We only saw Darwin in passing as we decided to go to Litchfield National Park, about 80 miles south of the city, and then to the crocodile research center where they are developing crocodile farming for meat and hides.

It was very hot and humid as we're in the tropics during the rainy season and the air conditioning on our bus could barely keep up. During the ride to the park our guide filled us in on the history of the area.

Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory -- known as the 'Top End'. In 1974 a cyclone (think hurricane) just about leveled Darwin, so the city had to be almost entirely rebuilt. The outer suburbs on the other hand remained mostly intact and contain some strange buildings. There's a playhouse built like a castle that seems to have gotten completely out of hand.

The Carlton sign is to remind me of Carlton Mid the one beer in the world that Laura actually likes. I want to see if I can get hold of it when I get home

Our first stop when we got to the park was at the magnetic termite mounds. These things are enormous, up to 20 feet high. Why magnetic, well the mounds are all oriented on a north-south axis for cooling purposes and the theory is that the worker termites have a built-in compass that points them north.

Leaving the termite mounds we visited a number of spectacular waterfalls with deep pools that looked very inviting in the heat. However, there are signs throughout the park warning that swimming is at your own risk as there may be crocodiles. The crocodiles can travel over land for long distances so they could be in any deep pool or waterhole. There are descriptions of other animals and birds that may be found in the park (we even heard a kookaburra off in the distance). There was one animal they did not describe -– the giant bat. There was a tree full of them just hanging around at Wangi falls.

We had lunch at the park –- the less said about that the better -– and then off to the crocodiles. You don't realize how big they actually are until you see them. And they can get pretty high out of the water jumping for food. Crocodiles are being raised in Australia for hides and meat. There was a sign advertising crocodile meat frozen for the barbeque. If I had a barby available I would have bought some.