Day 91 - 92 : Off to a Roadtrip Baby!

24/06/2016
Off to an awesome roadtrip baby! Our smelly roommate left this morning early like we did, and of course in the same clothes of the couple last days. We checked out, got our deposit of 10 AUD back and went outside where Jason was waiting for us. Note that Dave the manager was slightly in panic when he saw us leaving. He immediately asked us if we were planning to come back, where we were planning to go to. He probably thought about his loyal customers, spending already more than 1000 AUD for their stay, about to leave the YHA. We assured him that it was only for one night, unfortunately. I hate to spend so much money to stay in a hostel.

First stop
McDonalds for a nice warm coffee. Early in the morning, we all could

use one. We had a long drive to go, about three hours tp Katherine.

Second stop
We all had to go to the toilet after the coffee. The only thing we saw while driving was a lot of dry landscapes a.k.a. Feels like you are in the middle of nowhere, burned out cars, bushfires, dead animals along the way and above all that bad, almost no reception. After 1,5 hours of driving, we saw a sign of a station nearby. That meant we had to take advantage and pull over there to go to the toilet. Having arrived there, it was so hot and it was a small roadhouse. Took a 5min break and continued our trip to our next destination, Katherine.

Third stop
Finally, after almost 4 hours, we arrived in Katherine. We first decided to shop some groceries. On the way to Isaac’s place, where we could stay the night, I saw a dead kangaroo that had been driven over way too many times. There was almost nothing leftover of the poor animal and it was disgusting to see.

Roadside fires
The bush fires in the Northern Territory are generally deliberately lit for numerous reasons. One of the reasons is for fuel reduction and hence helps with added safety and control of fire prone areas. It's also a natural phenomenon that promotes biodiversity through rejuvenation of the bush. It has been happening since before white man came here and the aboriginals use it to help with hunting.
(Source Jason D'Ambrosio, p.s. don't trust the information of the bloke :p)

Fourth stop
Arrived at Isaac’s house, we quickly made some wraps and immediately left to Nitmiluk. There was a boat leaving at 1 pm

through the national park. Rushed as we were, we didn’t make it in time. Just a couple of minutes too late. That was not really a big disaster, because the woman selling the boat tickets said it was not really worthwhile to go this time of the year, as the dry season already caused a lot of changes. For example, Jason wanted to take us to a famous waterfall over there and swim a little bit, but because of the dry, the water is not deep enough anymore, so we had to think about another place to go. While being in the park, we ate lunch, surrounded by heaps of bats. That is so weird. I thought these animals couldn’t handle daylight, but in Australia anything can happen I guess.
A few moments later, we went for a walk to enjoy a great view at Katherine Gorge. It took lots of energy to reach the top as it was over 40°C, no wind and lots of humidity. But at least the view made all the hard work worthwhile.

Fifth stop
Not being able to swim in Katherine Gorge Waterfalls, we decided to go to another waterfall closeby, ‘Edith Falls’. The water was nice and freshly. To get to these waterfalls, you have to walk about 20 minutes from the car park, that is not so bad. Hot or not, you get the refreshment later.

The Edith Falls (Aboriginal Jawoyn language: Leliyn[3]) is a series of cascading waterfalls and pools on the Edith River in the Nitmiluk National Park, located approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Katherine, in the Northern Territory of Australia.
The falls descend from an elevation of 176 metres (577 ft) above sea level and range in height between 8.7–12 metres (29–39 ft). There are trails to the top of the escarpment, allowing visitors to view the

waterfalls. Edith Falls is connected to Katherine Gorge via the 66-kilometre (41 mi) Jatbula walk. The traditional custodians of the land surrounding the waterfall are the Jawoyn people. (Source Wikipedia)

Sixth stop
As it was almost getting dark and we still had to walk back through a little rough pad to our car, we set off and drove to Woolworths. Isaac was having friends coming over and they wanted to throw a bbq. That meant we needed a lot of foooood!

Seventh stop
Groceries check! Ready to go to Isaac’s place and prepare some food. We all were getting hungry. The moment was finally there, meeting the nice people where we could stay at. Isaac and his wife gave birth to a baby girl Holly 6 weeks ago. They let me hold her, I was very touched by that. We are completely strangers to them, it was only the first meeting, and they let us feel like we were so welcome, I love that attitude! That is what makes Aussies so lovely people!
Isaac and Alice used to be roommates with Jason. They know each other very well. While they were catching up, Babs and I started to cut some vegetables and make a salad to serve at the bbq.
We also met their pets, Moggie (brown dog, Border Collie) and Ollie (cat). I got to know the story why they called their cat Ollie, you wouldn’t believe it. Such things can never happen in Belgium. Apparently their previous cat was found some time ago in the backyard. You would think, not really something special, but the cat was found inside a big cobra (SNAKE!). They decided to call the snake Ollie, and in memory of their deceased cat, they called their new cat Ollie.
Like I already told before, Isaac and Alice were about to spend their last weeks in Katherine before moving back to New Zealand. They love their pets so much, so they have to transfer them as well. You know how money the air company asks for that? Around 4000 AUD! Believe me, that is a lot of money, but if it were me, I would do the same. Animals can give you so much love and they are irreplaceable. I still miss my dog Babs everyday. That is why I also think that it means something special that I am already spending so much time together with my Dutch friend Babs in Australia. Weird maybe to say, but I love to think it is some kind of sign that my dog is watching over me.
We chatted until 11.30pm and went to our bed. Babs and I were lucky, as we could spend the night in a double bed with such nice pillows! It had been ages since I last lay comfortable on a nice and decent bed. We got a whole room to ourselves, cool eeey! Jason was ok to sleep on the couch.


