I went back to Alice Springs for a night and then on a 3 day bus journey to Darwin. To be honest, there really wasn't much on the 1500 km ride between Alice Springs and Darwin. Just one straight road, the occasional huge termite mound, and a lot of nothing. Mostly the stops we made were to get gas, for bathroom breaks, and for meals. We stopped at Wycliffe Way, which is a tiny little town about 200 kms north of Alice Springs. The residents SWEAR they have been seeing UFO's, and the service station is decorated with Aliens and inside is a board with all kinds of newspaper clippings about UFO sightings.

The first night of the three day trip, we stayed at a campsite where the owners had a kangaroo and wallaby as pets. I've been looking for a place where I could get a photo of both in one picture so I could answer Ed's question about what the difference is between the two. Voila! This picture really accuents the difference between the two becuase it is a Red Kangaroo, which is the biggest kangaroo there is, and the wallaby is a young one, about 4 months old. But the biggest differences between the two is that Wallabies:

1. are smaller
2. have a shorter face
3. have shorter feet in proportion to their body
4. have a longer tail in proportion to their body

So there you go. Finally.

We also stopped at the Daly Waters Pub, which wouldn't have been very exciting, except that I found not one, but TWO University of Michigan Stickers!! The bartender said that the team stopped into the pub during the 1999 World Solar Challenge, the solar car race from Darwin to Adelaide. I knew the people on that years team! What a coincidance!

The only real thing we stopped to see was Katherine Gorge, where we had the option to canoe for 3 hours or take a 2 hour cruise down the river. Since we left Alice Springs, it seemed like the temperature jumped 10 degrees everytime we stopped. By the time we got to Katherine, it was really hot and the last thing I wanted to do was something that required energy. So I opted for the cruise down the river in the gorge. That night, I also got another nice sunset shot for my collection.

Another stop we made was at the Adelaide River Inn, where I had my FIRST celebrity sighting. Charlie, the water buffalo from Crocodile Dundee I and II lives (lived) behind the Adelaide River Inn. Unfortunately he died in 2000 from colon cancer, so he was actually stuffed and displayed proudly inside the bar when I saw him. So he wasn't human, or alive, but I'm still counting it as a celebrity sighting.

Now I'm in Darwin, hot and humid capital of Australia, and tomorrow I'm leaving for a 3 day hiking trip into Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks.