On this day Jake, Tom, Asun and I went to the Live Earth concert at the Aussie Stadium. There were other concerts in other cities in the world: New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hamburg. We first had brunch in Bounce, where we ordered some hamburgers and fries. Then we walked to Central Station to take the bus that was going to take us to the stadium.
We had different seating places so we were divided into two. Asun and I bought two T-shirts and went inside the stadium. This is the list of singers:
- Crowded House
- Wolfmother
- Jack Johnson
- John Butler Trio
- Sneaky Sound System
- Paul Kelly
- Toni Collette & The Finish
- Missy Higgins
- Blue King Brown
We had lunch/dinner there: hot dogs and wedges. The concerts were great! We stayed there for 10.5hrs! However, it was worthy.
30 July 2007
Cooma and the Snowy Mountains
We arrived in Sydney from Darwin at around 6:30am; it was very cold comparing to the temperature in Darwin. We took a taxi and left Gordon at his place. Asun and I continued to Gumal. I unpacked everything and did the laundry. After a while I packed everything again but this time clothes for the cold in Cooma.
I left Gumal at around 12pm and rushed to take the bus at 12:30pm for Canberra. I did not make it on time, so I had to take the next one, which was 30 minutes later. I called Tom so he knew at what time I was arriving in the city. The trip by bus was 4 hours or a bit less. Then when I arrived Tom was there with Hue. They were having meat pies as a snack, so I bought one for me. It was very cold out there. We went to Tom’s car and drove to Cooma. There was a lot of traffic on the road.
We arrived when it was dark, so I couldn’t see the town properly. Once we were at Tom’s house I met his brother, sister, and mother. We watched TV for a while and then had dinner. The food was really good. Then we celebrated Benny’s (the dog) birthday. He is a very funny dog that is old and tired. There was another dog, Henry. This dog is very active and young. Both together are the funniest dogs on Earth! After dinner we tried to watch a movie but I was very tired and went to bed.
On the next day we woke up and when ready we went to Jindabyne. This town is around 40 minutes far from Cooma. It was freezing! We waited inside a small shopping centre for Ryan and his friend. They arrived a few minutes later and decided to have lunch in another place. So, we went to another shopping centre and had some chicken hamburgers that were delicious. A bit later we went to Ryan’s house to talk and watch some videos in YouTube and then we left. We now were driving towards Mt. Perisher.
I could not imagine snow in Australia until there. It was getting colder and colder town-by-town. So, we started to see snow on the road. Everything turned to white in a few minutes. The problem was that the weather was windy and cloudy. We could barely see anything that was a bit far. After passing the chain inspectors we continued driving until everyone stopped. In that moment Tom tried to move the car to overtake the people that were stuck on the ice but failed. The road was slippery and icy, so we had to go out and push the car. Just with a little push the car started to move and then we drove back to Jindabyne. We first did a stop to take some pictures and then drove to Cooma.
In Cooma we had dinner at Tom’s father’s place. His house has a great view of the town. We had dinner and then watched some TV. Then we went back to the other house and I tried to do a 360-degree jump but failed twice (though I did two 180-degree jumps). Then we watched another movie; this time I stayed to watch it all.
On the 6th of July Hue went to his judo classes and I stayed with Tom at his house. I had breakfast and then we played a while with the dogs. Then we walked the dogs on a mountain where we could see the town from the top. Benny was too tired and went back by his own. On the other hand, Henry ran away scaring wallabies that were down the hill and then came back. When we returned to the house Benny was not there. He was lost! However, he returned a few minutes later tired and thirsty.
At midday we drove to Canberra for having lunch with Tom’s mother. We went to a mall and had lunch in a Chinese restaurant. Then we drove to Sydney. We stopped to see the big Merino on the road and take some pictures. When we were close to Sydney we were stuck in a huge traffic jam for 2 hours. The fastest we could drive was 5km/hr!!! So, we arrived a bit late to Gumal.
I left Gumal at around 12pm and rushed to take the bus at 12:30pm for Canberra. I did not make it on time, so I had to take the next one, which was 30 minutes later. I called Tom so he knew at what time I was arriving in the city. The trip by bus was 4 hours or a bit less. Then when I arrived Tom was there with Hue. They were having meat pies as a snack, so I bought one for me. It was very cold out there. We went to Tom’s car and drove to Cooma. There was a lot of traffic on the road.
We arrived when it was dark, so I couldn’t see the town properly. Once we were at Tom’s house I met his brother, sister, and mother. We watched TV for a while and then had dinner. The food was really good. Then we celebrated Benny’s (the dog) birthday. He is a very funny dog that is old and tired. There was another dog, Henry. This dog is very active and young. Both together are the funniest dogs on Earth! After dinner we tried to watch a movie but I was very tired and went to bed.
On the next day we woke up and when ready we went to Jindabyne. This town is around 40 minutes far from Cooma. It was freezing! We waited inside a small shopping centre for Ryan and his friend. They arrived a few minutes later and decided to have lunch in another place. So, we went to another shopping centre and had some chicken hamburgers that were delicious. A bit later we went to Ryan’s house to talk and watch some videos in YouTube and then we left. We now were driving towards Mt. Perisher.