25/06/2016
Having a busy day planned, we all decided to wake up early enough, 8.15am. It surprised me that Babs and I were the only ones that were awake. I took a look outside the room and saw Jason sleeping, so peacefully. Felt almost sorry I had to wake him up. And besides that, he was laying down on a carpet instead of the couch. He didn’t feel good in the sofa, so he prefered to sleep on the floor. That must have caused a lot of pain in the back and not much sleep in total.

First stop
Katherine Hot Springs was the first stop of the day. In the morning it was 19°C, not so cold, but not as warm as we were used too in Darwin. But that is an advantage, that way you can really enjoy the hot springs, not that they are so warm, but they are warmer than the outside temperature. We took some underwater photos as the water

was so clear. We had lots of fun trying to get a perfect shot.
Second stop
Back at Isaac and Alice’s place, we made some chicken wraps to take away and eat in the car while driving to our next location, Litchfield National Park. We said goodbye to them and thanked them for everything.
In love with waterfalls, our first stop in the national park was ‘Wangi Falls’. The place was beautiful, unfortunately waaaaay too crowded. The school holidays have just started, so everybody in Darwin wants to go to the national parks. Well crowded or not, we were there and at least we had to go into the water and see the falls closer. I felt the water temperature with my toes and it was freezing! Short pain, I splashed in the water and started to swim to get a little bit warmer. It didn’t seem the crowd was going away, so we only took a couple of pictures and took off to our next stop, ‘Florence Falls’.

The Wangi Falls is a segmented waterfall on the Wangi Creek located within the Litchfield National Park in theNorthern Territory of Australia.
The waterfall descends from an elevation of 84 metres (276 ft) above sea level via a series of segmented tiers that range in height between 41–52 metres (135–171 ft). Accessed by sealed road, the falls are found near the western boundary of the park, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Darwin.
The plunge pool at the base of the falls is a popular swimming spot, however is often closed following significant rainfall due to sightings of crocodiles in the area. (Source Wikipedia)

Third stop
Arrived at Florence Falls, I knew this one would be the hardest one to go to. Going down to swim close to the waterfall, no problem at all. But the going back part… !135 steps! Going up again. But those worries were for later. First of all, enjoy the amazing view. Already used to cold water, I jumped in it and we were surrounded by fishes. Not really a problem in the beginning, but I had a few open wounds from the blisters, and all of a sudden I felt fishes trying to eat it, or touch it, I don’t know how I can describe that, but the feeling was not pleasant. Didn’t want to stay there any longer and swam towards the waterfall. There were some rocks you can climb on and do a little jump of them. There was also a possibility to climb all the way up and jump from 10m height, but didn’t feel like a daredevil that day. To feel comfortable enough, I chose the little rocks and sprang. Honestly, as little as those rocks were, it still was dangerous. The rocks were so slippery, so you had to pay a lot of attention to your steps or you fell down in the water, like “Mr Adventure” Jason did:). Babs decided just to watch us jumping from the rocks, as she saw Jason slipping into the water and didn’t feel secure anymore to join us.
Running out of time as it is getting later and later, off to our last

waterfall in Litchfield Park. 135 steps going up, chop chop!

The Florence Falls (Aboriginal: Karrimurra) is a segmented waterfall on the Florence Creek located within the Litchfield National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia.
The waterfall descends from an elevation of 64 metres (210 ft) above sea level via a series of segmented tiers that range in height between 9.8–15 metres (32–49 ft). Accessed by sealed road, the falls are found near the northern boundary of the national park, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Darwin. (Source Wikipedia)

Fourth stop
Two waterfalls down, still one to go! Buley Rockholes are little waterfalls bumping into each other, ending in a big “pool”. We chilled there for some time and set off to Darwin again.

Buley rock-holes are a series of rock-holes located in Litchfield National Park of the Northern Territory. It is down a short street off the road going towards Florence Falls. It is only a couple of kilometers from Litchfield and about an hour from Darwin. (Source Wikipedia)

Fifth stop
Hungry and tired as we were after more than three hours of driving, we did a quick stop at McDonalds Palmerston, ate some food and continued our drive to Darwin CBD, more specific YHA hostel. Not really looking forward to go back to the hostel again after such amazing two days, but we needed to catch some sleep. Arriving at the YHA reception, we got the keys of our new room. That makes the total of 8 different rooms since we arrived in Darwin. As we took a lot of underwater shots, we were so curious to see them. We immediately put the memory card in in the computer and started watching. We

laughed our heads off. It was so funny to see! Time to go to bed now!