential relocation of the entrance.  I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to talk to the “Senior Cultural Advisor” and thank him for the opportunity to walk on his ancestors tracks, and for how well maintained the park and track were.  We then swam 150m across to the far side of the pool to hang under Edith Falls – it was very powerful.  We then swam back to the other side.

Statistics

Distance    5.60km

Time        2h 20m

Ascent    98m

Descent    151m

At the Leliyn Café we had a delicious hamburger with a Bundaberg soft drink.  

https://jawoyn-leliynkiosk.com.au/

We then relaxed and read in the shade near the swimming hole before our bus transfer back to the start of the walk. When we arrived at the Nitmiluk Visitor Centre I took the set of tent poles in and I messaged the August walkers groups that that was where they were – hopefully they will find their way back to their owner.

https://www.nitmiluktours.com.au/about/visitor-centre/

Needless to say, the car was extremely hot after being parked for six days in high thirties sunshine.  We drove into Katherine. Opposite the Salvation Army there were free showers where we cleaned up and washed our hair.  

https://www.salvationarmy.org.au/locations/northern-territory/ny17/katherine-corps/

Then off to the shops to buy some snacks for the drive back to Darwin. We were on our way by 4pm.  We stopped briefly in Adelaide River and saw a north bound freight train go through.  The public toilets here were the best kept and prettiest I have seen (other than Maryborough’s Cistern Chapel). 

https://northernterritory.com/darwin-and-surrounds/destinations/adelaide-river-town

https://cisternchapel.com/

Next stop was the Mindil Beach markets for dinner.  We did not quite make it in time for sunset, but did get to see the last of the colour.  Drew and I shared a Pad Thai for dinner, followed by ice cream for dessert – Irish Cream for Drew and New York Chunky Chocolate for me.  We bumped into the two girls from our hike, who had finished a day earlier.

https://mindil.com.au/

We camped for the night at Hidden Valley Caravan Park and were ready for bed about 9:30pm.  What a day!

11 August - Indopacific Marine, Australian Aviation Heritage Centre and Mindil Beach Market Flyover

11 August 2016 – 182 230

Indopacific Marine, Australian Aviation Heritage Centre and Mindil Beach Market Flyover

Indopacific Marine is a closed marine environment, the water in the tanks is not changed or filtered, no food is added – it is a completely closed environment.  Above the tanks are skylights to allow natural sun and moon light to reach the tanks.  The water in the main tank was put in 24 years ago and looks crystal clear.  We saw a variety of corals, sponges, fish, lobster, sea cucumbers etc characteristic of tropical reef.  We again had a picnic lunch.  The Australian Aviation Heritage Centre was our plan for the afternoon.  This has one of only two B52 bombers outside of the USA – it is huge!!  They had a great variety of aircraft here, probably the biggest collection I have personally seen.  As the Aviation Centre is located at the airport it gave a great view of the military aircraft taking off and landing as part of Exercise Pitch Black 2016.  It was quite funny to see boys and grown men alike running for the hangar doors to watch each time they heard the jets. 

After a swim at the caravan park we once again headed to Mindil Beach Markets for dinner.  We took our dinner down onto the beach so we would be able to watch the Super Hornet manoeuvre display – it looked like most people present in Darwin, tourist and locals alike, were on the beach.

  The Super Hornet display was pretty cool; wing waggling, steep climb and pirouettes, etc.  There were then many other aircraft types, either singly or in formations flying low over the beach.  The noise was extreme!  When we got back to the caravan park we were again treated to various military aircraft taking off and landing.

7 August - Darwin City Adventures

7 August 2016 – 182 102

Darwin City Adventures

This morning we had a sleep in after our big day yesterday.  Our first adventure for today was the Darwin Esplanade, exploring the various WW2 memorials along the waterfront.  It is hard to imagine such a beautiful spot being the scene of such destruction.  Darwin Esplanade is one of my favourite places. 
http://www.tropicaldarwin.com/The-Esplanade-Darwin.htm Next port of call was the Tourist Information Centre where we were able to get information on the activities and camping in Kakadu.  We spent a couple of hours exploring the city centre – it as certainly changed a lot in the last twenty years; a lot more chain stores and food outlets and a lot less of the individual operators.  After a picnic lunch, we headed to Stokes Hill Wharf.  The tides in Darwin are enormous, about 10m so it is quite interesting to see the wharf at different times of day. https://www.waterfront.nt.gov.au/darwin-waterfront-precinct/stokes-hill-wharf/

We also explored the WW2 Oil Storage Tunnels – these were built of steel and concrete to form large underground tanks to store oil in after the bombing of Darwin, however they were never actually used. 
http://www.ww2tunnelsdarwin.com.au/ 
Last stop for today was the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets.  https://mindil.com.au/The decision making on what to have for dinner was just as hard as I remember.  We opted for Hong Kong Chinese and spring rolls and dim sims.  It is such a pity we can’t have one of everything.