I could not imagine snow in Australia until there. It was getting colder and colder town-by-town. So, we started to see snow on the road. Everything turned to white in a few minutes. The problem was that the weather was windy and cloudy. We could barely see anything that was a bit far. After passing the chain inspectors we continued driving until everyone stopped. In that moment Tom tried to move the car to overtake the people that were stuck on the ice but failed. The road was slippery and icy, so we had to go out and push the car. Just with a little push the car started to move and then we drove back to Jindabyne. We first did a stop to take some pictures and then drove to Cooma.
In Cooma we had dinner at Tom’s father’s place. His house has a great view of the town. We had dinner and then watched some TV. Then we went back to the other house and I tried to do a 360-degree jump but failed twice (though I did two 180-degree jumps). Then we watched another movie; this time I stayed to watch it all.
On the 6th of July Hue went to his judo classes and I stayed with Tom at his house. I had breakfast and then we played a while with the dogs. Then we walked the dogs on a mountain where we could see the town from the top. Benny was too tired and went back by his own. On the other hand, Henry ran away scaring wallabies that were down the hill and then came back. When we returned to the house Benny was not there. He was lost! However, he returned a few minutes later tired and thirsty.
At midday we drove to Canberra for having lunch with Tom’s mother. We went to a mall and had lunch in a Chinese restaurant. Then we drove to Sydney. We stopped to see the big Merino on the road and take some pictures. When we were close to Sydney we were stuck in a huge traffic jam for 2 hours. The fastest we could drive was 5km/hr!!! So, we arrived a bit late to Gumal.
Northern Territory - Darwin and the Top End
Day 1:
As soon as we arrived in Darwin we took the rented car in the airport. This time the car was way smaller, though we were just three. A funny fact about the car was that it had no front number plates, instead the numbers were just hand drawn. After putting the entire luggage inside we drove to the city centre and found the hostel. We were lucky and got a 3-bed room for the price of a dorm.
We asked for directions to the information office and went there walking. In the office we started to plan our trip because we had the ideas but not the places where we wanted to go. Anyway, a lady helped us and we arranged a great schedule. She recommended to us to have lunch in the waterfront wharf, so we went there. On the way we saw some souvenir shops and art galleries with didgeridoos, but I did not particularly liked any. We walked in front of the Governor’s house and then through a construction site to get to the wharf.
The walk was pretty bad. Everything was being built. However, when we got there we were already very hungry and found many places to dine in. Some specialties they had were crocodile, buffalo, camel, barramundi, and normal stuff like calamari and prawns. Gordon and I asked for a beer and then ordered crocodile to share. It was crumbled, but had a tasty flavour. Then we ordered calamari and prawns. They were also good. After these, of course the next plate was the dessert. Asun ordered ice cream and we followed her example. Though we ordered a special: pancakes covered on ice cream and maple syrup!!! Soooooo gooooood!
Then we decided it was time to go back and take the bus. After an incident with a kid, who was run over by me, we went to buy some food to the supermarket. We bought breakfast, lunch and dinner, water and sweets. Then we returned to the hostel and left all the things in the room. After a few minutes of tickling Asun we went downstairs to the pool bar. Nobody was playing so we ordered two jars of beer and played. We had a great time there, but went to bed early.
Day 2:
We woke up early and went to prepare our breakfast. When finished, we drove to Litchfield National Park through an unsealed road. On the way we saw some big fires in the jungle.
Our first stop was at a small former tin mine (Bamboo Creek). The walk had nothing really impressive; everything was a bit too boring. However, the next stop was at the famous Wangi Falls. They were really great. The weather was so good to go swimming, so we took our towels, swimming suits and sunscreen with us. What I did not like about this place was that it was full of tourists, so Gordon and I decided to take a different path and created a new one. We walked in the middle of the jungle. We were just hoping that we were not going to find any snakes. When we reached a nice spot we went swimming in the freezing water! We swam for a bit and then returned through a different path. We found Asun waiting for us and took some pictures with her.
Later on we drove to the next stop, which was Tolmer Falls. We found the path a bit too safe, so we walked in one of our own. The view from there was very nice. Some other people followed us. Then Gordon saw a nice spot to take a picture. It was a bit far and high but nothing stopped us. We tried to go on the rocks because there was a lot of bush where we could find an unfriendly snake. Since this place was very high, we had an excellent view of the national park. After taking some pictures we returned to the place were we left Asun with a camera and continued the walk. We saw the falls and then walked to the car for having lunch. We prepared quick sandwiches and had them there.
When we finished our lunch we drove to the Buley Rockhole (natural pools). They were spectacular! We walked and chose the best one. There was nobody else swimming in the same pond, which was great. However, the sunset was getting closer and closer, so we drove to the popular Florence Falls. The water there was as cold as the other places. In my opinion this falls looked wilder than the other places were we went. We swam for a bit and then drove to the last stop, which were the termite mounds. It was weird because it was a flat area and there were so many of these mounds. We took some pictures and left the place before we ended mosquitos’ food.
