|
|
| Friday, 15-Apr-2005 00:00 |
Email | Share |  | Bookmark |
|
N. Territories, Day 4: Katherine Gorge & Kayaking
|
 |
|
Me, Justyne, Cathy, & Hannah... ready for the Katherine River!
|
|
 |
|
Hannah & Cathy (both from England)
|
|
 |
|
Justyne & Me with my REALLY cool (aka dumb) hat! haha :-)
|
| | View all 8 photos... |
|
This was the first day of our 2nd 3-day tour. An Adventure Tours/Oz Experience charter bus picked us up from the Cavenaugh at 5:30am. The day consisted of a LOT of driving through a land of basically nothingness, but then we got to Katherine Gorge. Justyne & I shared a kayak, and Hannah & Cathy (both from England) shared a kayak. We paddled up river for about an hour before pulling over & hiking to a waterfall swimming hole. If you read my journal, this is the water hole where the gecko attacked Dee's head! Hahaha! 
**The tour group from Darwin to Alice Springs was: Dave (a.k.a.: Cobber... the driver), Kylie (the other tour guide)... Nicola (Germany)... Bryan & Ilene (married couple), Jo, Lucy, Carmel, Hannah, Dee, & Cathy (England)... Fabian & his parents (France)... Anna (Sydney)... Chris, Natalie, Andrea, & 2 other girls (Switzerland)... Ivan (Ireland)... Justyne (Canada)... & Me (yep, I was the only American)
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, 14-Apr-2005 00:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
N. Territories, Day 3: Kakadu--Motor Car Falls & Boulder Creek
|
 |
|
Asleep in the early hours, on the way into Kakadu
|
|
 |
|
Croc warning we passed on the way to Motor Car Falls...yikes ;-)
|
|
 |
|
Arriving at Motor Car Falls in Kakadu
|
| | View all 42 photos... |
|
On Thursday, Leah woke us up at 5am, and we headed back into Kakadu National Park for our last day on the first 3-day tour. This part of Kakadu was Yurmikmik, named after a bird that makes that sound. First we hiked around 3km to Motor Car Falls. It was a very hot walk, but definitely worth it because Motor Car Falls was my favorite swimming hole of the whole tour! It had nice, deep water, so you could actually jump off the rock into the water. You just can't beat hiking to waterfalls in the morning! 
After hiking back out, we drove a few minutes and then walked about 15 minutes in to Boulder Creek for our last dip in Kakadu water. After walking back to have lunch, we loaded up and started the long drive back to Darwin to finish our first of 3 tours.
In Darwin, several of us checked into the Cavenaugh backpackers. We got a free meal at the Vic Hotel a few blocks away since we were with Adventure Tours. Then we just hung out at the Vic, listening to the music and dancing a bit to the goofy oldies remixes they played. (I apologize for my appearance in the photos if you think they look bad... I didn't have a chance to shower before going to the Vic! Haha, how gross am I?) 
**Our tour group in the Darwin/Litchfield/Kakadu area was: Leah (driver & guide)... Meri & Marianne (Norway)... Kara (Connecticut)... Sondra (Minnesota)... Dorothea, Annika, Andreas, & Aji (Germany)... Catherine (Cathy) & Hannah (England)... Chris, Natalie, & Andrea (Switzerland)... Sumi (South Korea)... Justyne (Canada)... and Me
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Wednesday, 13-Apr-2005 00:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
N. Territories, Day 2: Kakadu & More!
|
 |
|
Leaving our first camp site
|
|
 |
|
The food tent
|
|
 |
|
Getting in the 4WD to head for Kakadu Nat'l Park
|
| | View all 43 photos... |
|
Wednesday had a 6am wakeup call, followed by a quick breakfast & packing up to head into Kakadu National Park. First we walked in about 3km, passing part of Nourlangie Rock on the way to the swimming hole. After walking back out, we drove to Jabiru Lake for a picnic lunch. Then it was on to Bowali Aboriginal Visitor Center to look at the museum & gift shop. Next we drove to part of Kakadu where you can see the oldest Aboriginal art ever--some dates to 7000 years ago & is still preserved in the rocks! Then we climbed Ubirr to encounter a spectacular view of the surrounding Kakadu area. Truly amazing!
