Wildlife Tourism Field Trips in the Top End October 2013
Photos courtesy of Araucaria Ecotours
![old boat](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/oldboat1-420x282.jpg)
The girl seemed to point to this old boat, but ours, the Sea Darwin, was behind it.
![SeaDarwinboat.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/SeaDarwinboat-420x347.jpg)
This looked better!
Sea Darwin networking sunset cruise
I got a fright when the lady pointed out the boat
‘We’re sailing in THAT???’
But what I was looking at was an Indonesian vessel once used for ‘people smuggling’ and now used for army exercises.
The Sea Darwin was the lovely little boat just behind it.
We were soon on our way with captain Jim Smith, who kindly donated proceeds for this networking evening with Sea Darwin to Wildlife Tourism Australia as his sponsorship for the workshop. He also offered discounts to delegates for other cruises before and after the workshop.
![Jim_Smith_Sea_Darwin](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Jim-420x315.jpg)
Jim Smith of Sea Darwin
As we bumped and splashed through the waves I remarked to one of the delegates it was more exhilarating than any of the rides I took my grandson on at the Gold Coast theme parks
![on our way](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/boat_KaminiMaree-420x315.jpg)
on our way on the Sea Darwin!
Along the way we stopped to pick up vice chair Denise Goodfellow and her adopted daughter-in-Law Stephanie, originally from Arnhem Land, once a very active member of her community but now disabled by a genetic illness
![Stephanie&Denise](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Stephanie-420x315.jpg)
Stephanie Nganjmirra Thompson and Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
![offboat](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/offboat-420x315.jpg)
Ready for a barefoot walk on the sand
![onthebeach](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/onbeach2-420x315.jpg)
exploring the beach
Wildlife included a darter, a reef egret (or reef heron), blue-winged kookaburra, brahminy kite and lots of hermit crabs scurrying around in their borrowed mollusc shells
![darter](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/darter_rocks-420x315.jpg)
darter on rock
![reefegret](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/reefegret-420x302.jpg)
reef egret
![hermitcrab.jpg](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/hermitcrab-420x343.jpg)
hermit crab
![kookaburra](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/kookaburra2-420x310.jpg)
blue-winged kookaburra
Soon we were learning to extract and spin fibres for weaving from native hibiscus …
![toe.jpg](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/toe-420x335.jpg)
toes are used for securing while spinning
… socialising with drinks and nibbles …
… and learning to throw spears
and were entertained by the didgeridoo (although it has a different name here) on the way back to Darwin
Fogg Dam
Next morning some of us headed out early to Fogg Dam for birdwatching, led by Denise Goodfellow and Experience the Wild‘s Mike Jarvis
![magpiegooseonroad.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/magpiegooseonroad-420x315.jpg)
magpie goose on road
![ExperienceTheWild.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/ExperienceTheWild-420x287.jpg)
The Experience the Wild vehicle
![intheforest.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/intheforest-420x315.jpg)
Denise introducing us to features of the forest
![brolga.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/brolga-420x339.jpg)
brolga – Australia’s crane
![jacanas.jpg](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/jacanas-420x299.jpg)
comb-crested jacanas
![pigmygeese](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/pigmygeese-420x280.jpg)
pigmy geese
![whistlingducksfly.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/whistlingducksfly-420x240.jpg)
whistling ducks
![whistlingkite.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/whistlingkite-420x345.jpg)
whistling kite
![agilewallaby.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/agilewallaby-420x311.jpg)
agile wallaby
![dragon.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/dragon-420x345.jpg)
dragon
Pudakul
Then it was off to the Pudakul Indigenous culture centre
![greetingceremony.jpg](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/greetingceremony-420x104.jpg)
greeting ceremony
![weavingpandanus.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/weavingpandanus-420x315.jpg)
Learning to extract fibres for weaving from the pandanus tree
![wovenitems.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/wovenitems-420x315.jpg)
Some of these woven items, all coloured with natural dyes, can take weeks to produce, explaining the high price of venue Indigenous souvenirs in the region
Two of our new WIldlife Tourism Australia committee members (Fiona and Maree) have a go at it
More lessons in spear-throwing
![listen.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/listen-420x315.jpg)
Listening to Graham talk about local Indigenous culture
![didgeridoo.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/didgeridoo-420x315.jpg)
Graham introduced us to two kinds of didgeridoo (I have forgotten the correct local name for the didg)
![Peter_clapsticks.JPG](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Peter_clapsticks-420x315.jpg)
Wildlife Tourism Australia secretary Peter Wood having a go with the slapsticks
![naturaldyes.jpg](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/naturaldyes-420x315.jpg)
some natural dyes
A delicious meal cooked underground
Many thanks Pudakul for this great experience!
Arnhem Land and Kakadu
We had to rise at 3.00am to reach the Alligator River crossing well before high tide – no way did we want to be stuck there halfway across with waters rising and saltwater crocodiles swimming around us!
We did of course want to see the crocs though, so we stopped on the Kakadu side of the river to look for them from a safe vantage point high on the bank. We weren’t disappointed. Several of them were either resting on the shore or in the water.
![Imjalak_muddyroad](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/muddy_road-420x315.jpg)
![Injalak_base](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/startclimb-420x315.jpg)
![Injalak_climb](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/climbing-420x315.jpg)
![Injalak_lookout](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Group_at_lookout_2-420x315.jpg)
![Injalak_bushtucker](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/bushtucker-420x315.jpg)
![Injalak_Gary](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Gary_points_to_paintings-420x315.jpg)
![Injalak - kite](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/kite-420x334.jpg)
![bat - Injalak](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/bat-420x335.jpg)
![butterfly - Injalak](https://www.wildlifetourism.org.au/wp-content/uploads/butterflybarry-420x315.jpg)
Sure! I’ll send it soon. You had a pretty long flight (or series of flights) just beforehand, so not surprising you had to miss out on Fogg Dam and Pudakul. I’m sure you would have greatly enjoyed them though.
Oh what a pity that I missed out on Fogg Dam and Pudakul:-( Dear Ronda, could I please have that foto no. 6 (from Sea Darwin trip) in its original pixel format please:-)