We booked a night in Katherine, so we still had to drive for a couple of hours. We had to call the hostel because we were going to be late (as usual) and stopped at a petrol station. When we were about to refill the car, we found that the dispenser did not fit our car. Anyway, we just added the petrol and payed at the cashier. We also thought on having something as pre-dinner, so we bought some wedges with chilli and sour cream and ate them in the car. I was driving and saw a road sign that showed 130km/hr as maximum speed! Though we saw some kangaroos on the road so we could not go at that speed all the time. We also spotted some road trains that were simply huge! They are trains on wheels!
On the way I found the car behaving a bit weird. It did not want to obey, but I thought it was because the engine was not that good… Anyway, we arrived in Katherine and the first impression was not the best of all. We had to wait in a petrol station for the boss of the hostel who was going to give us the key of our room. After realising that we were in the wrong one we drove to the next one and found the keys with an employee. While taking our luggage out of the car a man walked towards us (he could barely stand up) and asked some weird things. We were ready to punch him if he started, but nothing happened. He was totally drunk. We just took the things to the room and tried to find a place to have dinner. We had some horrible hamburgers and went to the hostel to sleep.
Day 3:
We woke up and booked a canoe trip in Katherine Gorge. Then we went to the supermarket to buy some things for breakfast and lunch. When we came back to the hostel we took the breakfast to the kitchen and prepared quick things. I went to the car to take some Camembert cheese that we bought, and when I walked back I found the drunken man of the night before. He told me “when you are ready bring back the key”. He was the boss of the place! Impossible! Gordon was right! Hahahahaha.
After our breakfast we drove to Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park. We got some information in there and started to do a walk. Asun was not feeling like walking because it was very sunny, and instead Gordon splashed water on her face. We did the walk, which was boring until we actually saw the gorge. The view was really good. Then we walked back to the main building of the national park and found that we were almost an hour late. We thought we lost the tour on canoes but we did not!
Once on the canoes we rowed for a while, taking pictures and videos. We had to row for 7.2 km return. At the canoe shop they told us that there were fresh-water crocodiles. They also said that they were not supposed to attack people if they did not feel threatened. Anyway, when someone tells you that you will be swimming with these animals you don’t feel that confident anymore. So, we were there rowing towards a place where we could swim and saw many signs of “Do not pass. Crocodile nesting area”. Therefore we followed the signs and did not stop there. However, I was rowing way behind Asun because I stopped for taking some pictures and suddenly I saw the head of a crocodile on the water! I stopped and saw Gordon rowing towards it, so I screamed at him so he stopped. Then we both saw the crocodile going into the water and disappearing. We rowed as fast and far as possible, but nothing happened. It was an incredible experience.
When we reached the stop, we found a spot to have lunch. While we were doing the walk Asun was preparing the sandwiches for us. But before having lunch, we went for a swim. We could have found crocodiles next to us but there were not there, which was great. Then we had lunch and rowed back to the start. This time we did not spot any crocs… Anyway, according to us I am way too spicy for being croc food and Gordon tastes like German sausage so the crocs would not like him, so the only person eatable in our trip was Asun (hahaha). However, the crocodiles had no chance!
After we returned the canoes to the shop, we drove to Edith falls. There was a lake and some small falls where we stopped. There was also a walk that we wanted to take, but it was 3.2km return and it was already getting dark. Gordon and I did not care to walk in the dark, so we took it. Asun stayed at the lake and waited for us. We walked very fast. The track was easy and nice. When we got to the pools it was already dark. We could barely see anything but the stars. After a while we decided to go back and heard some animals approaching. We couldn’t see them so we continued hoping those were not crocs or any other dangerous Australian animal. We used our digital cameras to light the path, which helped a lot. A few minutes later we heard someone screaming. I was sure they were calling Gordon’s name, but we continued ignoring the call. We heard it several times and then we thought that he was a ranger looking for us. We shouted back that we were going back, but we heard no reply. When we arrived to the start of the track we saw Asun very scared! She was having a tea with some people she met that called for help. We waited for the person that went to look for us to come back and then we left driving to Kakadu.
We arrived a bit late to the hostel in Cooinda. While parking, we hit a #@$%^ “jumping tree” (Gordon prefers to call it this way). The damage was bad bad bad. We tried to lessen the damage but failed. Then we decided to have dinner with the few things we had left. Asun was in a shock mode. Later on we went to the room, which was really small. I can’t believe there were a bunk bed and a single bed in there.
Day 4:
On this day we had a special breakfast. It has been a while since we had a good meal so we decided to take it. We went to the restaurant of the lodge and took a full breakfast. We chose eggs, bacon, toast, mushrooms, tomatoes, and many more things. The breakfast was good. Then we took the car and after seeing the damage we left to Yellow Water. This place was next to the lodge. We were supposed to spot many different kinds of birds and maybe saltwater crocodiles but there were almost no birds and no crocs. On the other hand we saw wild horses and a frog.
