From Annaburroo (Northern Territory)—Creepy critters in the night (Tuesday, 3 June, 2008: 11:45pm)

We continued our drive north, past the unimpressive mining town of Jabiru, and didn’t stop until we reached the end of the road heading northeast, just off the border between Kakadu and Arnhem Land. The border is marked by the East Alligator River and separates the park from Aboriginal land, which can not be entered without a permit. Along the very dark night drive we passed two dingoes, a blue-winged kookaburra eating a baby snake while perched on a road sign, and spotted what looked to be a crocodile on the roadside (the East Alligator River is one of the places in Kakadu where crocs are most likely to be found). After all this craziness we finally made it to the camping grounds at Merl. To make a strange night much more eerie, this warm, muggy campsite was swarming with mosquitoes! It was like some sort of horror movie: we had to wear long sleeves (despite the heat) and couldn’t go outside or do anything without letting bunches into the van—we could see them pressing up against the screens, trying to get in. Even inside the van, it took us a while to swat and kill the majority of them before we felt comfortable to go to bed. To top off the spookiness, we could hear packs of dingoes howling and groups of bats chattering, which sounded like strange creatures giggling in the night.

In the morning the mosquitoes were still hounding us, but we managed to get out for a run to try to escape them. We ran through the Manngarre Walk, which twisted through rainforest close to the river and led to an Aboriginal women’s site. According to tradition, only women were allowed to visit it. There was even an alterative path for male visitors to bypass the sacred site, but it was poorly marked and Seth ended up accidentally stopping through it. The women’s spot consisted of a special variety of tree close to the river’s edge that represented an old woman sitting.

The rest of the run included Cahills Crossing (the flooded road that crosses the river to Arnhem Land), a few tracks near the crocodile infested river (we made a few brief stops to try to spot one or two sun bathing but no ‘luck’), and some long twisting path through tall grasses that ended up back at the road.

The rest of the morning was spent washing up and warming leftovers, then we left the mosquito-infested camp for the Border Store (where I tried calling home again, but with no connection), then had a lentil lunch at Ubirr. This place is renowned for its plethora of aboriginal rock art. The art, some thousands of years old, was totally amazing and told some really fantastic stories and histories. They were painted on rocky outcrops and the path led to a surprise view of the entire park—I couldn’t believe the breathtaking scenery. We took our time exploring the rocks along the overlook and taking in the panoramic vistas. This definitely completed my desire for a holiday of stereotypical Australian sites. *After spending so much time in beautiful, lush temperate rainforests, woodlands, mountains, and violent beaches, I really wanted to pick a final trip that would involve country that had the qualities of what people think Australia looks like*

After soaking in Ubirr, we drove back down to Jabiru (only to top up on petrol), and stopped in the nearby main visitor centre, now that we were leaving the park, of course. We watched the end of a film on Kakadu and loaded up on surprisingly cute gifts for young relatives, and carried on westward (via the Arnhem Highway) to the Mamukala Wetlands. Since it was getting late, we decided not to do the 3km walk and just hung out at the hide overlooking the wetlands to try to spot a few birds. We not only saw a few new ones, but as we were leaving came across a pack of black feral pigs. They were huge and totally disgusting!

As we were leaving the wetlands at late dusk I tried practicing driving the van (stick-shift), and the road took us right down the middle of the wetlands. Within 10 minutes we passed a dingo and two snakes (green pythons?) in the road! I was totally freaked out and didn’t want to hit any nocturnal animals just waking up, so Seth took over the wheel and drove us out of Kakadu—west towards Darwin. We stopped at a roadhouse (a combined petrol station/restaurant/pub/caravan park) at Annaburoo, not too far outside Kakadu. As I was hooking up the camper to a hose for water, I noticed one of the hoses on the ground was moving on its own, and discovered it was a yellow and orange striped snake! I don’t know if it was a harmless python, but it is always best to assume that any unidentified Aussie snake is extremely deadly (because most of the snakes here seem to be). Oi! After dinner we went for showers, but since all the showers we have come across so far in the NT are open-air structures (as are many other buildings), animals of all types are free to come and go. The toilets and showers had rather cute little frogs in them, and Seth’s shower included a visit from a huntsman spider (the kind from Arachnophobia)—I am sure glad they were not snakes or crocs :P

I can’t believe how crazy the Northern Territory has been. It seems so wild and even in our short time we have seen snakes, dingoes, feral pigs, brumbies (wild horses), wallaroos, amphibians and reptiles of all sorts, and giant bats—I am sure we have passed by crocs, but just have not come face-to-face with them! We have also been swarmed by mosquitoes, even during The Dry (season), as well as encountered baby humans crying their guts out at campsites, hah! As a trade-off to the wildness, we have had the opportunity to observe countless birds, many of which do not occur in the southeast. I think I will miss this crazy place, but for now it seems a little spooky, particularly at night...

