Sep 2007

Hey Guys

Well I've been back in Darwin for a couple days now, but I've only just gotten the energy to actually sit and write a blog entry. Kakadu was absolutely amazing!

After much deliberating on which company to sign up with, I decided to go with my old favorite, Adventure Tours. They did my Blue Mountains trip as well as the OzBus that I took all the way up the coast. I figured they did a pretty bang up job on that, so why not give em a shot in Kakadu? Plus they had the best Itinerary that I saw. Unfortunately, they also picked up at 6:30am >.< ick!

Anyway, after an accidentally big night out (it was pub quiz night in Darwin) I managed to get up, store my gear, check out and be ready for the bus well ahead of time. I wish I had gotten a picture of when it did pull up though! Cuz my god it was a funny looking vehicle! Picture it this way ... something of a large truck (not quite a semi) with a big cab, but instead of a flat bed on the back, it had a large raised box with windows! It was really cool to sit in though, because no matter what seat you had, you could see out the windows. I was really glad for that choice later when I saw the tour company that my hostel books for, where you sat in a troopie. And as much as I love troopies, I'm a little sick of em.

So anyway, I had been told that the tour was going to be a full one. but lucky for me there had been some kind of a mess up and we ended up with only 7 of us on the whole tour! There was Mike, the token Irish boy, Heike & Katarina, from Germany, Yuko and Shinji from Japan, and Tatiana from Spain. It was an interesting mix since there was actually not a single person from England on the tour. (I nearly died from shock)

Being the early morning that it was, there was some tired attempts at conversation which soon died out as everyone turned to snoring instead.

Our first quick stop was for a form of breakfast at a road stop on the way to Kakadu. It warrents mention mostly becuase Mike, Heike and I decided to be tacky tourists and take our photos in one of those stands where there is a cartoon picture, and you put your head through a cut out circle to make it look like your face on the body of what ever cartoony thing is pictured. It was fun

There were also 2 crocodiles; one salt water and one freshie, housed in pens behind the station and a 1 meter crocodile skull on display inside ... 1 meter! thats more than half my height! I'd hate to have seen that monster while fishing!

After loading back up, we headed to our first official stop of the day, a wildlife cruise on the Mary River. This little stretch of land is home to the worlds highest concentration of Salt water crocs, and we saw many of them from our little tin boat. Having seen them so often up the East Coast though, it really wasnt much of a sight. More frightening for me was trying to retreive my water bottle from a huntsman spider! Right before we got on the boat we were sitting under a small shelter applying sunscreen. As per my usual luck, I happened to put my water bottle down right by where the most ugly spider was devouring a fly! I think I ended up getting someone else to get it for me.

During our two hour boat cruise we did learn an awful lot about the surrounding area and birds. We saw Jabirus, which were renamed to Black Neck Storks because Jabiru is actually an African bird. We also saw Whistling Kites, some kind of funny duck, snake neck darter birds, egrets, white bellied sea eagles (suspiciously far from the sea) and plenty of cockatoos. We learned heaps about the plants and how the Aboriginals in the area used some of them, and also saw the damage the wild pigs in the area cause by digging for food.

For the most part it was too hot to really enjoy the cruise and most of us fell asleep on the way back, but we did see some amusing sights including a crocodile trying to sneak up on a Jabiru to steal its fish, and some Sea eagles running a distraction technique on another Jabiru that was trying to feed its chicks with a catfish. Neither the crocodile nor the sea eagles succeeded in their ploys but it was funny to watch.

After the boat cruise it was off to Ubirr (oo-birr) to see some of the most pristine rock art in all the world. Our guide, Travis, told us alot about Aboriginals while we walked, and described how you could tell how old some of the paintings were. Some of the paintings dated back to over 20,000 yrs! On the walk, we passed the "main gallery" which was used as a housing area for the aboriginal people durring the dry season. I was shocked to learn that the last group to shelter there had been in 1975! It really brings in to perspective the fact that this is still a living, albeit dying, culture. At some point during our tour of the art sites, we were joined by a kindly older lady, which was quite amusing because she thought Travis was the ranger and was prepared to follow us around all day if she could. She even started to follow us back to the car park before someone explained that we were on a tour and the ranger would be starting talks in a little while

Before leaving though, we made the quick climb up to the top of Ubirr for an amazing view out over the flood plains. The whole thing was so picturesque that its hard to describe. In one direction you can see the flood plains stretching out with white birds flying all over, and in the other direction you can see the escarpment territory with smoke from bush fires occasionally obscuring the view. It was quite easy to feel like you were on top of the world.

