5 - Australia

Jet lag is still a problem!!!  We were up at 2AM again....I managed to get back to sleep for a few more hours, don't think Duane really did.

Up for good at 7AM - had an interesting breakfast....Vegemite!   Of course, you've heard of it on the Men at Work song - "Land Down Under".....

So, I had to try it!  Picked it up at the grocery store yesterday (Woolworths)....toasted whole grain bread and smeared the Vegemite on like peanut butter.  There was no internet available for me to Google how to use it!!  The horror!!

It's apparently made from yeast/barley/malt - purportedly the left-overs from the brewing process.

You probably know I like lots of different flavors.  Well, this one - not so much!!

I put WAY too much on the toast!  It's extremely salty - I scraped this off until the bread was almost clean.  Then, it was OK.  Just OK.  Duane actually tried it too - we decided that we'd leave the $4 jar in the fridge in case some Aussie that rents the cabin next really likes the stuff.

Next stop will be Edith Falls near Katherine, Northern Territory.

After a quick stop for some expensive gas, we were on our way down the Stuart Highway.  Travel today will be about 160 miles.


You've heard about the "road trains" - tractor-trailers with several trailers in tow.  Really pretty scary when traveling on a two lane road at 81 mph!

It's real!  Almost all the trucks we pass are towing at least 3 trailers.  Many towing 4!

Amazing but apparently very efficient to do it that way.

I just thought I'd share a few photos of the roadside terrain.  It's certainly parched and fireswept here.

We did see several more kangaroos on the road side again today - but I never had my camera ready....and at 81MPH, you need to be ready to snap a photo or it's too late!

Almost all the scrubby trees had evidence of fire.

On our way to Katherine, we stopped at Edith Falls for a few hours.  We took a 2.6KM loop hike to the upper falls.  Here's the view from the top.  Again, an oasis of green in the otherwise parched environment.

This is the "Upper falls" - actually the prettiest spot.

Duane and I, once again, braved the chilly spring-fed water to swim to the falls.  It's about 95 degrees - so the water felt wonderful once we were submerged.

We spied a large lizard basking in the sun on the rocks - he was about as long as your leg!

View leaving the upper pool.

On the walk back, we spotted a  Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo.  You'll have to trust me.  I didn't get a photo with his tail feathers exposed.....it is quite dramatic when he flies.

But this is a photo from the internet showing what he really looks like - it's pretty cool!

That's it for today.....stay tuned for Katherine Gorge touring tomorrow.