C U in the NT as the slogan says, and seen the NT we have! It's been an unreal last 5 or so weeks since our last update and we sure have been exploring this great state intesly.
We hope everyone is well back home and we also hope you enjoy hearing of our recent travels!
Alice Springs
Cold! Yep, who would have thought in the middle of this country, the place with the red soil and the big rock would have been the coldest place since we left home. Maybe I was naive (Maddy tells me I'm an idiot!), but I suppose this is the desert and perhaps I should have paid more attention in geography class because I now associate the desert with temperature extremes, not just the stinking heat!!
Alice is an interesting place; alcoholism in the Indigenous seems to be a significant issue and one that gives the town a strange vibe. There are some decent little cafes, markets and pubs, but the hassle from drunks, smashed bottles all down the street and trashed houses make it a place we probably won't rush back to.
On a lighter note, we had one of the best nights of our trip in Alice with a whole group of similar aged travellers all doing the same lap as us. We shared stories, bitched about German backpackers, laughed alot, drank even more and it was topped off with Melbourne winning a memorable game of footy over in Perth!
West MacDonnell Ranges / Uluru
Our legendary friends Vicki and Jamie who accompanied us across the Tanami, joined us (or probably, we joined them!) for a 10 day loop out to the West MacDonnell Ranges & Uluru. This was such a great time consolidating our friendship and most importantly trading some of the best camp oven cooked dampers you could ever imagine!! The best two were probably chocolate chip and traditional with butter & strawberry jam; but I also just remembered Vicki's special savoury damper with cheese, bacon & spring onion .... unbelievable!!
We did a 16km hike up Mt Sonder which was awesome, and on the way up we bumped into Sim who I used to work with at St V's which was a bizarre chance encounter but great to have a chat and catch up. Kings Canyon was also super cool; incredible sheer cliff faces with large sandstone domes on top make this place quite unique, but subsequently this timed in with a hefty amount of tourists as we were now onto some pretty major attractions.
In saying that, Maddy and I were actually blown away with Uluru and The Olga's (even if there were tonnes of obnoxious tourists around!!!). Being an Aussie, I feel that the image of Uluru is probably the single most iconic landmark we associate Australia with. So to actually find ourselves here was somewhat surreal. We watched the sunrise over the rock and then had this unbelievable breakfast session just sitting there, music playing (The Shins and The Zombies for those wondering!), eating our pancakes and drinking our tea/coffee. Honestly we had to pinch ourselves.
And not to be outdone, The Olga's were probably as stunning, if not more stunning than the big rock itself. These are a collection of massive sandstone domes, some 180m higher than Uluru, that you can walk through and marvel at the bird life and native plants growing within. I think it's the element of surprise that makes The Olga's so enjoyable however I'm incredibly confident that if these weren't situated right next to Uluru, then they would receive more attention.
Mt Sonder
Kings Canyon
Vicki, Jamie and Maddy @ The Olgas
Breakfast @ Uluru
A moment we won't forget
Daly Waters Pub / Limmen National Park
After stopping in at Tennant Creek to visit another friend from St V's Charlotte, we found ourselves at the historic Daly Waters Pub. Now this place is seriously one of a kind. If you can find your way to the bar through the bras, boots, hats, stubby holders and just about anything else you can think of stapled to the roof and ceiling, then you've earned yourself a drink.
The live music comes from a one man band "Stevie's Still Rocking" who apparently plays there every single night of the year; and given his age, I think he's been doing it a while!! But boy does he know how to win the crowd over with the dance floor (outback courtyard next to the lawn mower shed) full for his entire set!!
We took a slight excursion out to Limmen N.P through the advice of some friends and were wowed by the Lost Cities out here. I'll let the photos tell the tales but it was definitely something quite unique.
Can you see our ID's stapled to the wall?!
The Lost City
Katherine / Kakadu
There is no way I can start talking about Katherine without speaking about our incredible friends/hosts Mareesa and Mal. We went to uni with Reese (the girl from Katherine!) and had the best week hanging out and being spoiled by herself and partner Mal. These two are so unbelievably generous and we actually can't thank them enough for going out of their way to look after us and show us round.
The highlight of the time was probably our day spent up at Edith Falls where we swam, hung out, ate lunch and got told off by the ranger!
Our time in Kakadu was enjoyable but we couldn't get our heads around the fact that we had to pay $80 to visit a couple of waterfalls; in comparison to WA where $80 gave us unlimited entry to all national parks in the entire state, and even the majority of NT where access to national parks is free. The major attraction Jim Jim Falls was great nonetheless with this particular water fall being the biggest single drop waterfall we have seen so far. Standing underneath it was crazy as the force of the water was what I imagine it to be like stuck in a monsoon!
We visited the infamous Cahill's Crossing renowned for big crocs, big barra, deaths, car rollovers and well, you get the message. We saw plenty of big salties and watched some idiots fishing in the water so close to the crocs; we also saw the remnants of a car that didn't make it across the crossing which was enough for us to make sure we didn't try and race the incoming tide just to say "I survived Cahill's Crossing".
Katherine Gorge
Gunlow Falls, Kakadu
Jim Jim Falls, Kakadu
Darwin
After about four months in what we would consider the outback, we made it to our next city and we didn't think much of it prior to our arrival, but we thoroughly loved it! Darwin is such a great place; markets, unbelievable weather, markets, cafes, markets, super friendly people and yep, more markets!!!
Staying with another legend Chusa whom Maddy met in the Philippines, we had a brilliant time checking out the 'city' and exploring the best of what Darwin had to offer. So the markets were actually really cool and it became evident how close we were to Asia with all the brilliant Asian street foods being sold; we definitely indulged.
Coincidentally Melbourne were playing footy in Darwin when we were there and one of the biggest current rock bands in the world Queens Of The Stone Age were also playing a show too. Both were great nights out and gave us both a little reminder of some of our favourite things we like to do when we are back home.
We also found ourselves ticking off a couple of really touristy things like visiting a crocodile park and swimming at the inflatable water park at the Darwin waterfront. It was pretty cool being so close to a few 5m/500kg crocs at the crocodile park and much to my surprise, Maddy was overcoming her inherent fears and loving it too! The water park was just about the most fun we have had in an hour on our whole trip; it was like we were kids again. Aquatic jumping pillows, hamster wheel and big slides kept us well entertained!
Crikey!
Litchfield National Park
Litchfield was the final piece of the NT puzzle and it had a fair reputation to live up to; with lots of hype surrounding this place since we had started planning the trip. It's close proximity to Darwin and majority of sealed roads make it very touristy, but boy is it beautiful.
Crystal clear water, rushing waterfalls and some deep river crossings off the beaten track made our few days here all really enjoyable. But it does go without saying that we are now more than ready for beaches again. I think we had started to become complacent with stunning waterfalls and found ourselves craving some sand between our toes and saltwater on our skin.
Luckily we've got a little 10 day adventure planned for Bali now .... with flights so cheap, there was no way we could say no!!!
7 months on the road, and having the time of our lives....bring on the East Coast!!
Florence Falls, Litchfield
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