We were up at a more reasonable hour today & headed off to Kakadu NP - a huge national park valued for both its natural and cultural importance. Our first stop was at the visitors centre before going over to see the Nourlangie rock art (althouh not strickly speaking art as the aborigines used these images to tell their stories, both myths and lessons). After this we went for a walk to the Gubara Springs where we went for a swim. We swam across one stream the walked a short distance through the rainforest (in bare feet & bikinis/swimmers) to a series of waterfalls. We swam in the lower plunge pool for a bit then most of us followed Debden in a series of swims & climbs up the waterfalls to a higher plunge pool where ... read more

So on Christmas afternoon we went round to Jamie's. At Mark's request we went to the beach & Jamie brought bubbly! Then we had a tasty tasty Christmas dinner thanks to the resident chef! :D Boxing day we set off for the airport & bid goodbye to Jamie & New Zealand to return to Australia - Melbourne for a night then on up to Darwin. Unfortunately my cold got worse to the point of sickness, dizziness & a mild fever. Not the best when travelling :s... read more

Not a great nights sleep but we were up & out at a reasonable hour on Friday to catch the ferry over to Rangitoto Island, the youngest of the volanoes around Auckland at around 600 years old. It’s an interesting place, black lava makes up bulk of the island & you can witness the colonisation of this inhospitable landscape by mosses and hardy trees. This creates little patches of vegetation which slowly grow into each other & wll continue to do so until the island is covered in forest. There are also little Baches dotted around the place & the remains of a military outpost used during the world wars. The summit offers views around the bay over to Auckland, north shore, & the other islands inclusing Waiheke. We also poked around in some of the ... read more

Saturday we headed up to Ninety Mile Beach - a registered highway suitable for rugged vehicles. We probably should of listened to that last bit as Jamies poor car got stuck in soft sand after only a few metres! We did have a stroll & a paddle on the beach first though. We stuck to the roads after that & headed up to Cape Reinga where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean & the spirits of the dead depart from this world to the next. We arrived in thick fog but luckily it was a bit clearer out by the lighthouse at the tip. After the compulory photos by the signpost we headed back down & round to Spirits Bay, or rather the far end of Spirits Bay which starts just along from the Cape. ... read more

Just to keep you informed I've had a quiet few days. Much of this time has been spent indoors sorting out a couple of job applications (why is the Real World interrupting my holiday?!), Christmas presents (I have an Adventure arranged for Mark) and trying to avoid doing the former by procrastinating over the latter! Thankfully Jamie invited me round for dinner yesterday so I got to escape for a few hours to eat yummy risotto & pie and plot & scheme about our travels! So saying, I'm off travelling with Jamie tomorrow for a few days, not sure if/how much I'll get online. Hopefully the weather will improve a bit, it's been very muggy today... Only a week until Mark joins me!!! This I am looking forwards to immensely! :)... read more