Last week I attended a conference in Darwin and for a couple of days afterwards, I had the opportunity to explore some of Australia's Northern Territory - an area that Aussies often refer to as The Top End.

The Top End has some remarkable sights - spectacular wetlands and waterfalls, rocky outcrops and Precambrian escarpments which are up to 1.6 billion years old.

The abundant wildlife includes freshwater and saltwater crocodiles, water buffalo, flying floxes, kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, goannas and eight species of birds that you cannot see anywhere else in the world!

It's the only place where you'll find the Banded Fruit Dove, Rainbow Pitta or a Purple-crowned Fairy-wren.  You'll also find Jabiru; Brolga; Magpie Geese; Jacana; Black-breasted Buzzards; Orange Chat; and, the Rufous-crowned Emu-wren.

It is in The Top End that some of the oldest rock-art in the world can be found.   This great legacy of Aboriginal culture can be found in caves and rock overhangs where it is protected from the elements.

My first day of exploration found me headed southward bound along the Stuart Highway.  A couple of hours later I was in Adelaide River and it was time to stop for breakfast.  It was here that I met a movie star!  If you've seen the movie, Crocodile Dundee, you might recall Charlie the water buffalo...

Unfortunately, Charlie is no longer a real live movie star but he still seems able to command an audience!

Further south along the highway, is Edith Falls.  The falls are in three parts and this is the main pool.  I enjoyed a lovely refreshing swim here ... but during the wet season this is a "no go" zone as crocodiles like to swim here too!

By lunchtime I was some 340 kilometres southeast of Darwin and in very rugged Outback country! The red rocky cliffs and escarpments of Katherine Gorge hovered above as I took a boat ride down a few of the thirteen gorges that form Katherine Gorge.

Katherine Gorge is the heart of Nitmiluk National Park. Nitmiluk is owned by the Jawoyn Aborigines who manage it jointly with the Northern Territory government.

As I leave Katherine Gorge I see my first Boab Tree.  Also called Australian Baobab, gadawon, dead rat, gouty stem and bottle tree!

On my second day of outback adventure, I headed back to Adelaide River and turned off to Litchfield National Park.

A common sight throughout my adventure in the outback were these mounds of dirt which are home to grass eating termites. 

But in Litchfield National Park I came across what looked like a cemetery and many large tombstones.

But what you see aren't tombstones. They're actually magnetic termite mounds!  They all face the same way, with their thinner edges facing north and south, and they rise to as much as three metres in height.

Magnetic termites construct the flat-shaped mounds which are angled to catch the sun and thereby create a stable temperature for most of the day on their eastern faces. In the morning, magnetic termites move to the eastern faces of the mounds, which warm rapidly. By late morning, the faces of the mounds are comfortably warm and remain so for the rest of the day. In the evening, when temperatures cool, the termites move back to the centre of their nests.

A little further into the National Park are Buley Rockholes, a series of small waterfalls and ponds ... ideal for a refreshing swim in the Northern Territory heat!

Up the road a little further, is Wangi Falls ... and, yep, it's still hot and a great spot for another swim!

But remember ... always be careful where you swim in The Top End!

At Wangi Falls I noticed a colony of Black Flying Foxes resting in this tree! 

Flying fox colonies move around according to the climate, preferring moist, warm habitats, and the flowering and fruiting patterns of the plants they prefer to eat.

A stroll through the rainforest brought more welcome relief from the humidity and a sudden downpour of rain.

The constant change of scenery from tropical rainforest to expanses of woodlands filled with ghostly gum trees, wetlands dotted with ferns, and imposing, rocky outcrops amazed me. 

Pandanus spiralis, also called Pandanus Palm, Screw Palm, or Screw Pine (despite being neither a true palm or pine)  is native to northern Australia.

And a little later .... my day finishes back in Darwin

as the the burnt orange sun sets over the Timor Sea and The Top End ...

Words and Photos - K A Little 2010

And if you'd like a little more ....