From Business Suits to Backpacks: Our incredible adventures in the Northern Territory (and my 30th Birthday)

March was a quiet month for the Burke household. After the excitement of January's trip to Sri Lanka and having a great fortnight with guests in February, some downtime was needed. Before we knew it, April was upon us and we were off to the airport for our much anticipated trip to Australia. To celebrate my 30th birthday, we were heading to Darwin to spend a week with my parents and we were told to expect some surprises - it just wouldn't be a Gregson event without them!

After a recovery day in Darwin to shake off the pains of air travel, we all jumped into mum's car (now proudly displaying a Northern Territory number plate) and started on our 1200km adventure. Heading east from Darwin, our first stop was an off-itinerary pit stop at the Humpty Doo Hotel - an establishment that screams "Australian" and with a name like "Humpty Doo" we just had to stop there so we had an excuse to drop the name into conversation for the rest of the trip. It is a fun name to say!

Back in the car and only 10km further east along the Arnhem Highway, we took a left hand turn to visit the intriguingly named Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve. Immediately the crocodile warning signs started which meant we quickly retreated from our walk and got back into the car to cross the dam...just in case the rumoured "large Estuarine (Saltwater) Crocodile" decided to show up for a feed. Of course Mr Crocodile was nowhere to be seen, but we still observed the beauty of the reserve from the safety of the car. Another unexpected stop before entering Kakadu National Park was the Bark Hut Inn which proudly displayed a sign at its entrance advertising that
it was the 'Last Chance for Alcohol Before Kakadu' - well, we had better stop for a refreshment in that case. Brendan's highlight at this stop was the purchase of a home made Buffalo Pie which was surprisingly sensational given that we really were in the middle of nowhere.

Back on the road, we crossed the Adelaide River. Fun fact - we were once asked at a trivia night which Australian state/territory the Adelaide River was in. As the Australian representatives on the team we naively and incorrectly said South Australia and we were soon heavily berated...won't get that one wrong again!

We entered Kakadu National Park in the early afternoon and headed for the small town of Jabiru where we were staying in the Crocodile shaped Holiday Inn for the evening (yes - the hotel is shaped like a crocodile...very cool). The wet season was coming to an end in the Northern Territory so the scenery along the trip was quite amazing with trees half submerged and roads flooded in parts. The landscape was unlike anything I had seen before and not what I had pictured in my mind - it certainly wasn't the big red desert that I had expected of "the outback" - it was lush, busy and very very green.

The next morning was probably one of my highlights of our road trip (even with the 5am wake up call...ouch). Just after dawn, we set off on a boat trip through the yellow water billabong, one of kakadu's most famous wetlands. The scenery was stunning as we made our way through river channels, across floodplains and around backwater swamps. Despite the lack of crocodile sitings, there was plenty of wildlife to 'oooh' and 'aaah' over with sea eagles soaring above the boat and kingfishers, Egrets, Kites etc entertaining us from nearby branches. It was quite breathtaking on the water at dawn and definitely a must do activity if you are in Kakadu National Park.

In case one boat trip wasn't enough for one day, we headed south for an afternoon cruise through the beautiful Katherine Gorge. Again, Mr Crocodile evaded us which apparently isn't unusual in the wet season. So we just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the scenery as we slowly weaved our way through the first and second of thirteen gorges that makes up Catherine Gorge. That night I ate crocodile for the first time as my revenge for them not showing up! It is kind of like white steak...slightly beefy but quite tasty. I won't go into the details here...but the travel bites blog will soon contain some reviews of some of the meals we had in the Northern Territory (the good, the very good and the oh so shockingly bad).

The next day we made our way back to Darwin...but first we had a quick little side adventure BY AIR!! The Gregson's strike again with what I thought was the final surprise of the trip - a light aircraft flight back over Katherine Gorge and Kakadu National Park. It was great to retrace our steps from the previous couple of days, but this time at 3000 feet! It really gave some perspective on the isolation and sheer scope of the National Parks in the Northern Territory. The flight wasn't all smooth sailing...poor Brendan sadly lost his vegemite toast breakfast (luckily into a sick bag) after some bumping around in the clouds. After the flight it was back on the road, with a quick stop off at Litchfield National Park to check out the crazy termite mounds that are dotted about (you actually see them on the side of the road all through Kakadu National Park, but the ones at Litchfield are humongous!).

That night we went out for dinner to the Darwin Sailing Club - beautiful location at Fannie Bay where you can watch the sun set out over the Timor Sea. I was just minding my business, gazing out at the stunning sunset when two mates from Sydney, Aaron and Emma just suddenly appeared at our table. Gotcha! I can't believe you guys came all the way up to Darwin for my birthday - it really meant so much to me and I loved celebrating my 30th with my wonderful family and some amazing friends.

I feel incredibly lucky to have such special people in my life and I am humbled by the efforts my parents, my husband and my friends went to for my birthday. The next couple of days just went too quickly - there was lots of champagne, hours of pool/spa time and delicious birthday cake tiramisu. It was sad having to say goodbye after only such a short trip but it just makes me look forward even more to our next get together.

There were too many wonderful photos from this trip, so I have pasted a bunch more below and there are more in the Australia photo album to check out. Thanks for reading!

//Kate