November 14, 2004

Shopping at Birkenhead Point & Preparing to Leave!

This morning I got up early at about 7h30. I smelled the toast cooking downstairs and I guess I was hungry! So I came down, had breakfast, surfed the Internet, etc. Then I had a shower and watched some television but there was nothing else on than The Simpsons. When Andy's mother got home, she suggested I join her on a shopping spree at a discount mall in Birkenhead Point. I agreed and at 10h30 we were on our way. We shopped from 10h45 to 13h45. I bought a pair of pants from Colorado for 19,95$. They are really nice, brown-beige, corduroy, with many pockets. They did not have my size there so Andy's mother asked someone working there if they had it in the back and they did! But when I tried it on I saw that there was a bit missing at the back on the butt! It was broken! So I went out and said that they fit but I would only take another one of that same size because that one was not perfect. So the guy had to go check at the back again and thankfully they did have it! Andy's mother bought some things also in 3-4 stores and we went back to get the big items after our shopping was almost done. Then on the way out, I went back to Kathmandu to buy 2 little material pouches to store things like socks or so in them. Otherwise everything gets mixed up together in my backpack because there are no seperate little pockets for different things. At home, I had lunch and then went out again. I went on Darling Street and got money out of the bank for the trip. I also went to Woolworths to get a bag that sucks out the air to put my pillow in so that it would be more compact in my backpack and not take so much space. That set me back 7$. I picked up some bread rolls for Andy's mother and then came back home and had a nap, from about 15h20 to 16h15. Then I made muffins and now I am about to go finish packing and maybe watch some television in my room.

November 15, 2004

Darwin

This morning I left Balmain at 6h15 with Andy. He had to be at his work by 7h so we rushed to the airport and I was there by 6h45 and he had enough time to get to work. We did not leave Sydney on time though... The 9h35 flight left at 11h! They served us a nice brekky. In the plane I sat next to the owner of a competitor of the hostel I had chosen for Darwin. He said his hostel was better but the one I chose, the Cavenagh, was alright. I was tired and wanted to sleep but the two men in the row behind me kept talking and I had to put some music on with my CD player to sleep, the ear plugs could not filter their hard voices out! In Adelaide, we stopped for 1h in a tiny transit lounge with 1 store and one coffee stand. It was pretty boring! The second flight I watched a movie: I Robot. We got lunch which was pasta, bread and a drink. And for desert one tiny Tim Tam cookie which left me wanting more!! I had made it safely in Darwin. I found the shuttle bus right outside the Darwin airport and paid the 6$ fare to the driver. We waited 30 minutes before departing, but it did save me lots of money. The shuttle brought me directly in front of the Cavenagh. I checked in (40$ for 2 nights + 10$ key deposit). The hostel was dissapointing. The rooms were very old and looked nothing like what I had seen on the Internet. There was a pool but I did not use it. I went to the supermarket to buy food for Darwin and the train ride (juice, fruit, dry snacks, etc). After I walked along Cavenagh St, Bennet St, Smith St, Esplanade and Knuckey St. I saw a lot of Darwin I think and watched a beautiful sunset. After that I went to have a meal at Subway. There was a strange looking French dude there and he was having difficulty ordering in English so I helped him out. He asked if I wanted to sit with him so I did although I did not really want to! He told me about his travels hitchhiking to Alice Springs and I said I was taking the train down to Alice Springs. It started to thunder outside so I left quickly before the downpour would start. The room is full (4 people). I am with an Asian couple and one other Japanese girl. I used the Internet but I don't have much time, they are about to close the Internet room. There is huge rain outside... it just bursted out! Darwin is alright... the best until now was the sunset! Simply beautiful!!! I can't wait for Kakadu tomorrow!

