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Published: December 7th 2007
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Day 241 (22.11.07)
After a couple of beers the previous night we were once again up at 5am for a 5:45 pick up - they just haven't heard of a lie in around here! Meeting our new guide Justin, we were on the road this time north toward Darwin. On our way up the long straight roads of Australia we made a couple of stops, an Aboriginal art shop and an ancient (in Australian terms) tele-communications station at Barrow Creek as well as crossing the Tropic of Capricorn before reaching our spot for lunch and our main stop for the day - the Devil's Marbles.
The Devil's Marbles are a strange formation in the rocks where through movement in the earth and various forms of weathering, huge round boulders are visible piled up across the desert landscape.
After a superb lunch we went for a walk through the 'marbles' where we had a bit of fun hopping from one to another. After meeting up with Justin we went through another section of the rocks where there were more stable rocks to have a climb and scramble over.
Back in the bus and we visited a local dam
for a swim meeting some local kids who were determined to impress us with their diving for river weed. Very entertaining and a welcome and cooling stop.
Once again we were in the bus - with over 1500km to cover over 3 days, we were now finding the bus like a second home. Our next stop was the 'out of this world' Wycliffe Well - apparently the UFO capital of Australia - it is known for having the most sightings of UFOs/ strange flashing lights in the sky etc. The owner of the shop/campsite here has dedicated his life to collecting information and memorabilia about alien visits and abductions and UFO spottings. We spent an amusing few minutes there and wished we could spend the night to try and catch a glimpse of an alien ourselves but it wasn't to be and we were soon back on the road.
We eventually reached our camp for the evening at a place called Banka Banka. This was on a Cattle Station and the camp was, as usual, equipped with the pre-erected tents, kitchen etc as well as Gertie the baby goat, two turkeys, an old sheep dog and an enclosure
of rescued kangaroos. A great place.
We all mucked in to get dinner ready with the added amusement of trying to keep Gertie off the table, so determined was she to get a nibble of our veggies! It took a team effort to keep her at bay.
After a feed we were treated to a fascinating talk about the workings of the cattle station (which was the size of Jamaica) before having a couple of beers with the jack-a-roo (cowboy) on the ranch.
Dragging our mattresses outside we once again slept under the stars with Chrissie getting a bit of a shock when Gertie decided to come and walk on her in the night!
Day 242 (23.11.07)
Today was mainly a day of driving - we still had a lot of distance to cover! However it wasn't all bad as we had a couple of stops in some of Australia's most remote pubs! Yes ladies and gentleman - this was the longest pub crawl we've ever been on (in distance anyway)!
The first stop was at the Daly Waters pub. This is the quintessential watering hole frequented by travellers from all over the world
who have all left their mark in one way or another. The walls and ceilings are adorned with 'things' people have left with their signature making for a really interesting decoration scheme. Taking a plunge in their pool we cooled off while Justin unpacked and made lunch - very decent of him. After a beer and a huge lunch we were once again packed and on the road. Flying past a couple of 'sites' including a patch of mud/concrete which was Australia's first international airport and a tree where an explorer fella carved his name we made another stop at the Pink Panther Bar. The family who own the bar breed rare birds and let us have a walk through to have a look. They also have two baby 'salties' or salt water crocs and we were lucky enough to be there for feeding time and even luckier that they didn't need new meat.
In the afternoon we visited the lovely Mataranka Springs, a thermal pool with crystal clear water surrounded by the tropical vegetation that we were moving into as we travelled further and further north.
After a stop at a bottle shop we reached our camp
for the evening just outside Katherine. After dinner we sat around a fire and Justin gave us an incredible performance on the didgeridoo - amazing! We all then took it in turns to have a go with varying degrees of success and then chatted around the fire before it was time to get some sleep.
Day 242 (24.11.07)
Packed and on the road we were off to Katherine Gorge for a trip up the river in a canoe. After the briefing by the ranger who specifically said there were 'freshies' (freshwater crocs) in the river which are non man biting and no 'salties' (saltwater crocs) which are very dangerous we were told swimming was OK. As he told us this he put his copy of "worst croc attacks in history" on the front desk - encouraging!
All kitted out we paddled up the river. The scenery was stunning with the steep gorge sides rising from river and hundreds of birds singing.
As we paddled we didn't see any crocs as we were told that they are such 'big girls blouses' that they would scarper as soon we got near. However, we kept our eyes open and
spotted a disturbance and bubbles which we were later told was probably our first wild croc sighting!
Stopping for a break to take in our beautiful surroundings we bravely swam in the crocodile infested river and when we reached the end of the canoe-able river had a break and walked a little further upstream. Paddling back downstream in rather a zig zag style (we seemed to have lost our earlier control slightly!) after an excellent couple of hours exploration we got to the boat ramp with aching shoulders, it's pretty hard work this canoeing lark!
We contined on toward Darwin with a quick stop on the way to see Charlie the buffalo, famed for his starring role in the film Crocodile Dundee (but now sadly stuffed and standing on the bar of a pub!). The film was apparently shot in Kakadu - we now want to watch it again - just so we can say "I've been there"!
After another long drive we made our last stop of the day at a Native didgeridoo and Aborigional art shop. It was really intersting and as well as the great art the owner had also rescued a range of
different sick or injured animals which we were introduced to. There was a baby wallabie (he was a bit bitey), a baby croc, some snakes and lizards and a parakeet/cockatoo (we can't remember which!). We also were able to have a go on a near priceless ceremonial didgeridoo which was massive and made a brilliant booming sound!
Finally getting to Darwin we booked into our room and brushed up before meeting the group at a local pub called the Vic for a free meal. It didn't take long for things to deteriorate into pitchers of beer and a night of dancing that almost cost some lives on the dancefloor! A great night!
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