Darwin

Our trip to Darwin was an unforgettable one.
We started out on a Sunday night around 9 o'clock and made our way to the Brisbane airport. We hopped on a flight and got to Darwin at about 1:30 a.m. We decided that it would be too much hassle to try and check into a hostel for only a few hours before we left for our tour. We picked up our bags and headed back up to the gates to find a place to sleep. The airport was full of night time travellers for a few hours and then it suddenly emptied and all that we heard were the garbage cans opening and closing for the janitors to change the liners. We fell asleep in a corner until it was time to meet the shuttle. That is when I realized my shoes were no longer with us. I must have left them in the security check point because our bags had to be hand searched for aerosel (sp?) cans. So here I was going on a hiking and camping trip with no shoes!
With nothing to do about it we headed down to the shuttle to make our way into the city. To our dissappointment the shuttles were not longer there because they only hung around when flights came in. Since it makes way more sense for all flights to come in at 1:30 a.m. and not 7 a.m., there were not shuttles. WE took a taxi in.
We were a few minutes early so we hung around the hostel until the tour guide came to pick us up. Well at 7:45 we realized the tour guide was about 30 minutes late so I turned my phone on and I had a phone call. It was the office and apparently tehre was miscommunication and they were looking for us at the wrong hostel. Things were not going too well at this point...
There were three people from Demark also waiting for the same tour so it wasn't too bad.
I told the tour guide I had no shoes and he seemed to think that I would be able to do everthing with flip flops. We all piled in to the 4wd and headed off to Kakadu National park.
On the way to the park we did a crocodile cruise where we jump on a small boat and feed crocodiles buffalo meat so they jump out of the water for us. On our way to the cruise our drive made a sharp stop and u-0turn. He saw a cukabara on the side of the road and decided to pick it up to get it some help. A cukaboro is a very loud bird here that sounds like a monkey. It has a large beak and it's quite cute. WE all took pictures before he turned it in. On the way to the cruise we also saw a buffalo and a few wallabys bouncing around. The whole group got to hold a water python before we started. I sucked it up and had it around my shoulders for a few minutes. Once it turned it's head towards me I was done.
It was time for the cruise. We walked down this little ramp to the 20 ft boat and began our journey on the crocodile infested water. There was an unbelievable amounts of flys. Even with our group soaked in bug repellent the bugs seemed to be unharmed by the wall of poison around us.
The lady in front tied buffalo meat to a long sticka nd held it about the water. She then hit the water with the stick a few times to grab the crocodiles attention. Sure enough two eyes began to swim towards us causing a small wave behind him. The only way we could tell that a huge monster was appoaching us. She hit the water with the meat and the crocodile jumped out of the water exposing his whole body to the air. This process was repeated several times.
The driver of the boat was an eerie man and he kept warning us that crocodiles are going to become a huge problem. He said that there are so many now and tehy are in every body of water in the northern territory of Australia. They usually don't attack things bigger then them but there is now an overwhelming amount that are over 3 meters long. That is 12 feet for you metric system beginners.
The driver banked the boat and the meat keeper held the meat out on land to make the croc go out of the water. THis particular one was about 3 meters long but all you can see his teeth when his wide open mouth attacked the buffalo meat only a few inches away from the boat. It was a scary thing to watch but so exciting at the same time.
On our way back the driver noticed a white tailed eagle and the women held up some meat. The eagle swooped down and grabbed the meat in a matter of seconds. IT was so beautiful to watch the bird fly down with it's massive wing span. It was just unbelievable.
After our tour we loaded back up in to the 4 wd and took off for Kakadu. By now it started to really rain hard but we decided that we would go on the hikes anyways. He took us up the rocks to see caves that were left by the aboriginals. It was a pretty place but we were absolutely soaked as the sky opened above us and the whole ocean poured down on us. We decided we were already wet so we might as well continue our hikes. We hiked up some rocks and some people went swimming in a water hole. It was a prety site. It was pretty hard to walk up slippery walks with only flip flops on but I made it work. It was absolutely beautiful.
