Day 57 – Darwin, Australia

Darwin is the capital and largest city of the Northern Territory with a population of approximately 140,000. Perched right at the top of Australia, Darwin is 1648 miles from Perth, 1768 miles from Brisbane and 2324 miles from Melbourne. It has a tropical climate with a wet season and a dry season. The wet season typically arrives in late November and lasts until approximately late April. Average monthly temperatures range from 25°C to 32°C, although temperatures can rise as high as 40°C. Darwin receives an average of 70 inches of rain a year (Guernsey receives an average of 33 inches a year).

The aboriginal people of the Larrakia language Group were the early custodians and earliest known inhabitants of the Darwin area. The Dutch first visited the region in the 1600s and the first Briton to arrive is thought to have been lieutenant John Lort Stokes of HMS Beagle in 1839. Darwin was then named after Charles Darwin who had sailed on the Beagle during an earlier expedition.

Darwin‘s two largest economic activities are mining and tourism. The mining of gold, zinc and bauxite plus many other minerals, together with offshore oil and natural gas generate more than AU$2.5 billion per annum.

Our Day

Today we disembarked the ship at 9:30 and made our way to Crocodaurus Cove, home to some very large saltwater crocodiles plus a sizeable collection of other indigenous reptiles. We had booked VIP tickets which meant we had a personalised tour in a small group, led by the excellent Tiffany. We got to feed one of the large crocodiles, Wendell, as well as some of the juveniles and we also got to hold a young crocodile (who got very cross with Paul and struggled violently!) We met Leo, a very large crocodile who was originally brought to the facility by a farmer who, fed up of having his cattle eaten by Leo, trapped him and brought him to the sanctuary where he has lived ever since.

Saltwater crocodiles are the world’s largest reptiles. There are approximately 150,000 saltwater crocodiles living wild in Australia, 80,000 of which are in the Northern Territory. Prior to 1971 they had been hunted almost to extinction, until a rigorous management plan for their recovery was instituted. They can grow to over 20 feet in length, weigh over a tonne and live to 70 years in the wild. They live considerably longer in captivity. They are highly aggressive and territorial and once fully grown they can bring down and kill deer, kangaroo, and cattle. Able to hold their breath for up to 8 hours, they lurk in murky water waiting for unsuspecting prey to lumber into their path. On average 1-2 people a year are killed by saltwater crocodiles in Australia. Sadly, thousands of saltwater crocs are still farmed legally for their skins, which are exported and made into luxury goods, mainly in Singapore, France and Italy. ☹️😡

After this most excellent morning we headed off for a mooch around the downtown area of Darwin and explored the numerous souvenir shops as well as a couple of superb aboriginal art galleries. By now, with our feet aching like mad, we headed off to the waterfront area where we sat down and had a much-needed drink and light lunch before slowly ambling back to the ship. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable day out. ☺️