On Australian Soil

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The end of the trip is now approaching. We have flown from Bali to Darwin for a night in a hostel and met up with Adam our driver again. He has hired a 24 seater bus for us (with AC) so travelling in comparative comfort. Strange to be able to read and understand the road signs, recognise most items in the supermarket (Vegemite is an acquired taste I think), and be able to understand what people are saying!

The first stop should have been Kakadoo but the park is flooded and the roads impassable so we are now going to the Jumping Crocodiles.

Wow - that was awesome. To see these massive animals jumping out of the water for food - it gave us the chance to see what powerful beasts they are (and some great photo opportunities). Form there we found a camp site in Livingstone Park. Still had quite a bit of rain and there was concern that if it rained again overnight we may not be able to get out again, but the gods were on our side and it stayed dry. It was fun to be in our tents again, strange but fun. Salad supper and an early night when it got dark, but not until we had the chance to go and look at the nearby waterfall which was quite spectacular.

Now on to Katherine Gorge. Surprisingly(?) it is still raining and some of the trails are flooded, but we sat on the lookout and saw the river powering down the gorge. Another bush camp with a hot and sticky night, and lots of bugs, and even though we are using bug spray we always seem to end up with loads of bites. Days ticking by, and we are now planning for when we arrive in Alice Springs and the expedition to Uluru in a couple of days time.

Next we stopped at Daly Waters, reported to be the oldest pub in Australia and the birthplace of Qantas Airlines.

We are now in the middle of Aborigine land, where we have been advised to be cautious of the 'locals'. Stopped for supplies at Tennants Creek which looks to me like a typical outback town, and then 100k on to Devils Marbles.

Now maybe we are getting a bit jaded, and certainly the unrelenting heat is tiring, but when Adam suggested we stayed there for the rest of the afternoon and camped there it was greeted by a communal groan. In the end we agreed that an hour was quite sufficient for photos and to read up on how the giant granite boulders had been formed through erosion over millions of years.

So we are now at a Camp Ground in Alice Springs (with showers, laundry facilities and 'western' toilets). More about my expedition to Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the next edition.

Apologies for lack of photos but they aren't big on wifi in the outback!

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