9 - Australia

Today really was just a long day relocating from Jabiru  back to Darwin.

But, we did get to make a nice stop for another hike along the way.  This was the Mamukala wetlands.   Amazing to see all the wetlands teaming with life surrounded by the otherwise desolate terrain.

Went for a 3KM hike - fairly early so it wasn't too hot.

Just a nice trail thru scrub - quick as a wink a wallaby ran by.  Didn't get my camera out in time!

But later in the hike I spotted a dark shape in the shadows.  Can you spot her (him)?  I wandered slowly into the scrub....

This was the best shot I could get...

And quick as another wink - it was hopping away!

About an hour into the drive to Darwin, we were stopped by this nice young man doing road paving.  He sauntered up to each car - he said to us - "Good'day Mate - sorry, but 'cha are gonna have to wait 'bout 10 minutes - they've sprayed the tar up ahead".  Really, he said just that!  Almost everyone we meet on a trail says "Good-day".  Just like in the movies!   He wasn't even sweating - and it's 100 degrees just then!  We waited with the a/c running, thank you....

Photos from the roadway....really, I'm about tired of the constant scrubby trees and termite mounds for miles and miles and miles.....

Back to civilization!  We're near the Darwin airport at a very nice hotel.

Still very hot but a comfortable tropical oasis before our flight southbound across the country  tomorrow to Melbourne.

I've re-arranged all our luggage - all the shorts and swimsuits in the "carry into the hotel" bags have been replaced with long pants and rain jackets.  The southern coast will have highs in the 50's, wind and rain.  What a difference!

8 - Australia

Today the schedule was to head further north towards Jabiru.  First a stop at "Yellow Water" - really just a swampy area for a little walk.  We did see a crocodile!!  Luckily, it was far away!

Lots of birds.  We saw this bird get attacked by one of the white parrots.

In just an instant, the parrot claimed the tree for itself!

On northward on the Kakadu highway.

About an hour away is the Nourlangie Rock - it's the home to much aboriginal artwork and some aboriginal "homes".

A kangaroo -

Various warriors -

This is Nourlangie Rock - the overhangs are where the aboriginies made their homes during certain seasons.  The paintings are usually sheltered by overhangs.

View out onto the plain from a vista on Nourlangie.

Onward - we stopped for a walk around the Anbangbang Billibong.  2.5KM in the blazing sun!   I did see a very large golden colored kangaroo, but he was gone into the brushy scrub before I could point my camera!

The highlight of the day was about an hour north at Ubirr.   Beautiful rock art and views.

Trying to show you the perspective of the overhangs that made their "homes".  Huge!

And here is the view from the top of Ubirr rock.  beautiful flood plain.  This would all be water covered in wet season.

View 180 degrees standing on the crest of Ubirr rock.

At our little cabin at Kakadu Lodge now in Jabiru...

Glad to be out of the 100 degree heat/sun.  Thought I'd show you some of our refreshment.....enjoying the local brews!

7 - Australia

Today we headed north on our loop tour of the Northern Territory.  Destination Cooinda Lodge in Kakadu National Park - about 3 hours total driving.

One observation I've made - is that there are no wooden telephone "poles" like we know them.  They're all completely metal - this is just a normal road-site pole.    I assume that's because there is so much burning of the terrain.

We stopped along the highway for several different walks.  This one was Bukbukluk. Nice overlook.

Even in the arid climate, there are a few pretty flowers.  This plant had no leaves, just flowers.

And fruits from some palms.

Another stop was Gungurul - a walk towards the creek warned of crocodile danger....

Not to fear - no crocodiles since there was no water!!  Here is the dry riverbed.

Forecast today was 100.  Yes, very hot!


Really desolate in places.  We tried to go down this outback road in our little rental car - but ended up having to turn around because of a very rough creek crossing.  The ranger had told us we could probably make it even though it was marked 4WD only.

Still heading north we stopped at the Mardugal Billabong for a 1KM walk.  Still HOT!!!

Pretty views of the Alligator River.

Didn't get too close though!  No sticking my toe in this one!

And after settling in our nice room at the Cooinda Lodge, we took a short walk around the resort.  Spotted this white parrot.   Even at 7PM it's still HOT!!!  All for today.

