After Travels: The Northern Territory

-THE NORTHERN TERRITORY-

DARWIN

KAKADU

KATHERINE

LITCHFIELD

This is the last blog from my travels in Australia.  I can't believe the time has come for me to leave OZ, but all good things must come to an end.  It is time for me to end this chapter of my little book of life, and I am eager and look forward to starting a brand new one!

The last part of our travels in Australia were in the Northern Territory.  We began when we flew into Darwin on November 11.  We then rented another 'Wicked' van, and headed to the outback.  I was not sure what to expect, but it sure was an experience!

Our first stop was right outside of Darwin.  We were eager to see some crocodiles in actions, so we went on a jumping crocodile cruise.  We got more than we expected, and as you can see from the photo, and am holding a giant python!! 

It got right up in there...must be an ass man.  As you can tell, the guy behind me thinks it's hysterical!

These crocs were wild, and they were hungry.  It was amazing to see them jump out of the water for that raw meat!

They are huge, and quite fast in the wild.  This particular croc got seriously angry, which was fun to see...but scary at the same time!

Observing the crocodiles at a safe distance.

We then headed to Kakadu.  Kakadu is Australia's largest national park, and is filled with beautiful sites to see.  Unfortunately, we came at the wrong time of the year.  Due to the wet season, most of the major things we wanted to experience were closed.  We still got to see some really nice places, but due to the annoying flies and mosquitos, we only stayed in Kakadu for two days, and moved on to Katherine earlier than we had originally planned for.

In order to control the vegetation and natural beauty of Australia, controlled bush fires are set.  As a result of this, some trees shed their bark, and it makes the forest look really cool.  As you can see, there are white trees amongst the burnt black trees. 

On this particular hike, there was a path with three options of where to go.  We were at a cross-road...here is Sandra showing our confusion as to which path we should continue on.

We then came to Ubir.  Ubir is a wonderful and gorgeous place which showcases the Aboriginal culture, and tells the stories of the past Aboriginal civilization through art.

This photo is an Aboriginal man who owns Ubir.  The Australian government has leased it from him, and they now preserve and protect the land, but must ask him first, before they can make any changes to it.

Aboriginal art work.  Rock painting was extremely popular, and was used to tell stories.

This was a part of Ubir that housed a family.  It was perfect because the amazing rock form provided shelter during the wet season.

Ubir had some amazing rock formations.  We climbed to the top of them, to watch the sunset, and got some lovely photographs.

Panoramic view.

Feeling free, and glad to have a little relief from the flies up here!

The sunset was gorgeous, and was amazing to see atop this rock.

We then headed to Katherine, which is a very small town.  Katherine is known for the Katherine Gorge. Movies such as 'Roo' and 'Night at the Museum' have been filmed there.  It was full of Aboriginal people, but when we got to the gorge, it was out in the middle of nowhere, calm, and peaceful.

Along the way, we came across a HUGE dead bull!!

While in Katherine, we visited the Cutta Cutta caves.  This is pretty much the only other thing to do in Katherine, and it was neat to see where all the bats live!

No touching!!

We stayed at this camp site one night.  The French gals we met at Whitsundays were staying here, and invited us to join them.  It was lovely and we had a nice time there!

Sandra and I took a two hour cruise through the Katherine Gorge.  Here I am before getting on the boat.

The Gorge.

This is the most photographed part of the gorge, so I decided to take a photo as well :)

Our final stop was at Litchfield.  Litchfield is a national park as well, but is much smaller than Kakadu.  It was my favorite stop, as it had less flies, and gorgeous waterfalls!  We spent three days and two nights here, and soaked up all that Litchfield had to offer.

Florence Falls

Me and Malin swimming right near the falls.  As you can see we look tiny...they were really large waterfalls!

The Rock Holes

The rock holes were pristine water that could be used as drinking water.  It was great because the water was cool, which was nice to take a dip in after a day of hiking!

Cooling off.

Another waterfall...this one was cool because of the caves surrounding the fall.

Wangi Falls

We spent the night at camp sites, and we were surrounded by the outback nature and animals...

Momma and baby Wallaby 

The baby...SO cute!

The baby got scared, so he headed back into the momma's pouch.

The last waterfall we visited.