It was a long drive to camp for the evening, but we were treated to a roasted lamb steak dinner which was delicious! We went to wash the dishes though and this was where I discovered the resident bathroom spider in the ladies toilets. It was big ... and ugly ... and it was a spider. And it was blocking the only way in to the bathroom. It was moment of extreme choice for me ...should i hold my bladder and hope the thing moved ... or chance it and try and run past? I was saved (a little) when it moved just far enough for me to litterally squeeze by into the first toilet stall. And thankfully, Heike saved me from having to freak out by scaring the spider away for me. Phew!

We sat back at camp for a short bit, but everyone was very tired and very hot, so we laid out our swags (no tents on this trip! just a mat with a mossie net!) and Heike and I went to the showers. It was a great shower after a long sweaty day, however, before we got back to camp ... I once again had to brave the spider. It was on the wall this time though, which was no problem for me. It wasn't on the floor, so I could skirt past without worrying. Which would have been fine, had it stayed on the wall! Oh no, the bloody thing had to run at me under the bathroom door! I dont think I screamed so loud in all my life! I think I scared it though, cuz it ran right back out. Of course, everyone thought this was highly amusing, except for me. I was left with a large disgusting spider sitting directly outside my stall door and no way around it. I had to suck it up and jump over it. EEEEEEEWWW!!!!

Anyway, back at camp we were warned to make sure to drink lots of water as it would be a long day tomorrow with an early start. We got up just as it was getting light out and had some breakfast. We were meant to have toast, but sadly, the ants had gotten into our bread We were also meant to make sandwiches to take with us, as we had no way of carrying all the stuff to make them on the hike with us ... but as previously mentioned, there were ants in the bread. Instead we made wraps. But not before Travis made a big show of making an ant bread sandwhich and calling us all a bunch of city dwellers. "You'll eat a cow, but you wont eat an ant" damn right.

Today promised to be quite challenging, as we were going to hike to the top of Jim Jim falls. After a very bumpy ride which left most of the group feeling ill, we started on our hike. the first part wasnt too bad, climbing over a dry river bed and a short path, it was about a half an hour. Then we realised this had just been the hike to the path to the hike to the top of Jim Jim ... uh oh. Yeah, basically it was an almost vertical climb up the escarpment over boulders of varying size after which we walked for a damn long time over open expanses of desert like conditions. The plant life on the top of the escarpment was pretty sparse so we were in the sun almost the whole time after the climb. After what seemed an eternity, we finally saw water ahead, thinking these were to be the plunge pools where we'd be swimming. We took some time to take in the beauty of being at the very top of this waterfall, looking out over the surrounding area and getting some photographs. Unfortunately, poor Katarina was terrified of heights, and hadn't had much fun climbing up and wouldn't go anywhere near the edge. She spent the whole stop with her back firmly toward the view, preferring instead to look back at the flat area we had come from. We had just started to get settled when Travis told us this was not where we were going, but that pool below us was our final destination. It was another 20 - 30 min hike to get down there. Sigh. It was well worth it though! The plunge pool's water felt amazing after the long 3 hour sweaty hike! We were joined by 2 other tour groups who were also using the spot as a swiming hole and lunch area, so it was a good couple of hours of mingling and swimming. Travis and another guide also took a couple people up to a really high cliff jump. I could barely watch them do it, let alone think of even going up there myself!

After a bit, the other groups left, leaving just us to enjoy the area. It was interesting to see a rock painting so high up as well. I should mention that where we were eating was where, in a few months time, the water fall will be pouring over in a thundering cascade to the pools some 200ft below. It was quite a view, made all the more interesting by the presence of a very old style drawing on the wall facing the cliff. Travis lead some of us on a voluntary climb, which I opted out of when I realized where they were going. They were climbing over some very small rock shelves to go and sit on a rock on the opposing wall. It gave me chills just watching them, so I was quite happy to sit on my little ledge and admire the view from an area I knew was relatively safe.

After eating out disgustingly soggy sandwiches (no Travis didn't eat his ant sandwich) we refilled out water bottles in the pool and started the grueling climb back to the bottom. It wasn't too bad to start with, as we had waited out the hottest part of the day by staying at the pool for longer. But unfortunately, the kind of rocks we were climbing over retained heat quite well. I think the air temperature was something around 36, but with the hot dry wind, and the heat reflecting from the rocks, it was at least 50! Combine that with intense climbing, and the sun beating down and its not very fun.

