Top End Pt. 2 (22521km)

Darwin is only a few hours drive from Kakadu and along the way the road runs through the Adelaide river floodplains. We camped at a rest stop in the middle of the wetlands because we wanted to visit an information centre called Window on the Wetlands. The camping spot we chose was possibly the worst choice we ever made. There was literally millions of mosquitoes. We had to burn one of those insect killing sticks inside the car to get rid of them and when we woke up the next morning there was hundreds of dead mosquitoes in the car. On top of the mosquitoes the weather was extremely humid. It was a horrible night. The next morning the information centre turned out to be a positive surprise. It was nice to get our thoughts away from the nightmare that had been.

Darwin
The last few weeks I and especially Annina have been missing a real bed so we decided to sleep in a hostel in Darwin for two nights. We got a nice double room with a awesome bed and a fridge and it felt like a hotel in comparison to the car. We could also buy food that needs a fridge again like cold milk, cheese and butter. Hot showers as often as you want is also a great thing! I really liked the hostel. It had a lot of trees and plants that made it feel like an oasis in the middle of the city.

Apart from relaxing and enjoying our new comforts in the hostel we also went out and explored Darwin. The city is named after the famous Charles Darwin by a friend that wanted to show him respect. The city is quite big for being so far away from everywhere else, around 100.000 people live in the area. One of the attractions we visited was a Taoist/Buddhist temple. There is a lot of Asian people in Darwin (especially Chinese) and they built the original temple in 1887. In 1974 cyclone Tracy destroyed the temple and the building you can see today is a rebuilt version. During WW2 Darwin was bombed by the Japanese and their oil reserves destroyed. The city decided to build underground storage tunnels to protect the oil from the air raids. But by the time the tunnels were completed the war was over. 50 years later the city opened the unused tunnels to the public and they are now the second most visited attraction in Darwin. Since I find stuff like that interesting I visited them as well. It was quite interesting to walk through these massive underground tunnels and to look at photos from WW2 that were on display on the walls.

Because Darwin is so far north the waters are almost always filled with box jellyfish which makes it extremely dangerous to go swimming in the ocean. On top of that there is always a crocodile threat in Northern Territory anywhere where there is water. To make people happy the city has created a project called the waterfront precinct where there is a beach with nets out in the water to stop the jellyfish and a wave lagoon next to it. The wave lagoon was a fun place to relax. Every half hour they make waves for the people to enjoy. You can either just swim around and have fun or grab one of the free bodyboards and go play. When you are bored of the water you can lie down on a beach chair and enjoy the sun. From the waterfront precinct we walked along the coast back to the hostel. The path took us through the Bicentennial park, a long park with lookouts, benches and plagues. My first impression of Darwin were not that great, but it changed as I explored the city.

That evening we went out partying. First we went to a bar where they showed Australia vs. Denmark, a friendship soccer match before the world cup. Australia won. Then we went to three different clubs. The two first were really backpacker places and the last one was more of a mix. We both had a great night and I was pretty drunk in the end :P I can remember eating a monster hamburger on the way back to the hostel and thinking it was the best burger I ever ate :) It was nice to do something different than just sleeping as soon as it gets dark. (There is not much else to do when you are camping at a rest stop along the highway).

We went to the Northern Territory museum and art gallery on our last day in Darwin. Originally we planned to be there for about an hour, but it turned out to be much more interesting than I first thought. It was a nice blend of art galleries and museum exhibitions. Among the highlights was a gallery of indigenous art, a natural history of Northern Territory exhibition, an exhibition about cyclone Tracy and a crocodile exhibition. I think we spent over three hours looking at everything and we still had to hurry through the last few things. I found the natural history section especially good. I took a lot of photos to try and show some of the things that I liked. Here is the album I made from our visit:

Museum and Art Gallery of the NT: 02. June 2010

http://picasaweb.google.com/fatsheep/MuseumAndArtGalleryOfTheNT

Litchfield National Park

We finally had to leave the NT museum and art gallery before it became to late to drive to Litchfield national park. Litchfield is located just south of Darwin and is a popular getaway for locals and tourists alike. There are many waterfalls and plunge pools to swim in and the area is rich in natural beauty. We arrived at a place called Florence falls that afternoon and went for a quick swim in the pool below. You could swim right through one of the two waterfall to a small hollow behind it. Big rocks were visible just under the surface in the middle of the pool and you could sit on them and relax. A few kilometers upstream is a place called Buley rockholes. Here a series of small waterfalls form several rockholes that are ideal for swimming in as well. It was getting to dark to go swimming, but we came back the next day. That night we camped at a campsite next to the rockholes.