AFter that we headed for camp to have dinner and get settled for the night. It was pouring down rain so we go tall settled in the "waterproof" camp. It was a huge tent with a dinner area and somewhat of a kitchen and about 8 small tents for 2 people each to sleep in. We all changed out of our soaking wet clothes and helped prepare dinner. We ate kangaroo, veggies, and mash potatoes. After dinner our guide taught us the Didgiree Doo. The Didgiree Doo is an instrument that the Aboriginals used to make music. It is basically a hollowed out piece of wood that you blow into. It was fun to learn and a lot harderd than we thought.
Our guide (his name is Steve) then went outside and did some fire spinning. He spun around fire on two strings around his head. It was pretty cool to watch but then he got so into it he didn't pay attention to anything else.
The bathrooms were far away so we all loaded up in the truck so we could make a toilet run. There was a swimming pool there as well so we decided to go for a swim.
As we were swimming there was lightining everywhere and it started pouring on us. It was really fun though. We told jokes and swam around. I think I probably had the best jokes. haha
It was getting late so we headed back to camp. We all changed out of our swimsuits and headed to bed.
It poured all night long. I mean really all night long. If you walked out of the campsite for 1/2 a second you would have been soaked. Everything around the site flooded outside. I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and there was no where to go. So I panicked for a few minutes. then I woke up Meribeth asking her what I should do. I said it's raining and there might be snakes outside, what should I do. She said bring your towel. lol. She rolled over and went back to bed. So I was on my own. I grabbed a towel and my cell phone. I put the towel on my head and opened my cell phone so I could get as much light as I could and I made a run for it.
Really it's probably one of the funniest things somebody could have watched. I'm getting absolutely soaked like I just jumped into a pool. My big dry towel turned into a damp hankerchief over my head. My little cell phone light gave me about 1 inch of visibility so I'm running through the bushes with my little light trying to scare away the snakes. I decided on a spot then realized earlier that the guide said if you go right in front of the campsite the water will carry it in. So I'm on the run again almost in tears because I am so scared of the snakes. What snake in their right mind is just going to be hanging out in the pouring rain right near our campsite I have no idea. But this logic doesn't run through your head at times like this. So I finally found a spot and then ran back into the camp site. I hung my towel up to dry and then I just went to bed. I was so frustrated and overwhelmed of the experience I didn't even want to find dry clothes. haha it's pretty funny to think about now.
So we woke up in the morning and it was still pouring down rain. Lightning hit about 10 meters from our site. That was pretty scary because people up there get hit by lighting quite frequently. So we pakced up and headed for the truck.
The plan for today was to do a hike but since it was raining so hard we detoured towards a cultural center to watch a video on Kakadu and learn about the Aboriginals. It was pretty cool to learn about the area. We saw a video about crocodiles and how they pretty much live in the same area, when it's wet or dry. When it's dry they bury themselves in the mud until it gets wet again. So they could be anywhere, not just in rivers or streams.
After the cultural center, the rain slowed down so we were able to continue with our walks. The idea was to go to a waterfall and then climb up some rocks to get a beautiful veiw of the area.
Well the hike turned into water wading for about 2 kilometers. The water eventually got up to our waist and I was starting to freak out. We had just watched a video about how crocdiles could be anywhere and here we were walking through waist high water. If there was one around we had no hope!
We made it out and up to dry land where we decided to have lunch. Apparently this little trickle of a waterfall had turned into a monstrous downpour of water because of all the rain we had. The water just took over the land causing huge ponds of water up to about 4 feet deep.
I thought to myself phew that is way too much for us to cross over we're not going any deeper. My thought was interrupted by Steve saying well we should all link arms so we can get through this. What!?!
It took everything in me not to cry. It was either stay here by myself for hours or suck it up and walk through this possibly crocodile infested, and god knows what else, water and go the rest of the way with everyone. So we linked arms and headed into the unknown.
The water was about 4 feet deep. There were tons of branches and rocks underneath the water because this is usually dry and just land here. So we had to jump over rocks and walk slowly in case there was an unexpected drop or the water got stronger and we were picked up and carried away.