6 - Australia

Out for breakfast this morning - just a little ways out of town - a neat little "food truck" type venue that came with high ratings online.    I was surprised when Duane agreed to go since it's not his normal style.   Nice food, coffee and tea.  The early morning temperatures are actually quite chilly - so sitting outside was actually very pleasant.

On the schedule today is a visit to Nitmiluk National Park - also known as Katherine Gorge.  I had very high hopes that we would do a full day of hiking here.  It's a series of 9 gorges on the Katherine River - each little body of water separated by a little land mass.

We ended up just seeing 2 of the gorges - 4 1/2 hours of torture!!  Hot!  It was forecast to be 98 degrees and I'm sure it was at LEAST that!


Here's our track from the Garmin watch.  Look at those calories!  I don't know if it's right or not, but I think I'll eat a big dinner tonight!

A side note - we've seen these signs several times - I think lots of Americans would be disappointed.  They don't appear to appreciate pets in any park we've been to!

The trail started off dry and dusty.

Duane leading the way.  At this point the trail is pretty easy to follow.  We're both carrying 2 liters of water in our packs and some snacks.  There are also water tanks at strategic points on the trails. (It's warm water, yuck)

View at the top - pretty nice!

I just had to add this photo - sorry it's a bit blurry - but I did almost capture a male red-tailed black cockatoo in flight.  It really is spectacular.

Some of the trail was really just climbing up a hill with a bunch of rocks!   Twisting an ankle up there would be bad, bad news!

Here's the view in the other direction.  Just dry, dry and hot!

Beautiful views from the top of the cliffs though.

At this point in the hike, I'm really not feeling too well.  I've drank about 3 liters of water....(I filled up my 2 liter bag at one of the water tanks).  Duane is doing fine, but I'm a bit light-headed and almost nauseous.  Luckily, we only had about a mile left and it was mostly downhill back to the car-park.

We noticed a huge number of bats hanging from 10 or so trees.  Quite the racket they made!

I caught one mid-flight.

I think I was on the verge of heat-stroke by the time we made it back to the cool a/c of the Welcome Center.   Seriously!  I plopped down on a bench and just rested for about 5 minutes before I moved.

But, I quickly recovered!  By the time we arrived back at our motel room, I was feeling much better.   A nice long cool shower did the trick and my face returned to normal.

Interesting tidbit - we had put 50 SPF sunscreen on all our exposed skin  - I noticed my shoulders and upper arms ( that were covered by the green shirt) were sunburned!!!  The areas that had sun screen were fine....but the areas that just our shirts covered were sun-burned.   I guess our shirts had close to 0 SPF!

5.5 - Australia

A little more of day 5!

Since we arrived at Katherine a bit early, we had a snack and a little rest.  Got all settled into the Beagle Motel for 2 nights (one our longest stays in one place of the trip!!)  

It's  comfortable room, but it is a bit strange that there are bars on lots of the windows in the area - and the small motel has a 8' fence around it  - and a gate that closes at dark.  You have to have a code to get in the gate after dark.  Hmmmm.  I didn't read anything about a safety issue here!  I asked the lady at reception when I checked in if the area was safe.  Her reply was, "oh yes, it's fine....but I wouldn't walk around in town after dark."  Hmmmm.  I don't think we will walk around in town after dark!   We're in the middle of nowhere - this appears to be the only town in about 100 miles.  It seems about the size of Hendersonville when I was growing up, maybe a bit smaller.

I had read of the "Katherine Public Hot Springs" - got directions from the front desk.  After a little walk found the entrance.  It's a neat little gem - doesn't look like many tourists would go to the trouble to find it.

Just a warm little creek that feeds the Katherine River.  I don't know anything about the source of the heat - I don't believe this area is volcanic.....

But it is definitely warm.

The water is clear and the bottom is sandy.

It's just a lazy little creek that's about chest deep.

As you go further "upstream" it gets warmer but not uncomfortable.

The pool at the source is a popular spot.

There's even a designated "wheelchair ramp" -  it just slopes down into the creek for easy access.  Isn't that a neat feature?  

That's all for tonight!  Hope the jet-lag is better tonight!