Our first destination the next morning was a place called The Lost City. From the main road we had to drive a 4x4 track 10km into the woods. At the end of this road is the "Lost City". The place looks like ruins from a lost civilization. However it is just stone pillars and walls remaining from what was once a permanent layer of rock many many years ago. The place is still very impressive. We walked along the short track between the stone formations and it really did feel like it could have been an ancient civilization living there thousands of years ago.

Our next stop was the Tolmer falls lookout. The falls are not accessible to the public, but there is a walkway to a lookout with great views of them and the surrounding landscape. We then drove to Wangi falls. It is usually a great place to swim, but it was now closed due to increased crocodile risk. The Wangi falls are two waterfalls next to each other both plunging into the same pool below. Since we couldn't go swimming we walked the walking track around the falls instead. It went through moonsoon rainforest at the bottom before climbing up the cliff to the top of the falls. Here we had  a great view of the forest below. It was after the Wangi falls walk that we drove back to the Buley rockholes to swim.

The last thing we did in Litchfield national park was looking at the Magnetic termite mounds. These gigantic termite mounds can get over 2 meters high and are found where there is a clearing in the woods. There are no mammals in Australia that keep the grass growth down like in other parts of the world. Instead millions and millions of termites harvest and eat the grass keeping the natural circle complete. We saw these termite mounds the first time just south of Coral Bay on the west coast and could not understand what they were. From there they are seen everywhere along the whole north part of Australia. The Magnetic termite mounds of Litchfield were the biggest ones we have seen.

On the way back to Darwin we took a small detour so that I could go on a cruise on the Adelaide river. The cruise is famous for showing jumping wild crocodiles. As soon as we entered the boat we saw the first crocodiles swimming in the river. As we slowly cruised upstream the captain talked about the crocodiles living there. The ones that we saw were all saltwater crocodiles which are the biggest of the two species of crocodiles in Australia. They are also the most dangerous and can easily kill a human if they want to. They can get more than 6m long. From the second level of the boat a crew member was dangling pork chops down over the water and crocodiles were jumping into the air to get them. These crocodiles were 100% wild and apparently all crocodilian reptiles have the ability to jump. It was an amazing way to see wild crocodiles close up and to learn more about them. The biggest one I saw was about 4.5m. On the way back down the river at the end of the cruise one of the crew also fed a group of predator birds. She through the food into the air and the birds caught it midair. All in all the jumping crocodile cruise was well worth the money. I left with awesome memories and great pictures.

To save some money on fuel we decided to offer up our two back seats to fellow backpackers that needed a lift to Alice Springs. We posted an add on a website called Gumtree before Darwin and during our stay we decided on two people we wanted to travel with. This was the reason why we had to go back to Darwin after Litchfield national park. Back in Darwin we picked up the first passenger, a German girl called Nicole, and started the long drive south to Alice Springs. The next morning we stopped in Katherine again to pick up our second passenger, a French girl called Florence. It was nice to have some new company especially when you are driving the whole day. It's about 1500km to Alice Springs from Darwin and there is almost nothing to see on the way. As we drove south we also left the Top End and that means the end of this blog post. My next update will be all about the red centre and our journey through it.

Top End Pt. 1 (21021km, half way around the world)

As we left Kununurra it was only a short drive to the WA/NT border. Here we quickly stopped to make a few photos before continuing on towards the Katherine region. Katherine is about a days drive away from the border and we passed a few small towns on the way. It was quickly becoming clear that Northern Territory has a lot more forests and rivers than Western Australia. We crossed one big river called Victoria River and it must have been one of the biggest rivers I have seen so far in Australia.

Katherine Region

The next day we arrived in Katherine and the first thing we did was visiting the Katherine hot springs. Here we relaxed in the permanently 32 degrees water and enjoyed the morning under the shade of the palms. The hot springs come up from the ground just a few hundred meters away from the designated swimming area and there is a boardwalk that takes you to it. It was a really nice place and we came back two more times during our stay in the Top End.

Just east of Katherine is the Nitmiluk national park also called Katherine Gorge. Here we decided to do a 8.5km walk. First we climbed up the steep cliff to a great lookout of the gorge and the surrounding valley, then we walked through the terrain to another lookout further in. Here the Katherine gorge does a sharp turn and the view was spectacular. Not far from this lookout is a waterfall with a plunge pool below. Annina went for a quick swim in the cool water. It was a tiny oasis hidden away from the surroundings. When we got back to the car our legs were hurting but it had been a nice day!