We kept on driving to the next stop, which was Nourlangie Rock. I imagined this place a bit different than what it actually was. We made the longest walk, of course, and on the way we saw Aboriginal rock art. There were many original drawings but most of them were redrawn because they were already disappearing. Asun walked too fast that we did not see her during the entire walk. After a while we saw that she was going back to the car park because she had seen everything. She thought that we were ahead of her the whole time and that is why she rushed. Anyway, we took the car and drove to Jabiru, the place where we were going to sleep.
After seeing that our room was very nice and just for three people, we left some things in there and went to the town centre. The main purpose of going there was to download all of Gordon’s and my pictures to a CD or DVD and have more space in our memory cards. We found a place where we could do that but it took ages to burn my CD that Gordon decided not to do his. As we were hungry we went straight to a “Chinese” restaurant and had some lunch. Then we tried to have some beers but there were none anywhere. We tried the supermarket but they told us they did not sell these drinks anywhere around but in the sports pub. Then we just decided to leave and go to Ubirr.
In the information office at Darwin the lady that helped us told us that Ubirr was a great place to see the sunset. Then that is why we decided to do that on this afternoon. However, we made a stop before. This was because we found a walk that is one of the best of the region! Therefore we could not miss this opportunity. The walk was called Bardedjilidji; pretty difficult to pronounce the first time you see it. It bordered the East Alligator River!!! So you know what was threatening our life… We took some pictures along the walk and then when we walked on a fallen tree, we saw something moving in the water that was just under its trunk. We just continued walking next to the river and then heard a noise in the bush. We walked towards it very slowly and suddenly something moved towards us in a rush! At the end we saw that it was just a cockatoo. After this experience we took the car and drove to Ubirr. The sunset was already there and we were missing it. We walked really fast in the path in which everybody was walking just on the opposite direction. They were doing so because we had to leave the place just after the sunset, if not we had to pay an expensive fine. The view from the top was really nice. The sky was red and we could see some rivers and wetlands from there.
When we arrived in the hostel, we started to cook our dinner. The menu was the following: BBQ pasta! Yes, that is right! We had to cook pasta this way because the hostel just provided the barbecues and no stoves, and the pasta and sauce had been in the car the entire trip since we could not cook it anywhere else. Then we bought a roasting tray and used boiling water from a kettle and the barbecue to cook it. We cooked some onions on the barbecue and added them later to the pasta with the tomato sauce. At the end it was not as bad as we expected; or maybe we were just too hungry to care. Then we went to sleep.
Day 5:
We woke up and had breakfast in our own backyard. Then we packed our things up and went driving to Mamukala. This place had a walk in the middle of the wetlands, but since it was dry season we could barely see what was wet. Instead, we all three ended wet in a water-bottle fight. We saw some birds from very far and walked for a bit. After this we kept on driving towards Darwin, crossing some rivers like West Alligator River, North Alligator River and others that I can’t remember the names.
The most interesting thing on this day was that we booked to go and see jumping crocodiles. So we drove to the river and stopped there to wait for the boat. We had lunch there (croissants and sandwiches). Then we decided we had enough time to go to a museum that was less than 5 km from there. It was not good at all. The only good thing in there was the view from the top of the building, and that was it. However, we booked to have dinner in the Skycity Casino.
We returned to the river and the boat was ready to leave. The tour started. One of the staff attached some fresh meat on a stick and put it on the water. A few seconds later, we saw a saltwater crocodile heading towards the boat. Then it tried to reach the steak and jumped many times until it got it. It is amazing how high these animals can jump! We saw two very big crocs during the tour, and many medium ones. The food also was for some birds. The first bird we saw was the second biggest flying bird in Australia. It was very fast! And then we saw some hawk-like birds that caught the food in the air. After this the tour finished and we drove to Darwin.
Since we arrived early in Darwin we had time to walk in the streets and buy souvenirs. I was still looking for a didgeridoo, and found a store that I liked. While I was thinking about buying one or not, we went to an Internet café and checked-in the flight. Then I went back to the store that I liked and started to talk to the person that was in charge of the store. She told me that she has been in Mexico a few months ago and that she drove through Oaxaca. I remember that my parents told me that they met two people from Darwin in a restaurant. And guess what? This lady was the one my parents met! She knew some things about me and I was impressed! I could not believe it… Well, I bought the didgeridoo and met my friends.
The stores were closing and we decided to have a beer before going to the casino. We found an Irish pub and talked for a bit. Then when it was time, we drove to the casino to have dinner. We were supposed to have seafood for dinner but there was almost any. Asun learned from my German writing and Gordon learned some Spanish tongue twisters. Then we drove to the airport to leave the car and took the flight. This flight was at 1:30am of the 4th of July.
As soon as we arrived in Darwin we took the rented car in the airport. This time the car was way smaller, though we were just three. A funny fact about the car was that it had no front number plates, instead the numbers were just hand drawn. After putting the entire luggage inside we drove to the city centre and found the hostel. We were lucky and got a 3-bed room for the price of a dorm.
We asked for directions to the information office and went there walking. In the office we started to plan our trip because we had the ideas but not the places where we wanted to go. Anyway, a lady helped us and we arranged a great schedule. She recommended to us to have lunch in the waterfront wharf, so we went there. On the way we saw some souvenir shops and art galleries with didgeridoos, but I did not particularly liked any. We walked in front of the Governor’s house and then through a construction site to get to the wharf.