The Magnetic Termite Mounds.  Termites build these mounds, and it can take over 100 years for them to get to this size.  They build them because they like the heat, and these mounds attract the heat.  It was incredible to see a field full of these termite mounds...but it looked a lot like tombstones to me!

After a long 8 days traveling in the outback, I was ready to get back to civilization! We headed back to Darwin to spend the last three days in Australia, before leaving for Bali!  It has been a joy traveling through Australia, and seeing the REAL Australia.  We have been all over, done typical tourist things, but have been lucky enough to explore on our own as well.  I am so blessed and lucky to be have had the opportunity to go on this trip!

Now...Off to Bali, Indonesia

After Travels: To the Last East Coast Stop...Cairns!

And off to our final destination...CAIRNS!!  But not without a few stops along the way! :)

From Whitsundays we made our way up to the northern most stop, on this part of our journey...Cairns.  Cairns is known for being the home of the Great Barrier Reef, and is notorious for it's hot weather and good nightlife.  We did not part-take in much of the night life, but definitely enjoyed the sunny weather!  We made a few stops along the way, but they were very quick, as we were in Cairns from November 7 to November 11.

This was our first stop...and the first of many waterfalls we saw ;)

This waterfall was spectacular and extremely large!  We were not able to go swimming in it, as we were able to in other places, but it was nice to observe anyway!

Chillin' and watching the fall...there was a rainbow off and on in the middle of the waterfall.

Weeeeee!!

Next we stopped at Mission Beach.  

Mission beach is known as a great place to skydive, because you land right on the beach!  As you can tell, the beach was rather deserted, because it was jellyfish season right as we made our way north along the east coast.  This meant there were too many jelly fish in the ocean at this time of the year, for it to be safe for people to swim in.

Since Mission Beach is a small area, we spent only an hour there, and then finished our road trip to Cairns.  The first thing we did on this extremely warm day, was head to the lagoon.  On our way, we found the city center, and a bunch of outdoor workout equipment...

The climbing walls!  There were lots of outdoor workout stations along the beach area in Cairns...so we decided to take part in what looked to be the most fun of the stations.

Malin spotted a Movenpick ice cream parlor, and insisted we must indulge!  I had pistachio, lemon sorbet, and berry...yummmm!

We finally made it to the lagoon...and soaked up every minute of the refreshing water!

The lagoon is a big area right in town, which looks over the beach.  We could swim in here without fearing the jelly fish!

More of the lagoon :)

The second day in Cairns, we decided to head up to Kuranda, which had a lot of small markets and hiking trails.  It was a great place to buy authentic Aussie gear...such as kangaroo moccasins (which I happened to buy myself)!!  

The inside a market.

Coconut heads!

Me playing a didgeridoo...it is a lot of fun, and can make some pretty cool sounds!

We then walked down to a waterfall...but it wasn't too rapid, as it was still rather dry in Cairns.  The wet season is just beginning at the end of November and start of December.  Once the wet season hits, there will be a lot of rain and daily storms, making the falls much bigger.

Me and sandra from the top of the town of Kuranda.  I love this girl...she is one of the sweetest most positive thinking girls I have ever met!  I want her to move to the States in the worst way!!

Finally, at the end of the trip I mastered the art of driving in Australia!!  Not only did I have to get used to driving a Wicked van (pretty much the most shit van ever!) and drive on the opposite side of the car and road than in the U.S., but I had to learn to drive a manual on top of that!!  It really isn't too bad once you get used to it, but driving a stick shift can be tricky...ESPECIALLY on hills!  I must say, I am pretty proud of myself!!

Happy to finally be driving in Australia!

As our trip ended, we lost one of our group members... Erika headed to Hong Kong, as we flew to Darwin.  This was a photo of the group when it was all five of us.  We were at our last supper, and it was sad to see Erika go, as she is a good friend of mine, and had spent the entire time in Australia with me as my roommate!!  We have missed her during the rest of our trip...and I will continue to miss her until we meet again someday!

So...Part 1 of the trip is concluded.  21 days driving up the East Coast of Australia.  It has been a world-wind of a trip, and I loved every minute of it.  The east coast had the most beautiful and amazing experiences in the world, and I will always remember and cherish that trip!!

Next: Onto Darwin...The Northern Territory of Australia... Also known as, The Outback...