Not so amazing was the amount of mozzies (mosquitoes) literally plaguing the Darwin & Kakadu areas!!! I still have dark marks (scars) on my legs a few weeks later from their bites! When we got in the 4WD the 2nd day, Justyne, Chris, Andreas, & I went absolutely bonkers in the back seat, killing as many as we could. They were everywhere!! You can see how nasty Justyne's hand is after just a few swats at the chair in front of her... I have seriously never experience such terrible mozzies in my life! 
**Our tour group in the Darwin/Litchfield/Kakadu area was: Leah (driver & guide)... Meri & Marianne (Norway)... Kara (Connecticut)... Sondra (Minnesota)... Dorothea, Annika, Andreas, & Aji (Germany)... Catherine (Cathy) & Hannah (England)... Chris, Natalie, & Andrea (Switzerland)... Sumi (South Korea)... Justyne (Canada)... and Me
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tuesday, 12-Apr-2005 00:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
N. Territories, Day 1: Litchfield Nat'l Park & Crocodile Cruise
|
 |
|
Me with a Cathedral Termite Mound... they're huge!
|
|
 |
|
Our tour guide Leah talking about the termite mounds
|
|
 |
|
Justyne & Me by a Magnetic Termite Mound
|
| | View all 39 photos... |
|
Our trip to the Northern Territories consisted of three 3-day tours. The first tour was in the Darwin area, and the first day we saw the Cathedral Termite Mounds, the Magnetic Termite Mounds, and Litchfield National Park. The Cathedral Mounds are so named because of their impressive height & shape; the Magnetic Mounds are named by their tops, which are very long & narrow, facing to magnetic north & south... how cool is that?? Smart lil termites! Haha 
Next, Leah drove us to Litchfield National Park, where we walked to Florence Falls for a swim. Amazing!! After lunch we drove a bit and hiked to Buley Rock Hole for another swim. What a great morning and afternoon!
As we were driving out of Litchfield, Leah was telling us about the park when she suddenly pulled over and jumped out of the 4WD, dashing into the woods! We had no idea what was happening until we saw the frilled lizard on a tree a ways off the road... how she saw the lil guy, I'll never know! Unfortunately that one got away from Leah, but about 2 minutes down the road she abruptly stopped again, this time catching a frilled lizard. After telling us about the lil guy, she released him unharmed back up the tree.
Then we continued on our way to the Jumping Croc Cruise. We went on a sort of river ferry, and a girl dangled meat from a pole so the crocs would "jump" out of the water to grab it. It's amazing how high these huge creatures propel themselves using only their tails! Take a look for yourselves... 
That night at our campsite, we got to see an Aboriginal Corroboree. Most of the pics are pretty dark, but hopefully you get the idea. 
**Our tour group in the Darwin/Litchfield/Kakadu area was: Leah (driver & guide)... Meri & Marianne (Norway)... Kara (Connecticut)... Sondra (Minnesota)... Dorothea, Annika, Andreas, & Aji (Germany)... Catherine (Cathy) & Hannah (England)... Chris, Natalie, & Andrea (Switzerland)... Sumi (South Korea)... Justyne (Canada)... and Me
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, 9-Apr-2005 00:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
My Weekend at the Beaches & Surf Fest
|
 |
|
Erin, Temeka, Me, & Nina at Newcastle Beach
|
|
 |
|
The beautiful Newcastle Beach
|
|
 |
|
Newcastle Beach set up for Surf Fest
|
| | View all 7 photos... |
|
Yes!! I finally made it to an Australian beach (or two) during the day, when it was sunny out, in my swimsuit... and it only took me 2 months of being in this Aussie beach city to do so!! Haha
So here are a few pictures from Sat & Sun, April 9-10th, which also happened to be the last 2 days of Surf Fest. If any of you know anything about professional surfing, you've surely heard of the American champ, Kelly Slater. Yep, we definitely saw him surf, although the waves were crap that weekend... bummer for the surfers. Other than crappy surf, though, it was a beautiful weekend on the beaches of Newcastle!! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, 2-Apr-2005 00:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Beautiful Saturday in Sydney!!
|
 |
|
Justyne with a street performer... they're everywhere in Sydney!