At one point I felt so sick I had to stop. My one hand was so swollen from the heat of the rocks that I couldn't close it, and I was litterally shiverering in the heat. it was hear I was very glad for Tatiana's presence as she is a nurse. She kept me company while the other went on ahead. I had managed to let myself get to a dangerous point of dehydration. our guide took good care of me though, and with him a Tatiana watching me, I managed to make it down to the bottom of the climb. It was a very scary experience, to be cold in weather that hot, and to be feeling like I did. But I managed to do it, and despite the dehydration, that makes me proud.

We had a nice rest stop at the bottom of the climb as we waited for Travis to refill our water bottles at the car park. We were headed to the bottom plunge pools to go swimming for the afternoon. I felt quite bad for Yuko though, as she had slipped early into the climb down and managed to strain her ankle. I couldnt imagine doing that climb with a wounded ankle! It also meant that she and Shinji couldn't join us for the swim in the afternoon.

It was another interesting hike over huge boulders to the bottom plunge pools, but the sights were amazing! I sat with Heike and Travis looking up at the area we had been at only hours before, not quite comprehending how high up it was until Mike swam to the other end and stood at the bottom of the cliff face. It was so humbling and just an amazing site to be seen. (its really hard to describe this stuff by the way!)

Back at camp we all but literally collapsed. We imediately dove into the Beer esky and then started preparing dinner. Despite being so tired, Mike, Heike and I stayed up later chatting with the camp ground's manager and Travis. The manager had been nice enough to join us for dinner and he even brought us a damper, which is a traditional Aussie bread cooked on the camp fire. Its made like a sweet bread and made a delicious desert with jam and butter.

I'm happy to mention that there were no further spider incidents and I was able to shower and pee in peace before going to bed for the night

On our third and final day, we were supposed to get up well before sunrise, but being the lazy buggers we are (and our guide too!) we all slept in until the sun was almost up before heading to Maguk falls. Today's hike was infinitely easier and the falls we went swimming in were absolutely gorgeous! Unlike the dried up Jim Jim falls, Maguk was still leaking water into its plunge pools, and at the top where we were, there were several smaller running waterfalls that you could swim and climb along.

We spent the day here climbing and exploring like a bunch of little kids and swimming along the gorges. We also did a couple of cliff jumps (yes I did the smallest one twice and nearly crapped myself both times!) and genrally just took in the views.

I was very sad that we couldn't stay for long, as we still had to make lunch and get back to Darwin. So, it seemed, too early we had to pack up and head back to the car to go for lunch. We stopped near a huge termite mound though! Travis told us more about termites and how their mounds had been used both by aboriginals and white settlers throughout history. It was interesting stuff, including info like each hive will only live for about 90 years before the colony inbreeds itself out.

This particular termite mound was ... 6 meters i think someone said? either way, it was a huge Cathedral mound.

After lunch it was back on the truck and we headed back to Darwin.

It was an amazing 3 days, which I will never forget, and I was so happy that I chose Adventure Tours. A couple people mentioned that we had missed out on a large part of the advertised itinerary, but I didnt mind. To my mind, the tour was everything that was promised and I had a great time hanging out with the group.

Hey all

Well its about time for another blog entry since I seem to be getting more and more lax about updating. oops!

Anyway, currently I'm sitting in a very hot and sticky Darwin, but first ... a recounting of the last few days / weeks

Right so, after a sad good bye to the lovely Airlie Beach, the girls and I hopped the bus to Magnetic Island. I'll admit that getting there was a little lack luster after the Whitsundays, but it was still gorgeous. We were lured in to Base Backpackers by the promise of a wicked (and safe / drug free) full moon Party and by the supposed endless sunshine that made up the climate here.

Well, sunshine there was plenty of, but as for the full moon party ... well it was a little less than wicked. First of all, our travel agent had promised us that our tickets were included in our package, which they werent, and second off ... how can you have a full moon party 3 days after the full moon? It was still a good night, which started with the 5 girls taking over the bathroom and covering ourselves in make up and body paint. Then it was off to a lovely little Pizza joint just down the road to enjoy some of said lovely pizza and some cheap drinks before coming back to the grossly over priced party at our hostel. It was a messy night. and that is all I'll say.

We spent the next day recovering on the beach and chilling on the Island before we split up again to head to our next destination : Mission Beach.

The Oz bus was actually on time for once, mostly because the driver had to catch the same ferry and bus as us all in the morning, and we got off to a good start. Somewhere along the short trip, I decided that it would be a good idea to pay our nice driver and book myself on a gut wrenching white water rafting. I decided that since I'd have to spend and extra day in mission beach anyway, i might as well make the most of it. and what a day it was! But first, mission beach.

