Steve’s Travel Blog

Hello all,I have now reached Cairns (pronounced Cans) and have been chillin for a few days.  The trip across took 5 days and we had a ton of fun.  Olivia, Lindsay and Juliana were all great and helped with tons of the camping duties and we seen everything there is to see (which is not much).

We left Darwin and started south because there is no road that goes straight east.  On our first day all we did was drive because we had all seen the stuff we were passing already on our way to Darwin or on day tours.  We started by getting some groceries and other camping supplies that were needed.  We made great time with the 130kph speed limit and got to a lace called Highway Inn at Daley Waters.  We set up camp at this roadside stop and expected to be eaten alive by mossies but none showed up.  It cooled off a little in the evening which made it great for sleep.  The next morning it was pack up and get back on the road, about mid morning we made it to 3 ways which is the turn to go east.  Finally headed in the right direction!!!  Again not much to see in this part of the drive so we just kept going and made it all the way to Mt. Isa which is a mining town but has some pretty famous sports stars that were born there in Greg Norman and Patrick Rafter.  We got in pretty late so we got to the campervan park and set up.  The evening was filled with playing cards and catching up on a few emails.  In the morning we packed up and did a small tour around Mt. Isa including the lookout which gave a great view of the area.  The only other thing to do in Mt. Isa is to take a 3 hour tour thru a mine build for tourists and never really mined for anything so we passed on the idea.  We continued east and went thru Julia Creek and Richmond.  This is the start of what they call dinosaur country.  Each town along the way has museums with lots of different dinosaurs found in the area a long time ago.  We did a tour thru the facilities at Richmond but I have to say that Drumheller, Alberta puts these exhibits to shame.

After that we went to Hughenden and Porcupine Gorge National Park.  It was to late to see anything by the time got there so we set up and started cooking supper.  While cooking a little animal came up to us for a visit, I was not sure what it was, to small for a kangaroo or wallaby but looked similar.  After some research I discovered it was a Tree Kangaroo.

In the morning it was packing again and then we did a 2.8km hike to the bottom of the gorge and back, it was good to get out hiking again and see something besides roadways.  After we stopped at the gorge lookout on the way out and then back to Hughenden.

We continued on to a town called Charters Towers which was big in the gold rush and still has lots of mining to this day.  We stopped and the town lookout and tried to get to some other attractions but everything in this town closes at 3 and that was when we were there so we drove on and got to Townsville.  Townsville is on the east coast and now all we need to do is go north to Cairns.  The park we stayed at was the best I have seen while camping in Oz, the bathrooms we spic and span clean and the camping area was huge with power sites for the same price as unpowered.  After supper everyone had there computer out and MP3 players and anything else that needed to get charged up.  No internet though as they wanted $10 per hour.  After another good night sleep we were on our way to Cairns, we all decided that we would not stop at any sights on the way because they had tours already booked and other plans.  We had lunch just out side of Cairns and were into town at around 2pm.  I dropped off the girls at the assorted hostels and then started to figure out my plans.  I was thinking of camping but it rained most of the day and the clouds still looked threatening so I booked into a hostel (Travellers Oasis).  It has $5 per day internet so it is working out great.

I have spent the last few days getting everything figured out for the next part of the adventure and doing some research on an investment project that I am interested in in New Zealand(more on that in due time but nothing for now).  I am now booked on a flight to Brisbane from Cairns on June 9th and then from there I fly out to Vanuatu that afternoon.  I have no plans for Vanuatu yet and will just figure it out once I get there, since this theory has worked great so far..  I do have to book a flight out of Vanuatu but have not figured out how long I actually want to stay (2, 3 weeks, a month???), it is nice to be this free but the airlines sure profit from my indecision.  I will take a look at Cairns and maybe do some snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef or maybe some fishing until then but I want to leave most of it until I get back from Vanuatu and do the whole east coast together in my next 3 month period here.

Today I had a great skype call with Abel and Jen, it was so nice to see them and hear their voices.  I plan a few more calls over the next few days to some others to catch up with them.

I guess that is it for now as I am getting tired of writing and looking at this damn computer.

Take care everyone,

Steve

PS: yes more again this time, a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY goes out to my niece Kirstin and to my brother Shawn, both on the 3rd of June.  By the way my brothers should be ashamed that I was the only one to contact Kirstin.

Hello all,

I am back in Darwin after camping thru Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks.  Here is a brief rundown of the last week

We (Meghan and I) headed into Kakadu National Park and had to drive to the middle of it to get to the information center and find out all the things we could do.  We toured the Bowali Info center while there and got lots of info on the aboriginal culture and the area.  We then drove north to the East Alligator region and camped at the Merl Campground for the night.  We actually did not leave Darwin till the afternoon so not much got done on the first days but driving.

In the morning we packed up and 3 different short hikes (Merls campground to Cahills Crossing, Bardedjildji walk and Manngarre Rainforest walk) that totaled about 5kms.  Each walk was different and gave us great views of the area.  A lot of the big walks are still closed at this time because they go to close to the water and crocs are still around.  later in the dry season all the walks will be open but that does not do us a lot of good.  After some lunch we got back into the car and drove to the Yellow River Region and toured the Warradjan Cultural Center.  This place was very informative and the building was the shape of a turtle.  We then set up camp at Mardugal Campground and I went for a evening river cruise.  The cruise was on the Yellow river and was absolutely incredible.  It started at 4:30 and we toured along the river and saw at least 10 different spieces of birds, pigs, horses, tree snakes and of course CROCS.  We must have seen 15 – 20 crocadiles during the trip and were able to get up very close to some, so close that we had to make sure we kept our hands in the boat while taking photos.  The cruise lasted about 2 hours and was worth all $74 I paid to go on it.  It was nice to see the crocs in there natural envirnment instead of in cages or zoos.