We actually did one more thing this day before camping. At the other end of Nitmiluk national park is a place called Edith falls. To get there you either have to do a 5 day walk from the Nitmiluk visitor center (where we started our 8.5km walk) or you can drive back to Katherine and then head north towards Darwin for about 50km. From the highway you head east for another 20km and the road takes you right to the bottom of the falls. The Edith falls are not that big, but the pool below is. Here we went for a quick swim across the pool to the waterfall and back again.

Kakadu National Park

The next day we entered the famous Kakadu national park. We first wanted to do the whole place in one day, but we soon realized that Kakadu is way to big for that. Our first stop was a place called Gunlom. To get there we had to drive a dirt road 40km into the forest. It had been raining heavy the night before and the road was flooded several places. Especially two spots were bad. One place the river had risen over the bridge and we had to drive over it without knowing exactly where it was. But we arrived safely at Gunlom. Gunlom soon turned into one of my favorite places in Australia! A massive waterfall plunges into a big pool where you can swim and relax. Because of all the rain the plunge pool was flooded and the surrounding rainforest was full of water. Instead of swimming at the bottom of the waterfall, we walked the short but steep track up to the top. Here several small pools made an idyllic spot to swim and relax. Just upstream a few hundred meters was another smaller waterfall and it was possible to navigate the pools and stream all the way to it. It felt like an adventure! It was also possible to climb all the way out to the edge where the big waterfall plunged down. Here you could stand and look down at the people below and make some amazing photos of the water falling some 30m into the pool below. In the afternoon we wanted to drive back out and go to another place to camp but the bridge where the water was flowing over had now risen to 0.7m over the bridge and it was closed off. Since we could not leave until the next day we got free camping at Gunlom.

The next day we continued our journey through Kakadu. We stopped at a few lookouts along the Highway before heading towards Nourlangie. Nourlangie is famous for the many aboriginal rock art sites which are open to the public. It is also a important place for the aboriginals living in the area. Here we walked a loop of path that took us past all the different rock art spots and old shelters. This was actually the first place I saw aboriginal rock art in the nature. There was also a couple of lookouts in the area that we went too. One of them was by far better than the others, with amazing views of Kakadu and the Nourlangie cliff.

In the middle of Kakadu is the main town called Jabiru. Not far from Jabiru are two interesting centers. The first is the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre and the other is the Bewali Visitor Centre. The first centre is filled with information about the aboriginal culture and has some great informative displays. There is also a lot of aboriginal artwork to look at here. There is also heaps of information about Kakadu at the visitor centre. I enjoyed both places.

The last place we visited in Kakadu was Ubirr. Ubirr is located north in Kakadu on the border to Arnhem Land. Ubirr is another place with many Aboriginal rock paintings. I though the ones at Ubirr were even better than the ones at Nourlangie. Ubirr also has a great lookout over Arnhem Land and it is especially beautiful at sunset. This was what we wanted to see. Many people had apparently the same idea like us and we were a big group of people that watched the sunset. We took some great photos before heading back to the car and driving out of Kakadu. On the way out our car passed 470.000km and when I calculated how far we have driven I realized we just passed half way around the earth! (Equator).

North West (19459km)

As you go north the distances become longer and longer between each point of interest. It is not uncommon to drive a whole day. Our first stop on the long road to Darwin was a mining town called Tom Price. The town itself is not that interesting unless you are into mining. One of the worlds biggest mines are located here, a Rio Tintio open cut iron ore mine. From shopping at the local supermarket it became clear that mining is what everyone works with.

It was the Karijini national park that we wanted to visit and it is only a hours drive away from Tom Price. So the next morning after camping outside of town we headed towards Karijini. Karijini is one of the more remote national parks and the roads are gravel and in bad condition. It was a shaky drive between the different lookouts. One of the most impressive lookouts was called Oxer lookout. Here four gorges meet and the view is spectacular. Deep down in the gorge the water is slowly running and tall trees are growing, but up where we were standing there was just bushes.

Karijini national park is filled with gorges and they are the main attraction. We drove around to the different ones and took in the breathtaking views. Our last stop was a place called Fortescue Falls. The path took us down into the gorge where the water came down a waterfall. There was a pool at the bottom and we both went swimming. The water was nice and warm and you could swim right up to the falls and sit there. Above the falls the cliffs formed an amphitheatre and here you could sit and dry off in the sun. It was a really nice place.