All of us made it across and thank god we were going higher and up rock so we didn't have to go through water anymore. We climbed these huge rocks up to a rock cave where Aboriginals have made painted hundreds of years ago. I had to stop here because I didn't have shoes to walk with and it was too dangerous with flip flops. So I had to sit with another girl while everyone else ventured to the top.
Finally they headed down and we all preceded back to the dreaded swamp we had to cross over.
We went back over and I thought okay the worst is over. Well we get to a crossing point and he decides we're going to look at another waterfall. The water is travelling pretty fast from this direction and I was not excited about this! We walk a little ways and there is a huge sign saying Be ware crocodiles infest this area! Oh no there is no way I'm going and by this time there are 3 other people that decide it's not a good idea either. Well for some reason they change their minds and it's time to go into the water. My eyes are teared up again and I'm becoming quite the cry baby. I j ust have this vision that I am always going to be the one that gets eaten. The water is getting stronger and stronger here and quite deep. Finally we get to one stop and the guide finally decideds it is too dangerous to continues. The water is running too fast and there are too many rocks and branches to fight through to get there. so we turn around and go back. I hit a rock and fell into the water pretty hard. I still have the scar to remember it by.
We finally make our way out of the water and hit dry land. We are all soaked and eaten alive by insects so the truck could not have come any sooner.
We had to now head to another camp because the camp we stayed in the night before was flooded. The ride was about 3 or 4 hours so it was not too exciting for us. But we survived and talked amongst ourselves throughout the ride. We got to the new camp and once again made dinner. This one had an enclosed area for dining and then it had a seperate bunk room that was air conditioned for us to sleep.
We made dinner and then went straight to the rooms to clean up and go to bed.
In the toilets in the bathroom there were green frogs in the bowl of the toilets. There were 3 toilets and all of the bathrooms had frogs except for one. so the line was a mile long waiting for that toilet. The last thing anyone wanted was for the frog to try and escape while someone was using the toilet. So we all waited...
There were spiders, mosquitos, and biting flies everywhere! Insect repellent was not gaurd against these suckers either. I looked like I had chicken pox by the time I left the place.
So we went to bed. As were in bed we saw lightning strikes all over the place. Meribeth and I wanted to go out and see it so we took off outside to watch the lightning. it wasn't raining so we were okay. The lightning was beautiful.
while we were out there we met a guy from another group. He was Canadian and he was in the military for them. he was just out travelling for a while before he had to go to Afghanistan. We chatted with him for a while and then turned in for the night.
the next morning we again woke up bright and early, packed up our gear and headed over for breakfast. For breakfast we had cereal and toast. today we planned on going to see some more waterfalls and go for a swim.
We hiked about 3 kilometers to a giant waterfall. It was absolutely beautiful. it reminded me a lot of Yosemite. The guide jumped right in but decided the water was pretty strong and everyone should take it easy.
Another group came up and everyone just jumped right in. So our group got a little more gutsy and jumped in. there wasn't really a chance for crocodiles because the water was really deep and we were pretty high up. Crocs don't like to climb rocks so I guess we were okay. We swam for a while, took pictures, and laid around. then is was time to go to another waterfall.
We walked about 3 kilometers to the next waterfall. This waterfall was beautiful. it was 3 pools that poured into each other. We all jumped right into this water. We swam directly under the waterfall and took tons of pictures. A couple people thought it was funny to go under water and grab our feet. I did not find that too funny...
We ate some lunch by the side and then ventured up to the very top of the waterfall. It was a little hike straight up through the rocks. Once at the top we had a beautiful view of the water fall all the way down and the whole area surrounding them.
We went for a swim up there and the water was very deep. I started getting nervous of how deep it was and not being able to see the bottom. The guide then went down to the area where the water went off the rocks and straight down. He swam across and me and another girl followed hiim. As I jumped in the water started trying to carry me down the cliff! What a great idea this was. Well it scared me so much that I decided to get out and go around the other side so I dind't have to cross the water again. I went up and jumped in the water at the top and jumped out of the water and scared the people half to death at the top. It was pretty fun.
