Kakadu

Visiting Australia's national parks is pretty different from going to the theme park Legoland in Malaysia. I did both.

As an adult city-dweller, I prefer the wilderness and natural environment. I'm not suggesting that you should delete Legoland from your itinerary. If you have kids, they will tell you to go there and stay for many many many many days and nights.

When I started off planning this summer trip, I wasn't sure if I want to fill the whole page with playgrounds. Over the course of time, as I get the knack of travel with my daughter, what seems to adult's dream can also be kids' wonderland. Now that we've come back from Litchfield National Park and Kakadu National Park, I knew I'd made the right move. Jasmine enjoyed the scenic experience among open forests, spring-fed waterfalls, rock-art galleries and wetland areas.

It's such a pleasure to hear that Jasmine rates both Legoland and Aussie national parks equally funny. Yes, she said so.

There wasn't water park, as what they have in Legoland, but the impressive Wangi Falls plunging into rock pools made an ideal swimming area safe from crocodiles.

Instead of using Lego blocks to create castle, the Aboriginal guide taught us to use paperbark tree's bark sheets to make new tools. These can be creative, like canoe-shaped containers for holding water, cradle for carrying newborns, quasi-raincoat, impromptu bowls and plates.

Compared to the hotel in Legoland, which is attractive (I must say), the campsite and picnic table at the national parks offered much more variety and surprises. We could never guess what would come up when we heard the sound of scurrying up tree trunks, scratching, squish, or food foraging. "Squirrel?" "Whoops, it's wallaby."