Coolalinga where? It is a small town located about 30km south of Darwin, NT Australia. Telling my friends and family that we are heading to Darwin for holiday already invites strange looks, let alone to a place no one has heard of. How did we end up deciding to go there?
My family is big, by Singapore’s standard. Our holiday planning is simple. First, book air tickets, then book accommodation, next book a car, pack and just go. Choosing a place to go is pretty random based on what kind of air tickets offers there is. So this time, I discovered that the return airfare to Darwin is about the same as going to Bali (to see the very active volcano? maybe not). We prefer our trips to be relaxed, go at own pace and to experience local living, maybe a quiet place like Darwin would just be fine for us. I read about Litchfield National Park and to save traveling time, we found a nice Airbnb house in Coolalinga as a base. Booked for a week in Jun 2018 and then the rest is history.
Hate to hear from bosses who keep saying “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Yes, true, but corporate inefficiencies makes you spent 80% of effort on detailed plans, and contingencies upon contingencies, only to realised on the first day of execution, everything changed. For me, I only want to spend 20% effort. So after getting the basics done – air tickets, car rental, and accommodation, I only need to book activities that require advance booking. The rest was just a list of things we may want to do, a list of places we may want to go. Otherwise, we will be just relaxing in the house (paid quite a bit for the house, so it makes sense not just only to sleep there).
Day 1 – Coolalinga
The airfare is cheap because it was an overnight 4.5 hours flight. Not much rest to speak about. We arrived in the wee hours of dawn. Luckily the Airbnb owner allowed us to check-in early, so by the time we picked up the car from Darwin airport, had breakfast and drove to Coolalinga, it was noon. All of us took a nap and take it easy.
Late lunch at the Coolalinga Shopping Centre nearby, and started to shop. Yes on the first day. Got some groceries for the week as well. In the evening, we drove into Darwin town and have a nice dinner by the wharf. – Stoke Hill Wharf – Crustaceans on the wharf.
Superb sunset, great ambient
Day 2 – Jumping Crocodile
The only booking I needed to do was the Jumping Crocodile Cruise. Booking was required because of its limited capacity. Indeed, the 9 am time slot was just enough for my whole family and two other couples. This is one of the three jumping crocodiles tour operators. No particular reasons other than they offer a family package. The boat seemed a bit small, considering we are going out to meet BRUTUS, the star crocodile along the Adelaide River.
Meet Brutus, the famous alpha Croc, distinctly identified by his missing left forearm. My kids were in awe. But of course, I have to be constantly on alert not to let any of their hands out of the boat.
It was a full hour of constant action. We were still in shock having literally seen wild crocodiles inches away while preying on meats. We then drove to Fogg Dam Sanctuary for a look. Fantastic sights!
We drove to the nearby Windows of the Wetlands. Lunch picnic there while enjoying the unblocked horizons
Back to Coolalinga house to rest after lunch.
But the day wasn’t over yet. While we still have some energy, we decided to visit another small town called Palmerston City. They have a water park for residents and its free. So we packed our swim gears and head out at about 4 pm when the day was cooler. It was a weekday, so we basically have this slide almost all by ourselves. There were more lifeguards than my kids and I lost count of how many rides we made. It was many many many.
Then we treated ourselves with a buffet dinner at Stoke Hill wharf again – The Jetty Buffet. Seafood unlimited, except for oysters but still quite cheap at $10 a dozen.
Day 3 – Sunset at Mindil Beach
Decided to head into Darwin City because we can then visit the famous Mindil Beach sunset market, which only happens on Thursday and Sunday evenings. We made homecooked breakfasts, packed our lunch and head out. So this day was more educational tours for the kids. We went to the Aviation Museum. Nice place to talk about aviation histories.
Late lunch snacks at the East Point lookout before visiting The WW2 Military Museum. The museum was an interesting place. Darwin was the only Australian city being attacked by the Japanese bombers and subsequently the launch pad for Allied Forces. My kids really enjoyed going through the old tanks and cannons.
We spent quite a substantial time walking through all the exhibits. Then we head back to town area, hitting the Mindil Beach for sunset. Simply beautiful.
Our Dinner was settled with the street foods along the Mindil Beach night market. Lots of variety. We were so engrossed in eating and shopping for handicrafts that we hardly have any photos taken.
Day 4 – Litchfield
This day, we head out to Litchfield National Park, 1.5
The first stop was the amazing termite moulds. They were nicknamed magnetic termites because these creatures built their moulds aligned in the North-South direction, like a set of tombstones.
All of them aligned to North-South.
Next, we drove further south and its time to hit the water. But unfortunately, the spectacular
We turned into Tolmers Falls. It has a spectacular top-down view from the lookout point which is very accessible from the carpark. We took a short 45 mins bush walk nearer to the top of the falls. And was worth the walk for the sights.
We drove to Florence Falls. This one was opened for swimming. So, without hesitation, we tracked down from the top to the foot of the falls. Then plunged in. We were swimming with fishes too.
Simply pure enjoyment. Lots of fun for the kids.
Driving on the way back, we dropped by Manton Dam Recreation area to look for a toilet break. Basically, nothing much to see and we moved on. Then we came by the historic Strauss Airfield. Took some shots and took off again.
Back to Coolalinga Shopping Centre for dinner. Such a tiring yet fulfilling day.
Day 5 – Darwin
We all woke up late and missed the chances to visit one of the many Saturday morning markets. But it was not a big deal at all, we were all on our own and no rush, no obligations to do anything. We just took this day really easy. We went shopping at Casuarina Shopping Centre, head out to the Charles Darwin National Park, and visited a carnival in the city Bicentennial park
We decided to have a good home cooked dinner with local ingredients. So we went back to the supermarket at Coolalinga and made our dinner. Of course for the adults, we paired our food with bottles of wine.
Day 6 – Territory Wildlife Park
Impromptu decision to go to the Territory Wild Life Park. Proved to be the correct decision. All my kids enjoyed the sights of animals unique to the Northern Territory. What’s more, the enclosures were wide and far, connected by tram rides, giving the natural habitat feel.
After a long day, We went to the nearby Berry Springs water pool to take a dip. It was a pool mixed with hot spring water and the water coming from
This evening, we made a dinner feast in the house to finish all the foods we bought. Steaks, pizzas and more. Packed all the toys the boys bought. All nerf guns were packed into a single luggage bag. The girls’ new clothes filled another. (afternote: we got checked at the home immigration. Imagine you have to open a luggage full of “guns”!).
Day 7 – Homebound
Early morning flight back. Home sweet home. Simple, relaxed holiday. How simple is that?
gobassky
- Air travel by Jetstar
- Accommodation by Agoda (Coolalinga retreat)
- Car rental by Economycarrentals (gotten an Alamo car)
- Jumping crocodile cruise by Adelaide River Cruises (direct booking)
- Join Airbnb. It is still the best choice for a big family like mine.