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Published: April 26th 2008
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LITCHFIELD TOUR
We woke up 5 minutes before we were due on the bus after a massive night out, still drunk as skunks! We boarded the tour bus happy as Larry to be greeted by silence and miserable faces. We squeezed to the back and used the time to catch up on the events of the previous night. I don’t think anyone was too impressed as our voices got louder and louder, as cackles increased to hysterics. Luckily Phyllis, our friend from the Kakadu tour accompanied us and at the first stop, whilst the rest of the group went on the crocodile cruise; our guide took us to a lookout, where we could see 360’ views of the surrounding area. It was a beautiful spot and gave us time to recover. We learnt about controlled bushfires and how animals have adapted to this process. Trees need to be cracked for the seeds to be dispersed, burning is necessary for germination. It also prevents uncontrollable bush fires.
We stopped for lunch at the Bayan Tree Café. Here we met Niall (Peter Rabbit) who told us he had completed a bungee jump NAKED! And no it isn’t true; you don’t get
Cathedral
100 year old termite mound to jump for free if you strip. This has now been added to our to-do list! HA! Jumping out of the bus we got up close and personal with Magnetic Termite Mounds. Some of these were over 50years old and over 15feet tall. After seeing Niall eating a handful of Termites, Sharlene dived in! Alysha got this all on film - YUK! They tasted like pepper. These termite mounds are solid as concrete and even through bush fires do not burn.
We continued onto Florence Falls. The manliness of all waterfalls we have ever seen. It was huge! The power cascading water caused was unbelievable and the current so forceful it was a struggle to get close. After several attempts we managed to get under the curtain of water. This was a great accomplishment due to Sharlene’s concerns with feeling claustrophobic. The view looking up towards the sky, water pouring over us was magical. Sharlene continued round to the second waterfall and dived underneath. Pooping up on the left hand side, she and Niall climbed the steep rock face and jumped!
On to Burley Rockhole. These are a series of rockpools, many small waterfalls where we were able
to sit and receive back massages from the force of the water. Our guide, Joey was a great laugh and we think he had a soft spot for us due to our bubbly nature. He beckoned Sharlene from the river to include her in one of his pranks. Entering the rockpool where the rest of the tour were relaxing, Sharlene distracted them by saying she could see a lizard so they stood up and looked her way. Suddenly a crocodiles head burst out of the water. Everyone screamed and jumped back and the girl next to Sharlene dived into her clawing her arm in a desperate attempt to save herself! HA! Once they realized it was plastic they laughed nervously, hearts still beating triple time. Even Phyllis was fooled! So wish we had captured that on film - legendary! Some of the boys got adventurous and joined a group diving into a plunge pool. We have a perfect photo of Superman…..where he was heading, we don’t know! Sitting in the middle of the falls the sound was hypnotizing. Sharlene was in a world of her own wishing she had an ice cold beer in her hand. At that moment Joey
once again called her to the side presenting her with…..an ICE COLD BEER! What a sweetheart. How did he know? Just a coincidence? - who knows, but it tasted Great!!
Alysha and Joey disappeared on an adventure… First task was to find a small pocket of air behind the waterfall. Joey demonstrated and made it look easy. He screamed and yelled once he found the hole, but then went silent. Alysha began to panic asking him to come out… with a huge splash he leaped out of the water and scared the life out of her! Alysha grabbed the root of the tree and was told not to let go. Behind this root was the pocket of air. The first two attempts were unsuccessful but like they say - third time lucky. She screamed and yelled with excitement. Well done!!! At the second rockpool was a tunnel situated right under the waterfall. Her task was to dive down and retrieve a rock from the river bed. Again Joey demonstrated making sure he was diving from the back of the waterfall so he was not carried by the current and forced into the rocks. Alysha was terrified; heart thumping so
Joey offered his leg as a ladder. The tunnel was pitch black, depth unknown, but once she hit the bottom she scoured the floor, blind, desperate not to run out of breath. As she rose out of the water she held the rock into the air as though it were gold! The journey home was a great crack. Joey pulling lots of stunts as the rest of the tour slept. He used props to keep us laughing, dressing up and freaking out fellow drivers. Hysterical!
After such a long day we were invited to join him for a beer with the staff and of course we obliged. We had a fantastic time, both having a feeling of achievement, grinning from ear to ear. It was our last night out in Darwin and had organized to meet the girls and boys from both tours. We got coaxed into joining a game where a lime had to be passed between to girls and two boys. That was Sharlene, Alysha, Niall and Jay. Phyllis and Lala watched on taking many pictures. There were four teams and we must have dropped it three of four times. It was so funny; we literally had
to hug each other to pass it on. Surprisingly we WON! Our prize was a $50 bar tab, so we were straight up at the bar jaggerbombs all round and jugs of beer. It was the beginning of yet another messy night! We said our goodbyes to Lala and Phyllis; girls; bets of luck with the rest of your journey, it was suck fun meeting you both. Our time in Darwin wouldn’t have been the same without you! We danced all night until Alysha disappeared (supposedly off to bed). Sharlene continued on but luckily decided to check on little sis about 4am! Alysha was sitting outside her room with one of the neighbours, beer in hand still, locked out of the dorm. The drunken fool had the key in her bag the whole time!
It was our best night in Darwin, so great to leave on a high!!
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