November 16, 2004

Darwin Day Two, Kakadu National Park Tour

This morning Tim the tour guide from Aussie Adventures came at the hostel at exactly 6h30 to pick me up for a Kakadu National Park day tour. The first thing I noticed when boarding the bus is that I was the only passenger under the age of lets say... 40? There was an old granny and grandpa, a not so old granny and grandpa, a couple in their 40's and a lady who looked like she was anorexic she was so thin and could barely walk. What a tour this will be I thought to myself! Thanfully the driver was not too old (30's I'm guessing) and on our first trek outside the bus he said to me "You'r ethe odd one out today..." And explained that usually there are more younger people. Oh well! I was not going to let that ruin my day at Kakadu. The guide while driving was very informative and told us a lot about the area and funny annecdotes about previous tours of his. It was quite entertaining. Then at 7h30 I saw my first wild Australian animal: a wallaby! It was on the side of the road and quickly went away when he saw the bus. They are like kangorous but then smaller, like 1 meter or so. At 7h50 I saw 2 more wallabys that were running around together. At 8h, we stopped at a place called the Bark Hut for breakfast (at our own charge). I bought toast & jam (3$) and a drink (2,40$). The toast was so yummy...! I had only had some raisin cake thing for breakfast so it was nice to have proper warm and buttery toast! On the way to the Bark Hut I had seen a lot of termite mounts, big rocky things they build as their house. I wanted a picture of one... But the bus was not stopping! So when I noticed a nice termite mount near the Bark Hut I quickly went there to take pictures. I also saw a cute lizard/gekko with a black head with some white and brown body. It was about 30 cm long. Then we continued our journey towards Kakadu. On the way I saw some caddle from a farm. It was pretty gross because the animals were so thin I could see all their bones! I wanted to feed them with my granola bar/muffins! When we crossed the South Aligator River bridge, the guide said we could see crocodiles but I did not see any. Then we got to Ubirr Rock. The guide walked with us on the path through the different Aboriginal art sites. These paintings were made thousands of years ago but still are there today which is quite amazing. The guide told us the story of the different paintings and gave us extra info on things surrounding the paintings which was nice. There was one drawing of a Tasmanian Tiger even! He explained that before they were everywhere in Australia and once they were instinct from the mainland that's how they got the name Tasmanian. But they don't look like a tiger, more like a dingo the guide said! That's misleading! He also told me why the different termite mounts had different colours (pretty simple now that I think about it... the colour of the ground surrounding the mount!). Then we hiked at the top of Ubirr Rock to the lookout. It was a beautiful view, we could see Arnhemland as well as a billabong, a wetland. I was so hot my this point, I was all wet covered in sweat. Thankfully I had good deodorant on!! We were at Ubirr about 1h. After the trek, the bus driver quickly walked back to the bus to put the air conditionning on for us. I thought that was pretty good service! We arrived at the bus and it was nice and cool. I drank about 1L in 1h on that walk! Then we drove to Jabiru, a mining town. We had lunch (free) by the artificial lake that was made by the mining company. There were many birds and it was a nice setting. The guide left us there while he went to refuel the bus and do other things. He came back to pick us up 30 minutes later. Then we were off to the Visitors Centre. It was informative but it was so hot that I did not feel like reading everything so I went around quickly and then found an air conditioned spot in the library where I browsed through a book about Kakadu plants and flora. On the way to the Yellow Waters cruise at 14h10, I saw my first crocodile (from far and while moving on a bridge). It was just laying in the river watching the bridge. I was hoping to see more during the day! From about 14h45 to 16h10 we went on the Yellow Water Cruise. It was nice that the boat was not full (less than half full) because it meant I could walk from one side to the other to see things. At first we saw a lot of nice plants and many birds including sea eagle, magpie geese, ducks, etc. And many more that I cannot remember the name. I think about 10-12 different bird species. Then we saw our first crocodile! It was just the head out of the water by the side of the river, near the shore. We watched it for a while before it went under water. Then we contined on to search for more! We saw another one in the same area a few minutes later (so I believe it was the same one as the first!) so we followed him around while he swam peacefully. It was nice to watch him swim, very nice technique! We saw another one far away but by the time we got there it dissapeared under water. And then we saw a baby crocodile head on the way back to the pier. This one was spotted by a lady from my bus which I thought she was pretty good to have noticed that little head sticking out of the water! The Yellow Waters area was really green and full of wildlife, definitely worth going there. Then it was a toilet break and the long journey back. We stopped at around 18h45 for dinner at the Bark Hut. I had rump steak (17$). First they brought one to me that had sauce on it, but I did not want any sauce! I don't like sauce on my meat and chips... So I had to wait until they brought me another while everyone was already eating. I sat at the table with the younger grandpa/granny, the couple and the bus driver. The steak finally came and it was the most humoungous huge biggest ever! I ate almost all of it as well as most of the fries and the salad. People were surprised I ate so much and so was I! I gues that long day had made me hungry. Before leaving I bought a popsicle (raspberry/lime) and had that for dessert on the bus. The bus ride went by quicker than I thought. At about 20h, we spotted a python snake on the road. The bus driver stopped in front of it to let us see. He was lifting his head up from the road. The driver explained that he does that to spot preys. Then I received a phonecall from Andy! It was nice to be able to share my experiences of the day, especially that I had seen crocodiles in the wild!!! At 21h I was back at the hostel. I noticed a lot of Dutch things (shower gel from Kruidvat for example) in the room (the previous 3 roommates had left in the morning) so I knew my roommate would be Dutch. She indeed was. It was a lady in her late 30's I think. We talked for 15 minutes and then I went to bed.

November 17, 2004

Train Adventure on the Ghan & Helicopter Ride!