From East Alligator River area in Kakadu (Northern Territory)—Land of the Mosies (Tuesday, 3 June, 2008: 9:30am)

I am sitting in the camper, and as I am trying to catch up on my writing I am keeping a rolled up paper ready to strike at the swarms of mosquitoes that are trying to penetrate the vehicle. I think I got most of them, but there are still a few left inside…

Cooking tonight's dinner (most likely lentils)

On Sunday morning we went for a rather exhausting run to Katherine Gorge—we walked some very steep bits and ran the rest (the total hike being 2hr20min, with my actual running time of 1hour26min). The gorge itself was very nice, but I think the highlight was the southern rockhole, which was a ravine of rocks and boulders that lead down a narrow path through a forest to a waterfall and pool.

Katherine Gorge, Nitmiluk National Park

Southern Rockhole, Nitmiluk National Park

Water break, Nitmiluk National Park

Nitmiluk National Park

Gigantic flying foxes (fruit bats), Nitmiluk National Park

This run/hike wiped me out for the rest of the day, but when I was stretching at least I got to check out some very cool birds hanging around the camp. The birds here are really amazing, and almost all of them are new—with the exceptions of willies, ravens, and peewees, of course! One of the most striking, I think, is the blue-faced honeyeater, which looks like a giant white-naped honeyeater but with great blue markings across its face.

Antilopine walleroo

When Seth returned from his extended portion of the run, we pulled the camper into a powered site for an hour or so to charge up and warm up lunch, then we drove back through Katherine (to top up on petrol), up to Pine Creek, and into Kakadu. Along the way we passed dozens of controlled burnings, which seem really amazing because they are kept very low and just smolder away without building intensity. The fires and smoke frequently reach the sides of the road and are a bit freaky when driving past.

Inside Kakadu we stopped at a visitor centre and the woman suggested we camp at Gunlom, near the upper South Alligator River. The catch was that it was 37km down a dirt track and we are not supposed to take the camper off sealed roads, but she said ‘well, how are you supposed to see anything then?’ She was right, so we took the risk and traveled all 37km of the dirt road. It was newly reworked for the dry season (the entire road is flooded in “The Wet”), but for some reason the entire length was full of symmetric ripples created by whatever machine they used to even the track. It took over an hour, but we made it, with pots, cutlery, and suitcases jangling the entire time.

Visitor Centre, Kakadu National Park

The road to Gunlom, Kakadu National Park

The site was very quiet and spacious, and since it was unpowered there were no giant trailers and everyone seemed to go to sleep especially early. However, the showers and toilets were not lit so we were unable to wash off the sweat, sunblock, and red dust built up from the road. This didn’t matter too much once Seth got to make one of his camp fires, and we watched it as we sipped hot chocolate, then once again we slept away the night with the back door wide open, letting in the beautiful stars and the cool air.

Gunlom, Kakadu, National Park

I wanted to keep the run at Gunlom the next morning (Monday, yesterday) to a minimum to rest from the previous day, but we decided to go up a nearby lookout. Some lookouts are just steep paths, but this was like the track at Sealy Tarns (NZ), and just went straight up, with rocks and boulders acting as steps. It was pretty short, however, and reached an absolutely gorgeous waterfall atop a cliff, which emptied into sky-high pools overlooking southern Kakadu. It really looked like some fake spa that people pay heaps of money to go to. Right when we arrived two fellows showed up behind us and jumped right into the pools for an extremely tranquil early morning swim. I felt jealous of them, but decided we should take a swim ourselves later in the morning.

Top Rock Pools, Kakadu National Park

The rest of the run (after we walked down the cliff) included the South Alligator River swimming area and Murrill Billabong. The billabong was set back one or two kilometers from the camp and the trail passed through tall, dry grasses. I really felt like something would jump out and attack us, particularly when we reached the murky, overgrown waters!

Billabong

I went back to the van and waited for Seth to run a bit longer on his own, then we walked to the waterfall and ‘plunge pool’ just outside the camp. I was feeling really eager to take a swim, which rarely ever happens to me. Luckily, at this swimming area and other popular swimming spots, they removed any/all crocodiles at the start of the dry season, which began a few weeks ago. However, we stepped into the water and waded in about thigh-high, and it got a bit cold, so we didn’t venture any further. Our big swimming experience in Australia lasted less than 10 minutes.