Upon arrival into the Mission Beach area, we started to see signs that looked like emu warnings. Our driver soon corrected our thoughts though, tell us that they were in fact Cassowary signs. Mission Beach up to Cook town is the only place in the world to see these amazing but deadly, flightless birds. I had heard of them before, but never seen one, even at the zoos as we had never had time to go and look at them. But basically picture this. a Cassowary is like a small emu with the face of a turkey, the eyes of an emu, and a giant bone on the top of its head. ... Yeah... oh and a razor sharp raptor like claw on its feet. Ugly as hell, but cool all the same. Anyway, that was worlds worst description of these amazing birds, so if you want to see what one actually looks like, just google it.

Sadly, we didn't get to see any Cassowaries on our way into the city, but I was dropped off next to a giant one ... albeit a fake one.

Anyway, the Beach Shack was where we were staying, and it was actually quite cool. Had there been anything to do in mission beach, I might have considered staying there for a while. But sadly about the only things to do in this quaint little spit of a town is to Sky Dive (no thanks) , River Raft (already doing it) and um ... well thats it really. Oh yeah, you can chill on the beach or at the pool, but since its so close to Tully and one of the wettest cities in Australia, it rains. A lot.

After a nice night and a pleasant gecko filled night, I woke up very early to await my rafting pick up. I'll admit here that when I got up, I was feeling a little nervous. I'd never been rafting before and had heard all the horror stories of how people fell out of the raft and drowned under rocks and things (thanks Sam) so needless to say, I was having second thoughts. My bus came and picked me up though, and before long I had met up with another girl, Emma, who was from the Oz Bus and had booked with me. Funny how much less scary things are with company. We got to Tully township in short order, paid our fees and suited up in wet suits and some sort of sandal with lots of straps attached. We looked ridiculous! and I wish I had gotten photos.

Raging Thunder does a couple different tours along the Tully River, and you might be interested to know that one of the reasons the Tully is so popular is because at the top of the river is an electrical power dam thingy. That means that every day you have a guaranteed minimum water level. cool huh? Anyway, Emma and I had signed up for the "Extreme tour" which meant we got to start a little farther up the river than the rest, and we got to do it in smaller boats and do rapids backwards and things. Groovy.

After a very hasty breakfast our "Team Extreme" loaded up on the mini bus and headed to the river. It was here we met a couple of the guides who would be taking us down the river, as well as our fellow passengers. Emma and I were 2 of 8 people who came in from Mission beach, most of the others had to catch a coach bus from Cairns to get down to where we were. We picked our team though, made up of one Californian, 3 Irish boys, and Emma and I. We were a little slow to suit up, and ended up with a Kiwi guide named Casey, and boy was that fortunate. The man was a personality to be sure Right off he started making fun of the Irish (always amusing) and the fact that we would now be screwed because the Irish cant listen to instruction. It was this point where I started getting really scared. Emma and I jumped into the middle of the boat (we decided we didn't want to go in the front just yet) and started psyching each other up for our trip. The first rapid left me shaking, I was so freaked out. But by the end of the second one I was getting a hang of it. It wasn't long before I was having the time of my life going over the rapids and paddling with what I thought was expert skill

Casey was an excellent guide who took us to a few spots the other guides didn't go to. He took us over rapids backwards, and even took us Raft surfing, where you steer your raft so that one side is under the rapids and the weight of the water holds it there. That was fun He had us float down the river for a stretch which was relaxing, and had us practice pulling each other back into the raft in case someone did fall out. Then we got to swim through some rapids, which was fun. He pulled the raft up to the bank and all of us piled out and followed another one of the guides up a small hill. It was here they told us what to expect while swimming down this stretch. basically we were going to get held under the water with only 1 second intervals in which to get a breath. Oh yeah, and see those rocks on either side? yeah don't swim into them. They'll hurt. So when you come out of the rapid, start swimming hard for the left hand side or you're going to go over that waterfall there. eep! It was an experience to be sure, and it was over much faster than it seemed, so much so, that I almost didn't make it to the bank in time! I did get to the bank though, but the rocks were slippery, and some dunce from another boat crashed into me sending me back into the water lucky for me though, our guide was watching for something like that and helped me onto shore. it was just after here that we found out we could swim down the waterfall anyway, which I did because, well why not? It wasn't until I was already in the water, being held by my guide that he warned me not to open my mouth to scream because I'd likely drown. They are real good with that kind of thing sheesh! It was great though! I spent a while 5 seconds under the waterfall and there was nothing but green all around me! It was really neat ) Then it was off to lunch. mmm Food.