The walk was pretty bad. Everything was being built. However, when we got there we were already very hungry and found many places to dine in. Some specialties they had were crocodile, buffalo, camel, barramundi, and normal stuff like calamari and prawns. Gordon and I asked for a beer and then ordered crocodile to share. It was crumbled, but had a tasty flavour. Then we ordered calamari and prawns. They were also good. After these, of course the next plate was the dessert. Asun ordered ice cream and we followed her example. Though we ordered a special: pancakes covered on ice cream and maple syrup!!! Soooooo gooooood!
Then we decided it was time to go back and take the bus. After an incident with a kid, who was run over by me, we went to buy some food to the supermarket. We bought breakfast, lunch and dinner, water and sweets. Then we returned to the hostel and left all the things in the room. After a few minutes of tickling Asun we went downstairs to the pool bar. Nobody was playing so we ordered two jars of beer and played. We had a great time there, but went to bed early.
Day 2:
We woke up early and went to prepare our breakfast. When finished, we drove to Litchfield National Park through an unsealed road. On the way we saw some big fires in the jungle.
Our first stop was at a small former tin mine (Bamboo Creek). The walk had nothing really impressive; everything was a bit too boring. However, the next stop was at the famous Wangi Falls. They were really great. The weather was so good to go swimming, so we took our towels, swimming suits and sunscreen with us. What I did not like about this place was that it was full of tourists, so Gordon and I decided to take a different path and created a new one. We walked in the middle of the jungle. We were just hoping that we were not going to find any snakes. When we reached a nice spot we went swimming in the freezing water! We swam for a bit and then returned through a different path. We found Asun waiting for us and took some pictures with her.
Later on we drove to the next stop, which was Tolmer Falls. We found the path a bit too safe, so we walked in one of our own. The view from there was very nice. Some other people followed us. Then Gordon saw a nice spot to take a picture. It was a bit far and high but nothing stopped us. We tried to go on the rocks because there was a lot of bush where we could find an unfriendly snake. Since this place was very high, we had an excellent view of the national park. After taking some pictures we returned to the place were we left Asun with a camera and continued the walk. We saw the falls and then walked to the car for having lunch. We prepared quick sandwiches and had them there.
When we finished our lunch we drove to the Buley Rockhole (natural pools). They were spectacular! We walked and chose the best one. There was nobody else swimming in the same pond, which was great. However, the sunset was getting closer and closer, so we drove to the popular Florence Falls. The water there was as cold as the other places. In my opinion this falls looked wilder than the other places were we went. We swam for a bit and then drove to the last stop, which were the termite mounds. It was weird because it was a flat area and there were so many of these mounds. We took some pictures and left the place before we ended mosquitos’ food.
We booked a night in Katherine, so we still had to drive for a couple of hours. We had to call the hostel because we were going to be late (as usual) and stopped at a petrol station. When we were about to refill the car, we found that the dispenser did not fit our car. Anyway, we just added the petrol and payed at the cashier. We also thought on having something as pre-dinner, so we bought some wedges with chilli and sour cream and ate them in the car. I was driving and saw a road sign that showed 130km/hr as maximum speed! Though we saw some kangaroos on the road so we could not go at that speed all the time. We also spotted some road trains that were simply huge! They are trains on wheels!
On the way I found the car behaving a bit weird. It did not want to obey, but I thought it was because the engine was not that good… Anyway, we arrived in Katherine and the first impression was not the best of all. We had to wait in a petrol station for the boss of the hostel who was going to give us the key of our room. After realising that we were in the wrong one we drove to the next one and found the keys with an employee. While taking our luggage out of the car a man walked towards us (he could barely stand up) and asked some weird things. We were ready to punch him if he started, but nothing happened. He was totally drunk. We just took the things to the room and tried to find a place to have dinner. We had some horrible hamburgers and went to the hostel to sleep.
Day 3:
We woke up and booked a canoe trip in Katherine Gorge. Then we went to the supermarket to buy some things for breakfast and lunch. When we came back to the hostel we took the breakfast to the kitchen and prepared quick things. I went to the car to take some Camembert cheese that we bought, and when I walked back I found the drunken man of the night before. He told me “when you are ready bring back the key”. He was the boss of the place! Impossible! Gordon was right! Hahahahaha.
After our breakfast we drove to Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park. We got some information in there and started to do a walk. Asun was not feeling like walking because it was very sunny, and instead Gordon splashed water on her face. We did the walk, which was boring until we actually saw the gorge. The view was really good. Then we walked back to the main building of the national park and found that we were almost an hour late. We thought we lost the tour on canoes but we did not!
Once on the canoes we rowed for a while, taking pictures and videos. We had to row for 7.2 km return. At the canoe shop they told us that there were fresh-water crocodiles. They also said that they were not supposed to attack people if they did not feel threatened. Anyway, when someone tells you that you will be swimming with these animals you don’t feel that confident anymore. So, we were there rowing towards a place where we could swim and saw many signs of “Do not pass. Crocodile nesting area”. Therefore we followed the signs and did not stop there. However, I was rowing way behind Asun because I stopped for taking some pictures and suddenly I saw the head of a crocodile on the water! I stopped and saw Gordon rowing towards it, so I screamed at him so he stopped. Then we both saw the crocodile going into the water and disappearing. We rowed as fast and far as possible, but nothing happened. It was an incredible experience.