It took us another whole day of driving to reach the next town, Port Hedland. Port Hedland is also an industrial town. All the iron ore from around Tom Price gets shipped here by train and then loaded into boats. There is also a big salt factory here. I didn't find Port Hedland that interesting either, we spent the day at McDonald's, surfing on their free wifi.

From Port Hedland it took another whole day of driving to reach Broome. We wanted to camp just outside Broome in the Dampier Peninsula, but it had been raining that day and the woods were full of mosquitoes. It sounded like a bee hive inside our car and it was impossible to sleep. We had to pack up and drive into Broome where we camped in the parking lot outside Woolworth (Supermarket). The next day we showered at Cable Beach, Broome's beautiful beach, before heading to Gantheaume Point just outside town. Here it is possible to see dinosaur footprints in the rocks when the tide is extremely low. The picture is from a replica located further up. The landscape here was wild with rocks next to the ocean.

We went back to Cable Beach in the afternoon. We swam in the warm ocean and I played soccer with a group of Danish and Italian backpackers. We then watched the sunset over the beach. Apparently this is a pretty popular thing to do, because close to a hundred people had shown up to see it. That night we tried to wild camp again in a different parking lot, but a person found us and asked us to leave. We moved to another location and this time we were not disturbed until the next morning when the ranger came around and asked everyone to leave. There was not much else to do in Broome, its not a big city and there are not that many attractions, so we headed east towards the WA/NT border.

The first town east after Broome is half a days drive away and called Fitzroy Crossing. Not far from Fitzroy Crossing is the Geikie Gorge national park. This is a beautiful place where the Fitzroy river runs through the gorge. The stone which was once a coral reef many millions of years ago is colored half white and half dark. The lower half is the white part. It looked really nice with the steep stone walls next to the water and the dried river bank. We went for a nice walk up along the river.

Heading east again the next town is called Halls Creek. It had kept on raining and the two main attractions around Halls Creek were closed because of the gravel roads. One was the Purnululu national park (Bungle Bungles) and the other the Wolfe Creek meteorite crater. However the weather ahead looked promising so we decided to wait. That night we camped at a place just outside Halls Creek called Caroline Pool, a natural waterhole. The next morning we checked out the old Halls Creek town site. The only thing that was left was the stone foundations. Halls Creek was the first place were gold was found in Western Australia and was a thriving town during the gold rush days in the late 1800. However when the majority of the gold ran dry, so did the people, and the town moved next to the highway. We also went to a place called China Wall where a sub vertical quartz vein comes up from the ground forming what look's like a wall.

We were quickly becoming bored of Halls Creek and decided to go to the Wolfe Creek crater even if the road was closed. It turned out to be an interesting, mentally exhausting and challenging drive. This gravel road was nothing like the other ones I have driven. It was shaky, rocky, muddy and overall bad quality and at places the road was still almost flooded. The worst part was that it was 130km of this road to the crater. But we got there safely and without getting stuck or damaging the car. The Wolfe Creek meteorite crater is the second largest in the world and is truly breathtaking. Just a short walk up the outer side reveals a large circular hole in the ground now covered with grass and small trees. The crater is over 880 meters wide and when the crater was new some 300.000 years ago the hole was up to 120 meters deep. But wind has filled it with sand and it is now around 20 meters under the surrounding terrain. That night we camped next to the crater before driving the 130km of shitty dirt road back.

We had to skip the Purnululu national park because it was still closed and here there was no possibility to drive on a closed road without getting into trouble. Instead we headed north from Halls Creek towards the border town of Kununurra. In Kununurra we walked in the Celebrity Tree Park and found the tree that Baz Luhrmann, the director of the movie Australia, had planted when filming the movie in the east Kimberley region. The east Kimberley region being the region roughly from Halls Creek to Kununurra. The landscape around us as we drove through the Kimberley was amazing. The hills and mountains look so different from back home and the highway snakes itself around them displaying one great view after another.

The only known deposits of a rare rock called Zebra rock is found in the east Kimberley region. A rock with characteristic stripes of white and brown. We visited a gallery in Kununurra that made all sorts of nice things with the Zebra rock. I took some pictures to try and show what the rock looks like and what they made from it.

The last thing we did in Kununurra and Western Australia for that matter was visiting the Mirima national park. It is  also called Hidden Valley and is located right next to the city. It was a nice place with a short walk up to a great lookout spot of the town and the valley. Kununurra is the end of the north west and the end of this blog post. We are now entering Northern Territory, but I will write about that in my next update.