on the road again

I have finally left Darwin... it took us just over a month. A month of sitting. Sitting, drinking, sleeping. Part of the reason for the lack of blogs in Darwin is due to the fact that there was really nothing to write about... I spent my days at the beach, and my nights in a hostel parking lot. In retrospect I really should have used that time to work (I may say that I looked, but the truth is I was overly picky and very lazy about it... I had the opportunity to have at least 3 jobs, they just weren’t “right”)... my financial standing leaves much to be desired (arrived with $4000, down to $1000) but, that should be enough for the petrol to Cairns (they have me using words like “petrol” now... it's just easier than saying “gas” no one knows what I'm talking about... oh! And the Aussy's call a cooler an eski... wft?) and as long as I eat cheap (hooray for $1 cans of spaghetti) and stay in inexpensive campsites (you'd be pleasantly surprised how often you can get away with not paying at some) it should be okay. And I will have to work as soon as I get to Cairns (or I could just start taking donations from friends and family back home who don't want me to come back to the country and sleep on their couch... ... ... ... yes. That means you) I will survive.

bye bye Darwin!

We left on Wednesday, the destination is Cairns which is just over 3000 km. I am traveling in the van with my friend Tina, and two British friends who are traveling in their truck (which we are hoping doesn't break down... they took it to a mechanic and were told it needed $2000 of work... oil leaks, break fluid leaks, broken brake something... they didn't have the money, so we are taking it slow and crossing our fingers...)

Jack and Garith, the British blokes in their sketchy truck

This experience (traveling a long distance while stopping at campsites along the way) brings back memories of my childhood. My parents used to take us on these two week trips where we would travel around from campsite to campsite. At the time, I remember being old enough to know I didn't want to spend that much time with JUST my family, and still to young to appreciate what an awesome experience it was (I have seen some amazing sights on those trips). If I had known that I would myself embark on such adventures, I think I would have laughed in disbelief. Yet, here I am... driving by day, hunting cheap campsites, and enjoying the road. One significant difference, however, is that we do not have a route planned, and we do not know how long we will take to do it. We are basically winging it.. we wake up in the morning and then decide if we feel like moving, then take a look at the map and think about how far we feel like driving, and if there are any sights on the way we feel like seeing, we stop. (and I wonder if my parents current adventure is more like my own, or structured as my memories) It sounds easy, but we are four people with four different opinions. Thus far there has been no disagreements... we seem to be a laid back group... but we are only three days in... (don don doooooon)

So, where are you Heather and what have you been doing?? What?? I thought you enjoyed my ramblings... but I suppose I should add in things about the sights that I see... since I am sure that is what most of you want to hear about (or you just wanna hear me ramble cuz you miss me).

We haven't made it far... maybe 150 km from Darwin (hahahah, you can laugh now... we travel at a snails pace). Litchfield National Park was the first stop. We spend two nights at the Buley Rockholes campsite. The sight itself wasn't much to see (I swear, it is IMPOSSIBLE to find shade in this country... all the trees are these little sticks with a few leaves) but we got away without paying the fees (we would have if someone had asked us too, but it was a place where there was no one there to ask... you know, just put the money in the box. I guess you could call it stealing... I prefer to look at it as “borrowing” a sight for a few nights and mindfully leaving everything as it was when I got there). What really gets me is that you actually HAVE TO go out and find your own wood from the PARK. Maybe I don't really pay attention (hehehe, we all know I NEVER pay attention), but I am pretty sure your not supposed to go around and ravish the provincial park grounds in Canada (correct me if I'm wrong) As I remember, you either bring your own wood, or buy it from the camp ground attendant. You can't do that here because you are not allowed to bring any outside wood into the park (Australia has a very delicate ecosystem, so they are afraid that if you bring wood from another area you may bring in alien bugs or something). So, there are some beautiful places to swim here... with waterfalls and wonderfully cold water (which is a little piece of heaven when it's so freaking hot all of the time). And there are some pretty cool termite mounds to see. I would absolutely recommend a stop there if you are in the area. Unlike Kakadu National Park (did I forget to tell you of the Fuck You Kakadu adventure??? Lets just say it was two mosquito filled days driving around a park only to find out that you need four wheel drive to get to any of the good spots. Not to say that you shouldn't go to Kakadu... go there, but go there with four wheel drive. Actually, if you decide to drive around Australia, get something with four wheel drive... there are lots of back roads with free camping that we can't get to).

thats me in the middle tanning at the Buley Rockholes

more buley rockholes

our first attempt at cooking on the campfire...

I can't remember the name... some lookout

Wangi falls

there is a cool little pool in the rocks to sit in... like a really deep hot tub!

magnetic termite field

Florence falls

Now we are in Adelaide River. We were aiming to see the crocodiles jump in the Adelaide River (apparently you can feed them and they jump out of the water) but we found out that that attraction is actually NOT in Adelaide River, but somewhere ON the river closer to Darwin (points for our amazing preparation and research into our trip). That's okay though, we are paying $7.50 each for a sight with power so we get to charge up all of the electronics, AND there is internet so I can post this blog :-) (oh, yeah, so... travelling though rural Australia means there will most likely be limited internet, so limited blogging opportunities)

Aaaaaaaaanyway. I am sure there will be some interesting adventures to come (the van was making an interesting sound today... sounded like water was boiling inside... overheating maybe??) The British blokes we are with are not what you would refer to as outdoorsy men (but they are doing their job... building fires and finding wood) and we are all terrible at map reading and general directions (seriously, those guys miss the turn EVERY time) And there are plenty of sights to see.

Jack is VERY proud of his fire

I am always amazed at how much crap comes out of my little noggin when I sit down and write. Seriously... I'm thinking... no, can't blog.. nothing to write... them BAM two pages of me prattling on. Hahhah... and your STILL reading these. Jeez.