|
|
 |
|
Kathleen & Me with the street performer
|
|
 |
|
Me & Justyne by China Town
|
| | View all 162 photos... |
|
Oh man! On Saturday we couldn't have designed better weather! It was an amazingly perfect day in Sydney! I had the time of my life just walking through the beautiful city, from one end of the Central Business District all the way to Circular Quay ("Key") and the Sydney Harbor. On the way to catch a ferry to Taronga Zoo, we went to Paddy's Markets, several shops on the main streets, and Rocks Market. We took lots of pictures of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House and everything else we saw! We also randomly bumped into Adam, who's an Aussie that lives in the unit below Justyne & me. It's pretty funny that in a huge city like Sydney, Justyne and I (who know only a handful of people in this country!) would actually run into someone we knew! Haha! It just shows how great Sydney is!!
The Taronga Zoo was a lot of fun, too--I got some awesome videos of Sumatran tigers play-fighting! I was so stoked because tigers are my favorite! After the Zoo, we took the ferry back to Circular Quay for a closer look at the Opera House. Then we eventually took a ferry from Sydney Harbor, under the Harbor Bridge, past the amusement park (Luna Park), and over to Darling Harbor. There we got dinner, and then walked through more of Sydney to get back to Central Station to catch the last train back to Newcastle. All I can say is (other than what I just said haha)...
AMAZING!!! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Friday, 1-Apr-2005 00:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Going to Sydney!!
|
 |
|
Me waiting for the train at Broadmeadow Station
|
|
 |
|
Justyne waiting for the train at Broadmeadow Station
|
|
 |
|
Justyne & Me on the train to Sydney
|
| | View all 36 photos... |
|
My Canadian unit mate Justyne & I went to Sydney for Friday night and all of Saturday. We caught a train from Broadmeadow Station in one of Newcastle's suburbs, and arrived in Sydney in the evening. It was really cool because a 22-year-old girl from Germany (Kathleen) was also in our hostel room. So the three of us toured Sydney together. We had a fabulous time and took TONS of pictures! I can't wait to go back to that wondeful city!! 
These pics are from Friday night. We went to the Sydney Tower, which has an Observation Deck at the very top. We went up and got to see the amazing city lights... luckily our cameras got some great shots of the lights, even through the windows!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Thursday, 31-Mar-2005 00:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Toastedly Toasty Toast
|
 |
|
Mmmmm... looks good! Ha!
|
|
 |
|
Lovely work cutting that toast, Shana ;-)
|
|
 |
|
Me, Shana, & Kate trying to fan the smoke from the kitchen!
|
|
|
Yeah, so I burnt my toast today... bad!  The whole kitchen and living area of our unit filled with smoke... I mean literally FILLED with smoke. You couldn't hardly see, let alone breathe. It was bad... and it was my fault  ... Haha!
As we tried to show in the photos, the toast was black as black can be on both sides... And Shana cut one piece to see if even the middle was charcoal haha! Oh dear! Way to go, Lindsay... 
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Monday, 28-Mar-2005 00:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Euroka Clearing Bushwalk & Kangaroos
|
 |
|
Jen, Kelly, & Rachel by the river at the bottom of our bushwalk
|
|
 |
|
Me & Rachel (& a bunch of strangers) by the river
|
|
 |
|
A kookaburra at Euroka Clearing
|
| | View all 4 photos... |
|
|
On Monday of our Easter break, 2 American girls who were staying up in Katoomba for the weekend came down to Rachel's house. Rachel took the 3 of us to Euroka Clearing in Glenbrook National Park. We went on a very short bushwalk down to the river. Then we came back up and watched the wild kangaroos at Euroka Clearing. It was my second time there, and it was still awesome to see the kangaroos.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Saturday, 26-Mar-2005 00:00 |
Email | Share | | Bookmark |
|
Katoomba in the Blue Moutains
|
 |
|
View of the Blue Mountains from Katoomba
|
|
|
 |
|
One of several rocks with quotes inscribed
|
| | View all 21 photos... |
|
|
On Saturday of our Easter break, Rachel took me up the mountain to Katoomba. We visited Echo Point and the Three Sisters. We also rode a little tram thing straight down a steep mountain into the bush, where we went for a little walk along a path to the Katoomba Falls. The Falls actually weren't very big, just tiny "waterfalls" of the water running off the mountain. But there were amazing views up there, so enjoy the photos!
|
|
|
|
