Trip Preview - Northern Territory (Part 2 of 7)

Alrighty then - out of the jungle and into the desert. Somewhere along the line as I leave Queensland and enter the Northern Territory, things will go from hot and wet to hot and dry. The Northern Territory is twice the size of California and packed with no less than 200,000 people. No, I am not missing any zeroes. One fifth of a million people sounds better. Either way, traffic won't resemble California (outside the Mojave Desert). That scale is important, because you may wonder how I could spend two months in Australia and never get to Ayers Rock/ Uluru. When I drive into the Northern Territory, I'll go due West until I get to Tennant Creek before going North.

From Tennant Creek, it would take no less than three days to drive via Alice Springs to Ayers Rock and back. Living in North America that seems close (after all, I'll be in the same state!), but nobody in San Francisco thinks they are similarly close to the Bonneville Salt Flats (or that it is worth a drive to Utah & back just to go see the Salt Flats). Thus, while I have no doubt that I "should" see Ayers Rock, Alex and I have elected that the extra three days of desert are not on the agenda for this trip. Starting in Tennant Creek, Alex & I may actually drive about an hour south to a place called the Devil's Marbles. This is one of those odd places in the desert where rocks form strange shapes, big rocks sit on small rocks in a way that resembles old Road Runner cartoons. From what I can tell, it is an interesting place for one person to pose next to a big rock and an another takes the picture. I am not sure Alex will play along, but we'll see. I caution that we "may" drive it, because after a few longish days on the road or with bad weather, we may not feel like the 2 hour detour.

From there, we'll drive another day and a half North to Darwin. Most of the way, we'll be rolling through a scrubby red desert. Then it will turn into lush jungle. Arguably one of the most impressive National Parks on earth will show up to my East as I approach Darwin. It is called Kakadu National Park - a picturesque landscape and idyllic setting to watch birds or see crocodiles. We may go there on a day trip from Darwin - if the tour is soft and kid friendly enough. Despite my frequent references to the lethal animals, seeing them close up in the wild while managing an inquisitive (or oblivious) toddler presents challenges that may take away from the fun in seeing such animals. As an aside, it is still the Wet season and we are traveling where it gets wet. If it is really wet, we will call an audible and skip Darwin altogether. I have no desire to start any of my entries with "I knew that I should probably not do it, but I kept driving into the the swamp during this tropical storm..."

If all goes to plan, we will take a day or two in Darwin. First off, I will just want to find an espresso drink or have a choice of restaurants. I'll also want to load up on supplies that I could not find in Cairns or along the way. Also, after traveling several days on end, Alex and I will want a day or two not in the car. And there might be some good TV.

Super Bowl 42 will be on February 3 in the US, so February 4 in Australia. I should be in Darwin on February 4. If the Steelers are playing, I will find a way to watch it for sure. If they are not, I may choose to watch it regardless. During the NFL season, one of the major networks in Australia typically plays a "game of the week" on Monday morning. Presumably, this is for US expats to TiVo the game while they are at work. Given the regular season scheduling, I think I'll be able to find the Super Bowl. This trip starts after the college football season because 1) College Football is better than Pro Football, and 2) It is nearly impossible to see College Football outside the United States, while Pro Football remains quite accessible. Aneta and I were in Toronto around New Year's once. Lovely country that time of year. We have some good friends up there, but you'll notice that part of the Anglosphere did not lure me back this January. Anyhow, watching the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day involved over an hour of phone calling. That was Toronto - I thought they got Buffalo, New York stations! By leaving Jan 24, I only risk missing Pro games - as opposed to the certainty of missing College games had I left earlier.

Back to Darwin. Unique among Australian cities, I really don't know what to expect here. Darwin is closer to East Timor and Indonesia than to any city in Australia - closer than Alice Springs, let alone Sydney. It will likely be the closest thing to a Southeast Asian city that I'll see: tropical, sweltering, maybe a little seedy. I am just not sure. What little I've heard and read is sketchy, but I simply do not have any measure of confidence in how it all nets out. At the very least, I am certain that I will be able to get online and post here (if I lack access in the days leading up to Darwin) and I will get mobile phone reception.

We'll leave Darwin, go South to Katherine and West to Kununarra and points beyond in Western Australia. On the southern end of Kakadu, Katherine has tremendous natural beauty including the Katherine Gorge. It looks to be mostly jungle from Darwin to the state line. Then things get really empty.

So what in the heck are Alex and I going to do all day? So far we should be making good time, thus spending a lot of that time in the car. My plan is that Alex and I will get up early to eat and play a little before we hit the road. Timing will depend to some degree on sunrise (usually later in summer when you are closer to the equator, earlier as we go South). So let's say sunrise is at 7 and we get up at 6am - we'll play around and then eat until 7-7:30 then hit the road. In the car, we'll have a photo of Aneta (in the passenger seat) and a CD with Mama speaking to Alex. If we have radio reception, that may take precedence, but for much of the drive, we'll just have CDs. Alex will get a heavy dose of Daddy's (mostly 80's) music along with some Bulgarian children's songs. He is an excellent passenger and we will stop on the way to get out of the car, move around a bit. I'll have a big cooler that we'll load up with ice every morning. I still have not decided if I should leave it in the trunk or in front of the passenger seat. Either way we'll have plenty of water, some juice, some single-serving milk containers, and some food that does not melt or spoil when the car gets warm. I'll talk with him and because we will get up early and stay up late, he should nap quite well in the afternoon (say 1-5). We'll eat dinner when we get where we're going and stay up until 9 or maybe 10. His normal schedule goes 7-1, sleep until 4, then go to bed at 8. This will go 6-1, sleep until 5, then go to bed at 9. We'll see. The first half of the trip will involve much road time, but there will be more playing and smelling the roses from Perth onwards.

It was brought to my attention by one of the growing throng of loyal readers that the map only shows big towns, so I should be clearer where I am going when possible. To backtrack, in Queensland, I plan to drive due West from Cairns until I almost hit water (Gulf of Carpentaria) to Normanton, south until I am parallel with Townsville (or the word "Northern" in Northern Territory), and West again into the Northern Territory. Somewhere around the "E" in "Northern" is Tennant Creek, maybe down to the last R in Territory to the Devil's Marbles, then right back up via Tennant Creek and a straight(ish) line to Darwin. Back down via Kununarra and out to Western Australia (overland to Broome, then along the coast all the way to Perth - but I am getting ahead of myself). One other reader commented that these entries are kind of long. Yep. When I'm out there, my daily entries will be far shorter.

Next Entry: Western Australia - nearly half the size of the continental US but with only half a million outside Perth.