Afterwards we posed for photos in our boat before Casey steered us straight under a waterfall! I never knew what kind of force all that water could exude, but I felt like I was going to be pushed straight through the bottom of the boat! All in all, we didn't have anyone come out of our boat, though a couple of the others did flip over, which was kind of scary, but they all got back in ok. We spent most of the later part of the ride looking for water dragons and snakes (saw lots of the former, but no pythons) At one point, Casey stopped the raft at a large Island / rock in the river and we piled out again to follow another guide up to the top. It wasnt until I was at the top of this huge rock that I found out this was a cliff jump! By that time, it was too late to chicken out as Casey had already taken the raft passed us to wait. He politely waved as I called him an ass though. What a nice guy I did the jump though! And it felt like I was falling forever!

The day was over too soon though, and before we knew it we were at the bottom. Just for fun, Casey let us tip the raft and swim over to the boat ramp. The day was hugely exhausting! and I fell asleep on the ride back to Mission Beach.

It was pouring rain the next couple days, so there wasn't much to do besides sit inside and watch tv and dvds. Then it was off to Cairns

It seemed that the farther up the coast I got, the more i could notice the humidity every time I got off the bus. One of the stops we made along the way up was the Johnson River Crocodile farm. Rumor has it that the dude who runs the farm was the original inspiration for Crocodile Dundee ... though let me tell you he didn't look anything like Paul Hogan. Anyway, I got to hold several different snakes, which was really cool, as well as a blue tonged lizard, baby crocodile, and a dingo puppy We also saw a giant 5 meter croc named Greggory, and toured around the farm for a bit. The visit was entertaining once you got over the fact that the whole place was created to breed Crocodiles for slaughter.

Cairns itsself was more than a little touristy. In the CBD (Central business district) all there is to do is shop for tacky "discount" souvineers and look at the over priced menus of the many bars and cafes that inhabit the town. For a backpacker, there were tons of deals as long as you were willing not to use your taste buds. Things like free meals (you had to buy a drink though) and drink deals were offered in abundance which was nice. The meals mostly consisted of Spagetthi bolognaise, chili concarne and some kind of non meat meal. The SpagBol wasnt bad, but I'd steer far clear of the Chilli.

To be honest I didnt really enjoy Cairns very much, though to be true, I never really gave it much of a chance. Most of my days there I spent wandering around looking at shops and the various markets. One thing they did have there was a place called Rustys markets, which was just like the farmers markets from home! Pleanty of fresh, ripe, locally grown produce, and all at prices I could actually afford! its just too bad that I never really bought anything there, due to the fact that I wasnt sure how long I'd be staying in the area for. It looked good though

Upon arrival, as per usual the girls needed jobs and all 4 of them managed to get jobs in the first day they were there! So by the time I arrived the next day, everyone was headed off to their various places of employment. Helen and Jenna were working at a bar/restaraunt called Rattle & Hum which had a cool atmosphere and Sam was working for one of the more popular nightclubs, Soho. Erin managed to find herself work in a pleasant little cafe (with awesome food!) situated right in the center of the tourist district. With the girls all settled in and my funds running low, I knew it was time for me to once again move on before I wasted another 2 or 3 weeks spending my money in a town I didnt really like.

It took me a while to decide, but after about a week I finally settled on taking a plane to Darwin. I cried my eyes out in the Airport, but was comforted by the fact that I'll be seeing all my friends again in just a few short months. I can't imagine what it will be like when they all fly home.

I've been here in Darwin now for a few days, and the city alternately makes me want to stay and leave in equal parts. The first night I was here, I arrived to find a 55 yr old man in his tighty-whities sleeping in the bed next to me and a drunken Irish boy who was intent on wrestling said 55yr old man into submission.... interesting. Since then I've talked to both of them a bit, though in the usual Irish fashion, Derek is rarely sober. I've also made friends with some other boys who are working in the hostel and around the city. Most of the people at the Wilderness lodge seem to be German though, so there are very defined cliques of people who hang out in groups. Its a little sad, but such is life. I also had my food bag stolen last night, which needs a mention here purely out of the annoyance factor more than anything. Just another item to add to my growing list of items lost and presumed stolen. Sigh

Anyway, I head now to Kakadu in 2 days time, and I'm leaving with Adventure Tours, the same company who does OzExperience and who I did my blue mountains tour through. I cant wait, though i know its going to be an exhausting few days as I've signed up for a tour with more hikes than driving time.

So until then, Hope things are well at home ... I'm going grocery shopping ... again >.<

Ciao!
Amy