darwin

Fri 21.09 (continued) - Arrived in Darwin at 5pm. First lively town in a while. The YHA was great. Large with a great pool. There was a BBQ at 6pm so we took full advantage of the "ALL YOU CAN EAT FOR $5". We went to the Irish Bar next door to hostel, Shennanigans for a few pints. Chatted to fellas from Co Westmeath and Co Clare.

Sat 22.09 - We booked our Kakadu National Park tour and then went for a wander around Darwin looking for the perfect didgerido.. The day ended up with us having a slight financial set back. Claire got her credit card eaten by the machine. Well its not a major disaster, just a nuisance. She will have to get AIB to send a new one, and we cant really do that until we have a permanent address.

Sun 23.09 - Early Start: 5am. Caught bus to Kakadu at 6am. Our first stop was Nourlangie Rock. There was loads of Aboringinal art, some dating from 5,000 to 10,000 years old. Our guide was half Aboriginall and knew all the stories behind the drawing. The Abo belief is that a Rainbow Serpent created the world.

We then moved on to Cooinda, the resort in Kakadu. We decided to camp. I lost about 1 litre of sweat whilst putting the damn thing up. It was so, so hot. We walked to Warradjan Cultural Centre, 1km away from resort. Worth the visit.

In the evening we went on Yellow River cruise. There was so much wildlife it was unbelievable. All sorts of birds. But the highlight was seeing over a dozen crocodiles. Some were as close as 5m from the boat. It was awesome. I got some great photos which I'll add to the site soon. The sunset was pretty good too. Got back to tent to find lots of ants all over it and a lizard hanging around. We climbed into tent making sure nothing followed us and tried to sleep. Strange place to be on All- Ireland Final day!!!

Mon 24.09 - Another early start. 6am. We both sweated buckets in the tent last night. Picked up by guide in 4wheel drive Jeep. Drove 60kms and the last 30kms were really rough sand tracks with maximum speed about 5km/h. When we came to the end of the track, we had to hike through rough boulders for about 1km and then we arrived at 212 metre high Jim Jim Falls. It was not actually flowing but there was this massive rock pool were we could swim. Some people swam right to the corner but it was 100m away and 30m deep, so I gave it a miss. We then all hiked back to the Jeep and it was another 10-15kms to Twin Falls car park. We then hiked again for about 2kms. and then the guide handed us our flippers and a boogie board (a large float!) and we had to get in the river and swim 800m up the river. There was a sign on the way in that said that "everything is done to ensure that the river is crocodile free, and that you swim in the river at your own risk"!! We were nervous, but we managed to survive. And it was definitely worth it. Theres a pool surrounded totally by cliffs, some are 200m high. The actual falls are 175m high. It was flowing gently so we were able to stand / sit on the rocks at the bottom of it (photo to be added soon). Theres a beach in there too. It is without doubt the highlight of my trip. Its a little bit of paradise. And what made it even better was the fact that we were there on a Monday morning. Beats work!

Arrived back at resort about 5pm. Rang home to find out that GALWAY had become the BACKDOOR champions. Terrible. At least Derry had the decency to know that it is not worth being the All Ireland Champion, if you can't even win your Provisional Championship!!!!!!

Tues 25.09 - Took tent down after cleaningall the ants off it. Greyhound bus picked us up at 9.15am. Went to Ubirr Rock. More Abo art. Doug, the Driver / Guide, was so informative and made the stories so interesting. Some of the art is over 5000 years old and some are painted in areas where it is impossible to get to. The Abo's belief that these were painted by Mimi Artist that could float in mid-air. At the top of Ubirr Rock there was a fantastic 360 degree view of forests, flood plains and the Arnhems Land Escarpment. He then took us to the East Alligator River.. He told us loads of Croc Attack stories. Frightening stuff. There were fellas standing in the water waist deep, fishing. MAD EEJITS!! Walked along the river, constantly on the lookout for Crocs, there were loads of fruitbats in the trees,smelly, smelly things. We did see one croc on the other side of the river. Cool. Doug told us of his 3 close encounters with Crocs. He also told us that there has only been one croc attack fatality in the 25 years since Kakadu became a National Park.

At 4.30 we caught bus back to Darwin, passing through Humpty Doo (class name!). In Darwin at 7pm. Met Kev and Kyla at YHA Hostel. Went for a drink in Shennanigan's (Yes, thats right, another Irish Bar).

Wed 26.09 - Went around Darwin with Kev and Kyla looking for a Didgerido, but could find one we liked. At 7pm went to the Hip-ee club for a free dinner and ended up staying there until 2am. We met Lizzy, from Carndonagh, again. Her friend Maggie has gone back to Dublin early because she, and her family, are afraid that war will break out. There was this Canadian girl along with Lizzy, who had the highest pitched voice I've ever heard. Really irritating to listen to, and of course I was the one lumbered with her.

Thur 27.09 - Hungover all day. Worked on Website. Lay beside or in pool for most of the afternoon. Claire, Kev, Kyla and I went to Darwin Night Markets. Food stalls with every conceivable part of the world represented. I just had a jacket potato. We then went to the beach on , AND I JOKE YOU NOT, Fannie Bay. Another beautiful sunset. Back in Darwin, Claire found the Digde she wanted and purchased it. It'll be DHL'ed home.

Fri 28.09 - Woke up with what felt like flu, and thought it might just be 48 hr hangover. Caught bus to Alice Springs at 1.30pm. This journey is 1500kms. The equivalent of driving from Derry to Killarney back up to Derry back to Killarney and back up to Limerick. Stopped at various places along the way. Claire gave me two flu tablets to take. I managed to sleep for most of night.