When we reached the stop, we found a spot to have lunch. While we were doing the walk Asun was preparing the sandwiches for us. But before having lunch, we went for a swim. We could have found crocodiles next to us but there were not there, which was great. Then we had lunch and rowed back to the start. This time we did not spot any crocs… Anyway, according to us I am way too spicy for being croc food and Gordon tastes like German sausage so the crocs would not like him, so the only person eatable in our trip was Asun (hahaha). However, the crocodiles had no chance!
After we returned the canoes to the shop, we drove to Edith falls. There was a lake and some small falls where we stopped. There was also a walk that we wanted to take, but it was 3.2km return and it was already getting dark. Gordon and I did not care to walk in the dark, so we took it. Asun stayed at the lake and waited for us. We walked very fast. The track was easy and nice. When we got to the pools it was already dark. We could barely see anything but the stars. After a while we decided to go back and heard some animals approaching. We couldn’t see them so we continued hoping those were not crocs or any other dangerous Australian animal. We used our digital cameras to light the path, which helped a lot. A few minutes later we heard someone screaming. I was sure they were calling Gordon’s name, but we continued ignoring the call. We heard it several times and then we thought that he was a ranger looking for us. We shouted back that we were going back, but we heard no reply. When we arrived to the start of the track we saw Asun very scared! She was having a tea with some people she met that called for help. We waited for the person that went to look for us to come back and then we left driving to Kakadu.
We arrived a bit late to the hostel in Cooinda. While parking, we hit a #@$%^ “jumping tree” (Gordon prefers to call it this way). The damage was bad bad bad. We tried to lessen the damage but failed. Then we decided to have dinner with the few things we had left. Asun was in a shock mode. Later on we went to the room, which was really small. I can’t believe there were a bunk bed and a single bed in there.
Day 4:
On this day we had a special breakfast. It has been a while since we had a good meal so we decided to take it. We went to the restaurant of the lodge and took a full breakfast. We chose eggs, bacon, toast, mushrooms, tomatoes, and many more things. The breakfast was good. Then we took the car and after seeing the damage we left to Yellow Water. This place was next to the lodge. We were supposed to spot many different kinds of birds and maybe saltwater crocodiles but there were almost no birds and no crocs. On the other hand we saw wild horses and a frog.
We kept on driving to the next stop, which was Nourlangie Rock. I imagined this place a bit different than what it actually was. We made the longest walk, of course, and on the way we saw Aboriginal rock art. There were many original drawings but most of them were redrawn because they were already disappearing. Asun walked too fast that we did not see her during the entire walk. After a while we saw that she was going back to the car park because she had seen everything. She thought that we were ahead of her the whole time and that is why she rushed. Anyway, we took the car and drove to Jabiru, the place where we were going to sleep.
After seeing that our room was very nice and just for three people, we left some things in there and went to the town centre. The main purpose of going there was to download all of Gordon’s and my pictures to a CD or DVD and have more space in our memory cards. We found a place where we could do that but it took ages to burn my CD that Gordon decided not to do his. As we were hungry we went straight to a “Chinese” restaurant and had some lunch. Then we tried to have some beers but there were none anywhere. We tried the supermarket but they told us they did not sell these drinks anywhere around but in the sports pub. Then we just decided to leave and go to Ubirr.
In the information office at Darwin the lady that helped us told us that Ubirr was a great place to see the sunset. Then that is why we decided to do that on this afternoon. However, we made a stop before. This was because we found a walk that is one of the best of the region! Therefore we could not miss this opportunity. The walk was called Bardedjilidji; pretty difficult to pronounce the first time you see it. It bordered the East Alligator River!!! So you know what was threatening our life… We took some pictures along the walk and then when we walked on a fallen tree, we saw something moving in the water that was just under its trunk. We just continued walking next to the river and then heard a noise in the bush. We walked towards it very slowly and suddenly something moved towards us in a rush! At the end we saw that it was just a cockatoo. After this experience we took the car and drove to Ubirr. The sunset was already there and we were missing it. We walked really fast in the path in which everybody was walking just on the opposite direction. They were doing so because we had to leave the place just after the sunset, if not we had to pay an expensive fine. The view from the top was really nice. The sky was red and we could see some rivers and wetlands from there.
When we arrived in the hostel, we started to cook our dinner. The menu was the following: BBQ pasta! Yes, that is right! We had to cook pasta this way because the hostel just provided the barbecues and no stoves, and the pasta and sauce had been in the car the entire trip since we could not cook it anywhere else. Then we bought a roasting tray and used boiling water from a kettle and the barbecue to cook it. We cooked some onions on the barbecue and added them later to the pasta with the tomato sauce. At the end it was not as bad as we expected; or maybe we were just too hungry to care. Then we went to sleep.