We made our way back down to the bottom, gathered our things and headed off. We had another long trip ahead of us. We were all talking and having a great time. Our guide had got a little cranky so we stayed clear of him for a few minutes until he got over it. We stopped off to see the Charlie the buffalo from Indiana jones. We all unlaoded and started walking around this place trying to find where a buffalo would be. It looked like we had stopped at a bar/rest stop so we werne't sure why they would have a buffalo there. Well we went inside the bar and there was the buffalo. Big and stuffed in the corner! Steve hadn't informed us that we were coming to see a stuffed buffalo. so that was a pretty funny surprise.
We loaded up on drinks and snacks and started to make our way back to Darwin. We stopped again at an Aboriginal store and bought some CD's that were made with the didgiree doo. It was pretty good music. So we each bought a cd and then copied them for each other. We saw a pig and bird that had more personality than most people. It was great entertainment to watch the bird dance and talk. It was a Gala which is a parrot but with pink and white colors. It is beautiful.
Well we finally made it back to Darwin and got dropped off at the hostel. STeve told us we had vouchers for a free dinner at one of the bars. So we all made arrangements to meet up in an hour and a half.
It turned out we made a reservation at the wrong hostel. So we had to walk down the street to the right one. The lady was not very nice and the hostel was a bit dodgy. We already paid so we just settled for it and went to our rooms.
We ended up in the same room as another girl that was on our trip. So we got cleaned up and headed to dinner. Everyone showed up except for the older lady. We got a free dinner which ended up to be lasagna and chips. It was pretty good. The manager of the bar threw some pitchers of beeer on the table for us and we just hung out for a while and enjoyed each others company. The manager also gave us some raffle tickets. The winner got a 50 dollar beer tab. There were three winners and Meribeth had one of the winning tickets. The three people had to chug down a glass of gingerale and whoever did it the fastest one the tab. Meribeth killed the other two and we got the beer tab.
As we were hanging out a guy walked over to me and he really did not know how to approach someone because he stood behind me and said where are you from. I was like what? I wasnt sure he was even talking to me. He probably should have started out with a hi or something. So he sat down and we ended up talking for a lot of the night.
He decided it was time to kiss but I didn't really agree with that so he lost interest and walked away. I ended up hanging out the rest of the night with his friends. haha. They were great and they taught me alot about the area and about the crocodiles. They go wakeboarding and stuff all the time. I said what about the crocs. They said well nobody has ever been taken yet. haha that's not good enough for me.
During the night it was black light night so everyone could go get body paint on and they would light up under the lights. Meribeth got start all over her legs and another one of our friends got some stuff all over her arms and chest above her tank top. I didn't quite make it over there.
Meribeth ended up drinking a little too much and one of the bouncers started screaming at us that she had to leave. I took her into the bathroom and the bouncer followed us and said she had to leave. Me and another girl grabbed her and started taking her out. Then our giganitc Denmark friend (like 6'5 ish and about 300 lbs) swooped her up and took her out of the bar. Finally she was able to walk by herself and we slowly made our way back to the hostel.
It was a pretty crazy night to end an incredible trip. We met some of the coolest people on our trip and we are still friends with them. We are meeting two of them tomorrow and we met up with two others about a week ago. It is so great to take trips like these and meet such incredible people.
The next day we took a walk around Darwin and saw the sights. Darwin was at the front line of WWII. It was pretty cool to read a little bit about that. I had no idea Australia was that involved. There are aboriginals all around the city asking for money. It's really sad to watch. they have no jobs and they just beg for money. We all met up together and had one final dinner before Meribeth and I headed off to catch a plane.
When we got on the plane I met th emost talkative airplane passenger on the whole plane. The plane ride was about 3 hours and it was at 1 am in the morning. All I wanted to do was sleep. Lucky for me the guy next to me can't sleep on planes so he had lots to talk about. haha. He actually ended up being a really cool guy and I enjoyed talking with him. he works at the mines around Australia and gets to travel every couple of months to a new one. He was a very interestin guy and if anyone was going to keep me up all night on the plane I'm glad it was someone that was fun to talk to.
We finally arrived at about 5 in the morning. We had to wait a few hours for a ride. We came home and pretty much went straight to bed.
It was a great trip. My favorite thing so far in Australia. not Counting New Zealand.