The next morning we headed to the Nourlangie region and did the 12km Barrk Circuit Walk.  This walk was really cool and again it went thru plenty of different eco systems.  The best part of this hike was the Aboriginal Rock Art from hundreds of years ago.  Each painting has true significance and meaning with some that are easy to understand and others that you just have now clue what they were trying to say.  It was really hot out as well and we were pretty tired after the walk so we just chilled at the Mardugul Campgroundfor the evening.  One thing with camping is that the mossies are definately a pain in the ass.  I am getting eatin alive and it does not mater how much spray I put on or how many clothes i am wearing.

The next morning we got up and did the Mamukula walk and then headed out of Kakadu back to Palmerston to pick up a few supplies and the on to Litchfield National Park.  We camped just outside the park at Banyan Tree Camp Park and even had some power outlets to charge a few things up.  The day was mostly driving and not a lot was seen today.  The next morning we drove into Bachelor to get hiking info for the park and filled gas then were on our way to Litchfield.  Our first stop was at the Magnetic Termite mounds, now unlike the termites at home these ones are good and build homes that are over 15 feet high.  They are cool little creatures that do nothing but work, man am I glad that I am not a termite.

Now it was time for some hiking, we did the Wangi Falls hike which are very popular and lots of people were around.  Litchfield is known for all of its waterfalls and plunge pools to cool off in.  Wangi Falls is the most popular but the swimming hole is closed because of crocs.  The water really needs to low before they can assure that there are no crocs in all of the swimming holes and Wangi is pretty deep.  After the hike we headed to Walker Creek, now this creek had hardly any tourists and was much better.  The hike consists of a 2km walk along 8 campsites that you have to book with the aboriginal community.  We did not stay here but we stopped at one of the unoccupied sites and went for a swim.  It was so refreshing and there were little fish and small crayfish trying to nibble off your toes. After a 1/2 hour stop we hiked back and then drove to the Buley Rockhole.

We set up camp and still had time to enjoy the plunge pools there as well.  These are much more popular and had a lot of people around, it seemed we timed it just right as a group was getting out we arrived and just took over there spot.  This is like a creek with multiple drop offs that create a bunch of plunge pools in a very short distance.  Here is where we run into a few problems, after the plunge we head back to camp to have supper and everything is locked in the car and the key has been in my swim trunks the whole time and it will not unlock the car.  Even when we try to do it manually it will not open.  Soon we have a few others around trying to give us advice on how to break in and I am trying all kinds of things.  It is starting to get dark and running out of options, so I decided that a rock thru the window is probably the only thing left to do.  We tried the key one more time and holy cow it actually worked.  It took about an hour for it to dry out but at least i didn’t have to use the rock.  The next morning we got right back into the hiking and did the Florence Falls hike, then Tolmer Falls hike where you are not allowed to swim and finally the Greenant Creek/Tjaetaba Falls hike.  The first 2 were very touristy and lots of people around, the falls were pretty cool though and I can’t believe how much water is flowing in such a dry area.  The last stop was the best, it is a 2.7km hike to the top of a waterfall that has a plunge pool right before a 100 foot drop.  There was no one around and the pool was completely refreshing.  This would be a great place for some romance it is so beautiful.  After our walk back we headed back to Darwin and stayed at Elke’s Backpackers for the night.

I was up early the next morning and off on a Barramundi fishing trip.  The 6 am pick up was tough but i made it and we were on the water at about 7.  The trip was along the Mary River and in the Corroboree Billabong.  It was a tough day fishing and I had only 1 bite but missed the fish and we landed only oe fish in the whole boat with 4 of us fishing.  It was a big fish (85cm & 15 lbs) but a little disappointing not to get anything especially since I paid $300 to be there.  The guide worked really hard and took us to lots of spots but they just were not biting, and that is fishing.  The gentleman that caught the fish did nt want it and gave it to me and I fed about 12 backpackers that evenings and it tasted great.  The next morning was just a early as this time Instead of river fishing i was going ocean fishing.  I saw n awesome sunrise while we boated for an hour out to our first stop.  I was the first to catch a fish which they called a Triggy Snapper, cool fish.  I also caught several other species for the day and about 15 fish in total.  It was a great day but the one fish I really wanted I did not get.  The big one that we were all looking for was called a Jew Fish and they are over a meter long and about 15 kilo.  There were 7 caught on the boat as well as some small sharks.  We saw a sail fish but were unable to catch it.  What a great day and amazingly the skipper was only 20 and the first mate was 18, these kids definitely knew what they were doing.

So where to now you ask, well tomorrow I leave Darwin and head east and probably to Cairns.  Right now I am going to meet up with my new travel mates and cook them some fish for supper.  I will be traveling with 2 French girls (Ashley and Olivia) and another girl from California (Juliana).  It should be a fun group and they all can drive so this time I will not have to do it all myself.

Well until next time, I hope you all take care.

Steve

PS:  Happy anniversary to Mom & Dad, Cathleen and Darryl, Jay and Liz and finally Don and Audrey.  Lots of birthdays coming up as well so I hope there is some online access along the way to Cairns.

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