Attempting to swim

We had showers and ate cold leftovers then drove an hour back up the dusty, bumpy road. By late afternoon we made it to the very well laid out Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre for a quick look before it closed, then rushed to Nourlangie rock art and lookout. The art was really amazing and very fascinating. It gets repainted every generation and also superimposed with new layers of art every-so-often, but much of the art still survives from thousands of years ago. When the sun was setting we buzzed over to the lookout at Nawurlandja, but before we got too far up the giant slabs of ‘moonscape’ rocks (we just had enough time to take in some of the spectacular views of the park), it started to get really dark and we could start to hear mosquitoes coming in, so we scrambled back down to the car and took off. Up until now, the ‘mosies’ had not been a problem.

Driving out (want some tea?)

Lightning man, Nourlangie rock art (Kakadu)

Nourlangie lookout, Kakadu National Park

Nawurlandja, Kakadu

From Gunlom in Kakadu (Northern Territory)—Out in the wide open dust (Monday, 2 June, 2008: 10:30am)

It’s late morning in the Great Kakadu National Park, the top of the Top End in the Northern Territory (NT is not a state of Australia and is owned in part by Aboriginal communities), where even time is unique (the time zone here is shifted by 30 minutes, when it seems the rest of the world goes by 1 hour increments). The past few days have been really fantastic and have felt really different from previous trips. The big difference is that we hired a campervan—our usual small sedans would actually be much more expensive! I was reluctant to get the campervan at first, particularly since they seem like such the ‘tourist’ thing to do, and also because I had never been in one before, but after the first day I really loved it. Overall, I feel much more relaxed during this trip than on any other trip. Seth and I have joined the ranks of old retirees; cooking, sleeping, and living out of our vehicle, and not even considering staying at a hostel or backpackers. (Although our campervan is really more of a van with a high roof than the lavish RVs retirees tend to opt for.) We have a tiny sink (which holds a few liters of water), mini fridge, gas stove, and appliances (which can be used if the vehicle is plugged in). The back also folds into a double bed, and when the boot/trunk is open to the cool night air, provides the best sleeping experience we have had in months. In fact, with the exception of staying at the hostel in Coffs Harbour, this camper is the most bed-like thing I have slept in since leaving New Zealand at the end of February, and sure beats sleeping on the ice-cold floor of my frigid share-house in Canberra! In addition, the camper eliminates those things I dislike the most about traveling, including trying to fight crowds and find accommodation, needing to be checked out by 10am, having to pack and unpack every day, and having to get to the next hostel on time. Plus, we only pay about $10-15 per night to camp, while we would be paying $40-50 to stay at a hostel. In terms of fuel economy, so far it hasn’t been too bad. I suppose we do miss out on staying at cramped, dingy backpackers with dozens of German youths delighting us with their stories of world travel, but I suppose I will make do.

Our campervan

When we arrived in Darwin late Thursday night (after nearly missing our flight out of Melbourne due to the long, sluggish queue… stupid Tiger…), we slept in the airport. The next morning Seth went running and showered in the arrivals terminal, then we took a taxi to the rental place to pick up our van. We drove out of town to the nearest Woolies, stocked up on all our groceries for the week (thank goodness for the little fridge!), and took off south to the nearby Litchfield National Park. We spent the day driving down the main out-and-back road through the park, visiting the field of giant magnetic termite mounds (each mound built in a north-south angle to reduce late afternoon sun exposure), Tolmer Falls, and Wangi Falls. We spent the night in a town just south of the park, called Adelaide River. We were so exhausted that it was hard to make it and it got pretty late, but it was great to find a place to stay, which ended up being at the local show-grounds, and we parked right beside a ‘dodge’m’ (bumper) cars rink.

Magnetic termite mounds, Litchfield National Park

Giant termite mound, Litchfield National Park

Wangi Falls, Litchfield National Park

The campervan park at the Adelaide River Showgrounds

On Saturday morning we went running up a hill from town, through a historic rail line, which lead to some old, overgrown WWII ammunition buildings and bunkers. The scenery was pretty crazy—the town was both dry and lush with palm trees, and also dumpy and rough yet well maintained. The run took us through an old side road used during the war, and near the end we heard something in the bushes, and as we stopped and watched, a brown snake came out and crossed right in front of us! Well, at least we think it was a brown snake; but either way, it sure freaked us out!

Old war buildings, Adelaide River

After the run we hung around town for a little bit and I tried calling home, but kept getting disconnected. We also stopped just outside of town to look at some birds (little woodswallows and rainbow bee eaters), before returning south towards Katherine, passing brumbies (wild horses) along the way.

Adelaide River general store

Rainbow bee-eater

Road trains

Katherine is a fairly rough outback town, full of Aboriginal people and dotted with loud tourists, many of whom, I’d hate to say, sounded American. We stopped for petrol, Seth got heckled by an intoxicated Aborigine, and then we checked out an Aboriginal art gallery. We had been wanting to buy local art, and it was the perfect place to do so (we would probably have regretted it if we returned home completely empty handed of any sort of Australian ‘souvenirs’ after living in the country for two years). We bought two paintings on canvas and a wood-burned boomerang (cheesy, I know, but it looks pretty neat). These are the first real decorations for our home when we return to the US.

Katherine

From town we turned off to Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk National Park), where we camped out at a rather crowded campground. At least we stayed at an unpowered site so we were able to keep out of very densely populated ‘caravan country’.

From Melbourne Airport—Leaving Canberra (Thursday, May, 2008: 2pm)

Seth and I are finally relaxing after several consecutive weeks of anxiety. We are at the Melbourne airport, waiting for our evening flight to Darwin. The process of getting to this point was so stressing that it blanched the fact that we were leaving Canberra permanently. The trip to Sydney over the weekend was a break from it all, but when we returned it was a non-stop whirlwind of meeting with friends to say good-bye, selling everything possible (and giving away the rest), returning lent items, applying for visas, arranging taxes and refunds, etc… I feel particularly under-prepared for this trip, but at least it will be more straightforward than the previous ones.

As I mentioned before, the hardest part was trying to fit everything we want to have with us for the next three months (which is when our sea mail is supposed to arrive in the U.S.) into two medium-size suitcases (each with a total weight limit of 15 kilos, or about 32lbs.) and two backpacks. We spent yesterday desperately trying to dump everything we didn’t need, leaving us each with just a few clothing items: for me, three very thin long sleeve shirts (we won’t need warm clothes anymore—our winter will soon become summer), 1 pair of light pants, 2 pairs of tights, and just a couple of t-shirts and singlets. I even dumped a few extremely loved and very old items, including a black fleece pullover, only pair of very worn-thin jeans, walking shoes, and brown boots I have worn for the past nine years! At least this will give me an excuse to buy nice new clothes when I get back home :o)

I had never before felt so anxious and slightly panicky before a flight: we knew we were a few kilos over-weight, but no single item in our bags weighed more than a few hundred grams, which would mean having to dump a lot of much-desired stuff. Our tricks included Seth stuffing his pants pockets with shirts and wearing two pairs of thick wooly socks, and me wearing all three leggings and belt (even though my pants did not even have belt loops) and six layers of tops, including a raincoat, which had its pockets filled with smaller items. Seth nearly peed himself laughing when he saw how much clothes I was wearing, though at least I won’t have to dump the things I manage to wear. The very strict fee for over-weight luggage was $20-33 per kilo, so we really did not want to go over!

Our tricks worked and we managed to pull out enough stuff from the suitcases to reach the limit (after dumping our sunblock), but we were worried that Tiger Airways was also strict about their carry-on baggage limit, which was rumored to be 7 kilos. If this were the case, we would have had to dump our most prized items from our back packs. Luckily, they did not enforce this rule and we made it on to the plane!

I can’t believe this issue of packing dominated the past three days. I really do wish I could have enjoyed soaking in Canberra and seeing our friends without this and other stresses. Nonetheless, it was still very sad to say good-bye to everyone, most of whom we got to see one at a time. We were lucky, though, that we were able to meet up with nearly everyone, even sneaking in a dinner with Kim and Stephen on Tuesday. I trust, though, that since most of our friends are big travelers, we will see quite a few of them again sometime down the road.

I can’t believe at one point Mom and Dad wanted to come down to Canberra for a visit during this week. That would have been REALLY crazy. It is equally hard to imagine soon being in Crocodile Dundee land, followed by visiting a developing southeast Asian country, and finally hanging out with Synni in bustling, densely populated Hong Kong before going to Rochester, Minnesota! With all this, it will still be nearly six weeks before I am in Raleigh, NC. I hope I make it!

This morning felt really weird, probably because we only got about 3 hours of sleep (about the same amount as the night before). I normally don’t run before big trips (usually because that means waking up at some terrible hour, which Seth does without question), but I decided to not pass up this last chance to run through the nice familiar trails near Mt. Ainslie. It was still black outside and very foggy, and we even took a detour to drop off a bottle of wine at Oanh and Hawk’s house (we stuffed it in their mailbox, without a card or label)—we meant to drink it last night but did not have time to enjoy it. The run was so stereotypical: full of kangaroos, rosellas, galahs, white-winged choughs, magpies, peewees, and rabbits. When we got back, we rushed to try to pack a few last-minute items and throw away a few others, then Julien was kind enough to take us to the airport. It was weird abandoning food in the cupboards and fridges, as well as the stereo in my room (the one valuable thing I could not sell), and leaving dirty dishes in the sink—once again, I wish we had more time to leave the house properly! We quickly said good-bye to the housemates, then flew to the airport.