Crocs, cyclones and Kakadu on a trip to Darwin

KAREN Reimann, winner of our Jetstar Escape Challenge, flew to Darwin with a pocket full of cash and a checklist of activities.

crocodile kakadu

KAREN Reimann, winner of our Jetstar Escape Challenge, flew to Darwin with a pocket full of cash and a checklist of activities.

Armed with a Jetstar Travel Card loaded with $2500, each of our five winners was sent on assignment for Escape with a checklist of things to do that included finding a dinner for less than $100, buying a souvenir for no more than $75, discovering a top tourist attraction for less than $20 and locating a sightseeing activity that can be done for free.

Karyn Reimann of Mt Martha in Victoria, travelled with her friends Karen, Michelle and Bradley.
 

Having left Melbourne's miserly 6C behind, stepping out of the plane into Darwin's warm night air was fabulous and exciting. Our flight attendants had been amazingly happy and attentive and once we hit our spotless and comfy Holiday Inn rooms, we set our alarms. We did not want to waste a second.

The next morning, we grabbed a map and great advice from the girls at the information centre and spent Friday morning at the Darwin Waterfront Wave Lagoon and the NT Museum and Art Gallery.

After absorbing the wonderful exhibits there, we caught a taxi back to town, where we did a bit of window shopping and looked for lunch. Our walk was broken up by interesting artworks and ruins left as reminders of the ferocity of Cyclone Tracy.

Friday afternoon was spent walking along the Esplanade waterfront, wishing we could swim in the emerald-green water without getting munched on by bull sharks or crocodiles. We did take a dip in the pool at the Holiday Inn - no salties there. To cap a magical Friday, we treated ourselves to an exquisite dinner at Char Restaurant.

Our Kakadu tour filled the next day and began with bus driver Ben sharing his knowledge of the area and its history as we travelled. Our first stop was Nourlangie Rock, where we viewed Aboriginal rock art thought to be up to 6000 years old. The paintings were incredible, and the holes in the rocks where ochre was ground for paint could still be seen.

After lunch, we cruised on Yellow Water Billabong - an amazing wetland filled with incredible flora and fauna. Our guide's ancestors had lived in the area for thousands of years, and he pointed out an incredible array of fish, birds and plants and, of course, crocodiles. Big territorial males and smaller females sunned themselves and swam quite near our boat.

After a walking tour of Darwin Esplanade on Sunday morning, we were eager to get back to our hotel and fit in another swim before getting ready for the Mindil Beach Sunset Market, which is free to enter and certainly lives up to the hype. Our arrival there coincided with dusk - watching the sun turn into a fiery red orb as it disappeared was a highlight we shared with most of the crowd.

The markets are a sensory nirvana. The mouth-watering smells of food of all cultures, the hubbub of people enjoying themselves and the uplifting sounds of eMDee's didgeridoo gave the place a great vibe. We chose a Sri Lankan tasting plate containing pumpkin dhal, saffron rice, vegetable curry and chilli beef curry for $8 before enjoying the rest of the didgeridoo concert and watching the Tiwi Mob dance.

Gosh, it was a good night. A big thank you to Jetstar and Escape for this super trip - we felt blessed to experience this magical part of Australia.

Meal under $100: We enjoyed a wonderful Turkish lunch at Istanbul Cafe - lamb and salad kebabs all round. The four of us were fed and watered for $53.50.

Souvenir under $75: I bought a book for $39.95 on local legend Judy Opitz, so respected by the Gagadju people that when land was handed back to them, they gave her a freehold parcel. At the markets (where the Jetstar travel card was accepted), I bought a mosaic turtle for $15, a pearl ring for $35 and a boomerang painted by Tiwi Island artists for $40 from the Top End Didges stall.

Activity under $20: Cooling down at the Darwin Waterfront Wave Lagoon was hard to beat. This cost less than $30 for four and was a hoot.

Free sightseeing/activity: The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory at Bullocky Point is well worth a visit. It is filled with beautiful and evocative art, incredible indigenous artefacts, a homage to Cyclone Tracy and World War II, and a 5.1m saltwater crocodile.
 

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