Day 5:
We woke up and had breakfast in our own backyard. Then we packed our things up and went driving to Mamukala. This place had a walk in the middle of the wetlands, but since it was dry season we could barely see what was wet. Instead, we all three ended wet in a water-bottle fight. We saw some birds from very far and walked for a bit. After this we kept on driving towards Darwin, crossing some rivers like West Alligator River, North Alligator River and others that I can’t remember the names.
The most interesting thing on this day was that we booked to go and see jumping crocodiles. So we drove to the river and stopped there to wait for the boat. We had lunch there (croissants and sandwiches). Then we decided we had enough time to go to a museum that was less than 5 km from there. It was not good at all. The only good thing in there was the view from the top of the building, and that was it. However, we booked to have dinner in the Skycity Casino.
We returned to the river and the boat was ready to leave. The tour started. One of the staff attached some fresh meat on a stick and put it on the water. A few seconds later, we saw a saltwater crocodile heading towards the boat. Then it tried to reach the steak and jumped many times until it got it. It is amazing how high these animals can jump! We saw two very big crocs during the tour, and many medium ones. The food also was for some birds. The first bird we saw was the second biggest flying bird in Australia. It was very fast! And then we saw some hawk-like birds that caught the food in the air. After this the tour finished and we drove to Darwin.
Since we arrived early in Darwin we had time to walk in the streets and buy souvenirs. I was still looking for a didgeridoo, and found a store that I liked. While I was thinking about buying one or not, we went to an Internet café and checked-in the flight. Then I went back to the store that I liked and started to talk to the person that was in charge of the store. She told me that she has been in Mexico a few months ago and that she drove through Oaxaca. I remember that my parents told me that they met two people from Darwin in a restaurant. And guess what? This lady was the one my parents met! She knew some things about me and I was impressed! I could not believe it… Well, I bought the didgeridoo and met my friends.
The stores were closing and we decided to have a beer before going to the casino. We found an Irish pub and talked for a bit. Then when it was time, we drove to the casino to have dinner. We were supposed to have seafood for dinner but there was almost any. Asun learned from my German writing and Gordon learned some Spanish tongue twisters. Then we drove to the airport to leave the car and took the flight. This flight was at 1:30am of the 4th of July.
15 July 2007
Northern Territory - The Red Centre
This trip was divided into two stages. In the first one (26th - 29th June) we were Asun (Spain), Gordon (Germany), Silvia (Spain) and I (Mexico). However, in the second one (29th June - 4th July) Silvia could not join us because her boyfriend was coming to Sydney.
Yulara (Ayers Rock town) was a very small place. The lodge were we stayed was really good! We left our things there and went to the souvenir shop. After Gordon bought his Akubra we went to the tour office and booked a bus for Uluru (Ayers Rock). Since it was going to pick us up in about an hour we decided to go and have some lunch. We asked for some hamburgers at the bar of the lodge. I asked for the Outback Burger (just everything!). Later on we took the bus and went to the famous rock. It was amazingly big! We started to climb it up, though Silvia and Asun stayed in the first stage. Gordon and I kept climbing it and got to the top of it! The view from there is awesome!
We returned to the car and drank a lot of water, then when we were ready we drove to Alice Springs. Since we did not have the 4WD we had to take the long way. We had dinner on the way in a small town. The lady in there told us that is better not to drive to Alice Springs when is dark because there are camels, cattle and kangaroos on the road that could cause an accident. Although we heard her advice, we preferred to continue driving, but just after a slice of a Lamington cake (Australian famous cake). We drove carefully and spotted a lot of red kangaroos. Some of them were as tall as me or even taller!
When we arrived in Alice Springs we saw that the hostel was already closed. We tried to call them but it was useless. I was thinking on the possibility of sleeping in another place or even in the car. Then we saw a French guy that let the door of the hostel open and we got inside. We saw by chance that the manager of the hostel was having a cigarette and told him about our reservation. He helped us and we could get our room.
Day 4:
We woke up and decided to have breakfast in the city centre. We saw a nice place and asked for some eggs, bacon, tomatoes and toast. Our flight was at around 11:30am so we had to leave. Silvia was staying for another day and could not join us for our other trip. We said goodbye and went to the airport to take the flight to Darwin.
The problems of the car had not vanished they just grew. We forgot to fill it up with petrol, so we had to pay extra, and then many things went wrong. At the end we paid a lot more than what we thought. But we could not do much, since the next trip was starting…
This is the first part of the two:
Day 1:
As I had not finished packing, I continued putting clothes in my backpack. Tom arrived and came to my room. He was using my computer and I told him to burn a CD for the trip. He made it and then helped me to finish packing. Later on I realised that I was going to sleep 45 minutes, so I just went to bed.
In the early morning Asun and I took a cab and headed towards Silvia’s place. First the taxi driver gave us a tour around the city and then, when lost, he decided to go where we told him! Silvia was ready and we proceeded to Gordon’s place. This time the taxi driver did not mess with us! Once in the airport after the check-in we had some Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Gloria’s Jeans coffee. We waited our flight that was leaving at 8:30am. We took it and slept the entire trip.
