Time to hit the road..... (Kakadu National Park)

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Today was a much better day! We woke up after a good nights sleep and checked out at 10am. Next stop was McDonalds for breakfast and then we jumped in a taxi to 'Wicked Campers'. It took a while to sort out all of the administration but eventually we were given a Kia Pregio with "Hell Boy" as our theme. We were all very excited and headed south to get some fuel and food supplies.

After 150km we headed into Kakadu National Park and stopped for a game of American Football at the side of the road. We reached Jabiru, the main town inside the park around 5.30pm. By now it was getting dark so we headed off down the road in search of our first campsite. We found a perfect site in the bush surrounded by woodland and a lake and began to set up camp.

PROBLEM NO.1: We had planned a dinner of spaghetti with tuna and tomato as our first meal only to discover that the gas stove we had been provided with was simply an empty canister and we had no fuel with which cook with. Dale and Ollie volunteered to head back to town and attempt to get it refilled. Mark was left in the campsite to fend for himself and test out his skills in bushcraft!

Unfortunately, as it was late in the day Ollie and Dale were not able to get the gas refilled and returned empty handed. We were forced to have a cold dinner of sandwiches with salad and "Luncheon Knob". This was a form of luncheon meat or as we later found out a type of glorified dog food! The first day had not gone exactly to plan but we were camping in the outback and it was far cheaper and more entertaining than our hostel in Darwin.

After a broken nights sleep we awoke around 7.30am to glorious weather and the task of making our own fire. We carefully collected firewood hoping not to meet any crocodiles or snakes and had a successful fire blazing shortly after. We were able to boil some water and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee but unfortunately luncheon knob sanwiches were on the menu once again.

We packed up camp and headed off to the supermarket for some more supplies and to collect our gas. Fully stocked and getting more prepared for life on the road we headed towards Ubirr Rock and the promise of Aboriginals paintings. We walked around the site for a while in the wonderful sunshine and took adavantage of the wonderful setting. Next stop was the creek to see some crocodiles. We were lucky enough to see them in the middle of the river but didn't get too close. Meanwhile Ollie had placed his sleeping bag on the roof of the campervan in the hope that some air would remove the damp smell it had collected from the previous 6 months in the bottom of his bag! He completely forgot about it and we drove off down the road. It wasn't until 20km further south when Mark remembered Ollie had left it on the roof and it was no longer there!!!

Our final stop of the day was the Bowali Visitor centre where we ignored the Aboriginal artifacts and instead used the toilet facilities and ammenities. The day was pressing on and we wanted to get to a campsite to collect some wood before it got dark so we drove on. We arrived in a pleasant (also free campsite) at around 5.30pm and set up our camp. Already, things were falling into place and everyone seemed to attach themselves to a particular role. As night fell, we had a rather large fire going and cooked a fantastic meal of spaghetti with chorizo and tomato sauce! After dinner we continued to use the fire to make oursleves hot drinks but mainly just as a source of entertainment.

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