This morning I was up at 6h because the Dutch roommate was leaving. I got up, had a bit of breakfast and then packed my bag. After that, I went to the Internet at 7h. I wrote in my weblog and then I also looked up directions to the Darwin train station. I saw it was 20 minutes away and that a shuttle was leaving from the transit centre without any more information on times, etc. So I rushed to get my things, check out, etc. I got at the transit centre with plenty of time and realized I had left my food behind (orange juice, raisin cake and fruit!!!) I was so mad at myself. Luckilly I still had some granola bars and peanuts in my bag! At 7h50 I had left the hostel and by 8h I was ready for the shuttle, but it would only come at 8h45. There were many people also waiting in the same place. I was so hot and sweaty from walking there so quickly I felt like jumping in snow! The driver arrived and said we had to check in big bags and would not see them until our destination, so I quickly grabbed everything from the backpack and put it in my smaller pack. I had everything ready in case we had to check the big bags in so it was quick. The shuttle cost 9$. At the train station I got a glimpse of the Ghan and my first thought was: THIS TRAIN IS HUGE!! It was so long! 40 carriages at least, if not more! Inside there was enough space, like in an aircraft but wider seats and more leg space and the seat can be pushed back more. There was a toilet for the ladies not far from my seat and showers at the end of the carriage. Also a lounge and a restaurant. They did not have much in the restaurant though, for lunch I had a tosti with ham, cheese and tomato with a lemon soda drink (4,80$+2,60$). I also bought a tour of the Katherine Gorges (river with high rock walls surrounding it) by HELICOPTER! It cost 145$ but I thought it should be worth it and I had never been in a helicopter before. The other options were a cruise (I just done one in Kakadu) or canoe (I did not want to do this on my own) so the helicopter was perfect! I was getting excited about the helicopter and we finally arrived in Katherine. We got aboard the busses which were waiting outside with different signs for the different tours in different busses. They weighted me and with my bag I was 60kg! It was to make sure the flights would be balanced in weight. I was handed a thing to read about how the flight would go but it was not the flight I had chosen! I wanted the 13 gorges and this paper was about the 6 gorges and the town! I was getting worried. But upon arrival at the helipad, the lady said she simply had given me the wrong sheet but this was indeed the 13 gorges.

The weather was about 40Celcius they said and that is humid also which was deadly!! I was first to go on the helicopter along with a couple of grandpa/grandma. The driver asked who wanted to sit in front and the grandma and I both said "Me!" but I was allowed to go. Yay! For the first minute or so it was a bit scary but then I enjoyed it a lot! The best was that my window/door actually did not have any door so it was just a big hole! Thankfully I did have a good seatbelt! When the driver would turn left, it seemed as though I was falling out of the helicopter!!!! The Katherine Gorge was beautifulllll! So special to see it from the air! The flight was over before I knew it. I wanted it to go longer!! Then we were brought to the Visitors Centre where I learned about the local aboriginal culture and watched a video about it too. I also bought postcards and some orange juice. I went outside to go to the ladie's room and saw a little wallaby there eating the green grass of the lawn! He was so cute! Wallaby is like a little kangoroo. I took pictures of him and to my surprised he was not scared and kept eating. Only when I moved abruptly he ran/bounced away. Back at the train I had a shower in the tiny showers on the train! It was funny that the waste water of my shower went through a hole directly under the train! Then I had dinner which was some beef casserole with rice and veggies. It was just ok. Then I watched the evening movie Win A Date With Tad Hamilton which was just ok too. After I tried to sleep but everyone just kept going through the doors which made a huge racket and I could not sleep. So I listened to music really loud and eventually was able to fall asleep. Then I woke up many times in the night because I got uncomfortable so I tried to find another position to sleep in which would be better.

November 18, 2004

Arrival in the Red Centre & Alice Springs

At 5h, I was awake and watched the sun coming up. The landscape had changed, it was now only few small trees and grass. At 7h, I went to have breakfast which was toast and yogourt (4,50$). I saw a few dingoes along the way, they are like dogs, but smaller and not so fat and also orangy coloured. I also saw 2 kangorous hopping away! I was getting excited about Annie's Place and Mulgas tour to come, hoping it would be as good as I had heard. We arrived in Alice Springs at 9h10. I saw outside the Annie's Place van and 2 girls holding signs with one that had my name on it, well almost... "Crystal". I got onboard the bus and they brought us to the baggage claim area, it surely was better than walking 10 minutes in the 40 degrees heat! I thought the staff were very friendly, just as their saying says "The friendly backpackers". I checked in and was put in a room with 5 other girls, room number 3. I got the top bunk which was the first time in my hostel experiences. The room was facing the pool area. It had a shower+toilet and a washbassin in a seperate place. I liked this hostel better than the one in Darwin for sure! I then checked my emails and wrote in my weblog. Internet was half price until 17h, so it cost me only 1,20$. There were 2 Quebec people there, a couple. I heard them speak so I started a little conversation. It was nice. They were from Laval.