Yulara (Ayers Rock town) was a very small place. The lodge were we stayed was really good! We left our things there and went to the souvenir shop. After Gordon bought his Akubra we went to the tour office and booked a bus for Uluru (Ayers Rock). Since it was going to pick us up in about an hour we decided to go and have some lunch. We asked for some hamburgers at the bar of the lodge. I asked for the Outback Burger (just everything!). Later on we took the bus and went to the famous rock. It was amazingly big! We started to climb it up, though Silvia and Asun stayed in the first stage. Gordon and I kept climbing it and got to the top of it! The view from there is awesome!
When we returned to the bottom of Uluru, we saw that the bus had not arrived. We called them since we had a dinner in a few minutes. However, the lady was impolite and told us to wait. At the end we arrived late and the bus that was going to take us to the dinner had left. The bus company arranged a car to go and pick us up so we were not going to miss the dinner. When we arrived to the place, it looked wonderful. We had some canapés of crocodile, emu, kangaroo and barramundi. After the sunset we went to take some places in a table. The dinner was really good.
After dinner (Sounds of Silence), a guy started to talk about the constellations and the sky. Then we could go to some telescopes and see the moon craters, some stars and planets. Later on we took the bus back and went to bed.
Day 2:
On the next freezing morning we woke up very early. This was because we had a tour on camels to see the Uluru in the sunrise. We arrived on time (very weird I know) and then a guide started to tell us some important facts about the camels in Australia. Then the tour began. We took two camels: Alfonso (Gordon and Silvia) and Policeto (Asun and I). The tour was worthy! It is incredible how this rock changes its colours that much! After the tour we went back to the hostel to wait for taking the car at the agency. The waiting turned to be a big nap. Everyone fell asleep.
When ready, we went to the airport and tried to get the 4-wheel drive we hired. However, they told us that we were not old enough to hire one of them. After the big problem they gave us another car, which did not look like a 4WD, but anyway we had a car. Then we drove back to Yulara and bought some things for the dinner. We bought a lot of meat and things to cook in the barbecue in the lodge. Then we left the things in our room and drove to The Olgas.
On the way to The Olgas, we made a stop to take some pictures of Uluru from far. Then we took the road to the Kata Tjuta National Park and decided to do the 7.4km walk. It was a long way but we enjoyed it. We spotted a wild wallaby! We also saw the sunset in there, which was incredible as well. Then we drove to the hostel and prepared our dinner. We realised that we could not make use of the barbecues because only the staff of the lodge could use them. Anyway, we managed to cook all the meat on the few pans and pots we found. Great dinner!
Day 3:
We had breakfast and drove to Kings Canyon. It was a bit far from Yulara, but we made some stops. Once in there we had lunch and got prepared for the long walk. This walk was amazing. The views from there were just astonishing! We stood up on the edge of some high cliffs, climbed up everything we could, and walk for a long time with just 2 small bottles of water… not very clever.
We returned to the car and drank a lot of water, then when we were ready we drove to Alice Springs. Since we did not have the 4WD we had to take the long way. We had dinner on the way in a small town. The lady in there told us that is better not to drive to Alice Springs when is dark because there are camels, cattle and kangaroos on the road that could cause an accident. Although we heard her advice, we preferred to continue driving, but just after a slice of a Lamington cake (Australian famous cake). We drove carefully and spotted a lot of red kangaroos. Some of them were as tall as me or even taller!
When we arrived in Alice Springs we saw that the hostel was already closed. We tried to call them but it was useless. I was thinking on the possibility of sleeping in another place or even in the car. Then we saw a French guy that let the door of the hostel open and we got inside. We saw by chance that the manager of the hostel was having a cigarette and told him about our reservation. He helped us and we could get our room.
Day 4:
We woke up and decided to have breakfast in the city centre. We saw a nice place and asked for some eggs, bacon, tomatoes and toast. Our flight was at around 11:30am so we had to leave. Silvia was staying for another day and could not join us for our other trip. We said goodbye and went to the airport to take the flight to Darwin.
The problems of the car had not vanished they just grew. We forgot to fill it up with petrol, so we had to pay extra, and then many things went wrong. At the end we paid a lot more than what we thought. But we could not do much, since the next trip was starting…
Merry Mid-Christmas!
On the night before our trip we made a Christmas dinner and New Years’ Eve. As the people from the northern hemisphere celebrate these two events in winter, and here is already winter, we made it on the 25/06/07. The dinner was great! We had different types of pasta, nachos, tortillas españolas, and many more. And of course, we could not miss the desserts. Sooo much food! There was a Christmas tree in one corner with the gifts of the Secret Santa underneath.
We started to give the presents to everyone one-by-one. My secret Santa was Manu and I was Sarah’s secret Santa. She framed some nice drawings and wrote about the most important memoirs of this semester. I really liked it! After the gifts we had to go because our flight was early in the next morning. We said goodbye to many of my friends of this semester that were in Bulga. Then, we went to Gumal to say goodbye to my other friends, but first we danced and sang Makoki (is this right?) hahaha, hilarious! Then we said goodbye to Quique and Uri. I will see them again next year.
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Melbourne, Australia
View of the city
