Monday, March 28, 2011
March 28 - Last day of our three day tour
Well, all can't go well...my camera failed me today. Just hoping it's just a battery.
We had a fairly relaxing day today as swimming was the only event on our agenda. However, the roads to our swimming holes were truly made for a four wheel drive truck. Due to rains, many roads are flooded and some sites are closed.
The swimming holes and pools have bottoms of uneven depths and are floored with broken logs and slippery rocks. Some of the waterfall currents are also quite strong. But the water is soooo refreshing! Find yourself a comfortable spot, hang on or sit, and let the water work it's charm.
The end of the journey came about 5:00 when Dan dropped us off at the backpackers' hostel/hotel. We have a hotel room for the three of us. Not bad at all...large pool, clean bathroom, fresh sheets! All the worldly comforts.
We met our group for beer and pizza at a local Darwin hangout called Monsoon's. And yes, we got two downpours during our dinner.
Most of us exchanged email addresses. There were twelve tourists, two male cousins from Malta, four young people from Gerrmany, a couple from Israel, a single gal from Sydney, and us.
The food overall was fair. People were disappointed with the cleanliness of the first campsite and the kitchens in both sites. You wouldn't believe how we washed and dried the dishes...but we survived to tell the stories. The showers and sinks at the first campsite were simply disgusting. Luckily, I showered in the early evening before the arrival of all the insects! The next morning the sinks and showers were virtually covered with insects--even the men were appalled. I brushed my teeth and put in my lenses in our tent using my bottle of water. Using the toilet was indeed a quick task! There were no air tight doors or screened windows. This was not the case at Kakadu, perhaps because it is World Heritage Center.
We had a fairly relaxing day today as swimming was the only event on our agenda. However, the roads to our swimming holes were truly made for a four wheel drive truck. Due to rains, many roads are flooded and some sites are closed.
The swimming holes and pools have bottoms of uneven depths and are floored with broken logs and slippery rocks. Some of the waterfall currents are also quite strong. But the water is soooo refreshing! Find yourself a comfortable spot, hang on or sit, and let the water work it's charm.
The end of the journey came about 5:00 when Dan dropped us off at the backpackers' hostel/hotel. We have a hotel room for the three of us. Not bad at all...large pool, clean bathroom, fresh sheets! All the worldly comforts.
We met our group for beer and pizza at a local Darwin hangout called Monsoon's. And yes, we got two downpours during our dinner.
Most of us exchanged email addresses. There were twelve tourists, two male cousins from Malta, four young people from Gerrmany, a couple from Israel, a single gal from Sydney, and us.
The food overall was fair. People were disappointed with the cleanliness of the first campsite and the kitchens in both sites. You wouldn't believe how we washed and dried the dishes...but we survived to tell the stories. The showers and sinks at the first campsite were simply disgusting. Luckily, I showered in the early evening before the arrival of all the insects! The next morning the sinks and showers were virtually covered with insects--even the men were appalled. I brushed my teeth and put in my lenses in our tent using my bottle of water. Using the toilet was indeed a quick task! There were no air tight doors or screened windows. This was not the case at Kakadu, perhaps because it is World Heritage Center.
March 27: Kakadu National Park
On the road by 7:00am and the day was filled with trekking, swimming, visiting an Aboriginal education center, Aboriginal rock art, and a billibong boat tour. Graham, an Aboriginal leader of one of two clans remaining in Kakadu, gave us some history of his people and showed us how didgeridoos are made and played. He also introduced us to his 15 year old daughter who was great at making doobags. She is not good at basketry, she leaves that to her grandmother! She tried to give us each a palm to make rope which is used in doobag construction. We all were miserable failures!
Our next stop was hiking past Aboriginal rock art. This just blew me away! Teaching this to my second graders and seeing it first hand was a thrill. The red and yellow ocre leeches into the sandstone a few millimeters and therefore it is not washed away. The black is charcoal and is not permanent. The white is a milk sap obtained from a plant and is used as a sealant.
After lunch we headed for an hour billibong boat tour. We were so fortunate to see two saltwater, estruarian crocodiles. The largest was about 15 feet in length. These are the most aggressive crocodiles in the world.
It was a full day and a most memorable one.
Our next stop was hiking past Aboriginal rock art. This just blew me away! Teaching this to my second graders and seeing it first hand was a thrill. The red and yellow ocre leeches into the sandstone a few millimeters and therefore it is not washed away. The black is charcoal and is not permanent. The white is a milk sap obtained from a plant and is used as a sealant.
After lunch we headed for an hour billibong boat tour. We were so fortunate to see two saltwater, estruarian crocodiles. The largest was about 15 feet in length. These are the most aggressive crocodiles in the world.
It was a full day and a most memorable one.
March 28: Kakadu National Park
Camping means no sleeping in! Dan has us up by 6:00am, breakfast is at 6:30, and we are on the road by 7:00! Today we were headed to Kakadu National Park. This is a huge place the size of Slovenia. It 's landscape varies from rocky sandstone escarpment to historical Aboriginal rock art dating back thousands of years to mangrove fringed floodplains teeming with birdlife and crocodiles.
Each day we are refreshed by swims in plunge pools or rock holes. The weather is hot but we have been blessed with partly cloudy skies most of the time. Humidity is just great for my hair!
After leaving one of the pools, Ellen, Pat, and I got a head start to our truck. Then the skies opened up. I hate getting wet, but there was no choice. Staying under a tree provided no reprieve as terminates have virtually destroyed all trees of any size which means no lush protection. Actually, we had to admit it was more refreshing than trekking back in the humidity. (We have learned to look for silver linings!)
We arrived at a pretty descent campsite and the restroom facilities were clean and virtually bug-free! I slept in a top bunk and we had no mozzies (mosquitoes).
Each day we are refreshed by swims in plunge pools or rock holes. The weather is hot but we have been blessed with partly cloudy skies most of the time. Humidity is just great for my hair!
After leaving one of the pools, Ellen, Pat, and I got a head start to our truck. Then the skies opened up. I hate getting wet, but there was no choice. Staying under a tree provided no reprieve as terminates have virtually destroyed all trees of any size which means no lush protection. Actually, we had to admit it was more refreshing than trekking back in the humidity. (We have learned to look for silver linings!)
We arrived at a pretty descent campsite and the restroom facilities were clean and virtually bug-free! I slept in a top bunk and we had no mozzies (mosquitoes).
March 25 - Kuranda, Australia
Today Pat and I were off to Kuranda. This is a town in the mountains which we traveled on the old railway tracks constructed in 1897 and completed four years later. The brave men had to purchase their own picks and shovels to work on the tracks. They cut through mountains to make fifteen tunnels. Twenty-six men died from falls, falling rocks, and premature blasting.
The town was small and quaint. Our return to Cannes was by a seven kilometer gondola. Upon our descent we saw something pretty novel--water skiing without a boat! Skiers held onto a rope and were attached to an underground cable pulley system. They could water ski for 45 minutes a session in a man made lake...pretty cool, eh?
We left Cannes on a 7:15pm flight to Darwin.
The town was small and quaint. Our return to Cannes was by a seven kilometer gondola. Upon our descent we saw something pretty novel--water skiing without a boat! Skiers held onto a rope and were attached to an underground cable pulley system. They could water ski for 45 minutes a session in a man made lake...pretty cool, eh?
We left Cannes on a 7:15pm flight to Darwin.
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