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Published: June 25th 2009
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HEY!!! sorry for the delay... i'll get this oz stuff over with before i get round to the new zealand bit!
I had a BRILLIANT few weeks in the northern territory. Ok, so flew to Dawin and then after mooching around (really not much to do in Darwin!), I left on my tour first thing fri morning on 29th. And by first thing I mean I left at 5.30am!
KAKADU AND LITCHFIELD 1500km
Met the tour guide, Eyvonne and joined the people on the bus. Everyone seemed really nice, there was 16 of us in total and a mixed bunch which worked well. First stop was an aboriginal centre and we got properly welcomed to their land in a traditional way by them drinking water and spitting it on our heads. Nice. One guy then took us on a walk to show us various things about how they lived, hunted, what they ate etc. They showed us how to weave baskets, play the digde and throw spears. I was useless at all three! We thanked them and got back on the bus to Mary River and went on a river criuse where we spotted a few salties (salt
water crocs) and were told about the flora and fauna. By the way, bloody hot up here in northern territory!! Back in the 30's, no wind or cloud, just hot. After lunch we reached Kakadu National Park. Went for a walk to a site where Eyvonne showed us some aboriginal rock art and told us all about it.
By 7pm we'd driven to our camp for the night in the park. Unloaded our stuff and made some dinner before a bit of a get to know and a few bevvies. Camp grounds pretty cool, permenant tents and a kitchen/eating tent but all very basic.
Up at 5am and packed up the camp. Not much sleep as too hot!! Drove to Twin Falls, lots of jumping over rocks to get there. Couldnt swim though as there have been croc sightings. The whole national park is pretty beautiful and Kakadu alone is the size of Wales!! So you can guess how much driving the tour involves, hence all the early starts. Onto Jim Jim falls and finally an opportunity to cool down. The bus is 4WD and the terrain turned to dirt tracks and river crossings which was fun, much
like Fraiser island, to get to Jim Jim. Freezing water but nice to cool down. Nice scenic drive (over 2 hours ha!) and onto next campite in Litchfield National park.
Lie in - 6am start 😊 all of us feeling tired now! More water fun today at various locations (i wont bore u with all the names) and then drove back to Darwin in afternoon. stopped to examine a 3 meter termite mound, the biggest we could find as there were plenty more to choose from! They grow a meter every 10 years, kind of crazy as the mounds are only as old as the queen so termites live pretty long lives for insects. god im boring myself.
Our group met for dinner and we danced the night away, which seemed a good idea at the time...
DARWIN TO ALICE SPRINGS 1500km
Bed at 2, up at 5!! Some of the group left us as were only doing 3 days so new group again, 18 of us. And new guide, Richard. Everyone cool though!! Guess what, lots of driving! Its 1500km and 21hrs from darwin to alice. Another waterfall and swim at a lovely location was
our first stop of the day. After lunch we drove to Katherine Gorge and jumped in canoes to paddle down the gorge and take some snaps. Beautiful scenery. Camped near Katherine, similar style of accom as before. Cool evening around the campfire, guitars, attempts on the didge and marshmellows mmmm.... Up at 6 and went to thermal springs for a quick swim down river. On to Daly Water pub for lunch. Big back packer stop where tourists have left money, clothing, underwear and its a bit odd really. Our group left some flip flops which we signed. Quick stop to see an old telegraph station and onto camp at Tennants Creek. Went to an aboriginal music centre first thing where a local band played for us who've made a name for themselves and played internationally. Then we went to the devils marbles - a rock formation which we jumped around on for a while. Excellent. Stop at the tropic of capricorn line for a quick breat before getting to Alice Springs... getting colder....
Arrived in Alice in the evening. Again, losing group members so another fairwell dinner and night out.
ALICE SPRINGS TO ULURU AND BACK 1500km
Left at 5.30 and drove, with stops (including a camel ride I didnt do, because I was cold, tired and grumpy), to reach our camp sight at Uluru (Ayres Rock) by lunchtime. We were really annoyed as we'd made loads of friends but we were all split up so there was only 4 people I knew on my bus. And the others were losers! Luckily we camped next to our mates group though so still had fun and kept bumping into them at all the sights. After lunch we went to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and walked around the sight with our guide telling us how they formed and what it means to the aboriginal people. They were pretty cool. A short drive to Uluru to catch the sun setting over the most known image of Oz. It was definately worth the journey. A beautiful image which we got to enjoy with nibbles and bubbly. Yey! Quite a lot colder after sunset unlike further north. Still decided to stay in a swag instead of a tent though. They are like a mummy tent with a mattress and suprisingly comfortable and warm.
It reached 5 degrees and rained slightly overnight
but I was out for the count and snug as a jess in a swag so didnt notice!! Saw the milky way when I woke up! That was pretty cool. Up and out to the rock for sunrise. Bloody cold! Unfortunately, the rock climb wasnt open due to strong winds so I opted for the 9km walk around the base of Uluru. Yes people, it really is an amazing sight and lived up to all the hype. The colour was extraordinary. We then made our way to Kings Canyon and made camp again. More swagging!
Early start and drive to Kings Canyon, arriving just after sunrise. Still really cold but started our 3hr hike up and around the canyon. It was a great walk with spectacular views. Straight back to Alice after that as it was 6hr drive away.
Guess what - we went out!
Next couple of days in Alice were spent sorting stuff out. Was due to relocate a van (moving it rather than hiring it so dead cheap) but that fell through. Ended up booking a short trip to get me to Adelaide. Hired a car in Alice to see the MacDonnall ranges -
clearly we hadnt had enough of driving and seeing rocks!
ALICE TO ADELAIDE 1500km
A lot of driving again for this trip! Drove all day basically, arrivng in Coober Pedy for the night. CP is a opal mining town and a little strange it looks like a building site and pretty barren and thats cos most of the accomodation is underground. It gets as hot as 50 degrees in the summer and cold in the winter so they dug our houses so keep an even temp. We toured round the undergruond mine/museum and had some pizza for dinner. Even our hostel and the bar we went to was underground! Strange. Another day just for driving thurs and got to Adelaide in the eve.
So, after 6000km... i decided to get an overnight bus to melbourne! silly really. anyways, now i am in new zealand (whoop whoop) with the lovely donna and having a whale of a time - deliberate spelling mistake, we saw sperm whales on tues!! will blog it all soon...ish
bye for now
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