Australia Retrospective

After our year in NZ I had a last post serving as a retrospective of everything we gained in that year. New Zealand was amazing. Australia was  . . .  good. I can't necessarily sit here and pile on the praise the same way I could with NZ, but while it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows, it was still an experience that I could never regret and would never give up. Amongst all the stuff that we found frustrating or maddening or ridiculous, we are still taking away many good things as well. One of which being Australia dollars, the other thing being good friendships. 

And even so, Australia had it's own version of beauty--it just wouldn't be found in cities which is where we spent so much time. So we did learn that about ourselves. I always fancied that I could see myself as this city girl, but after living in places that are so much more laid back I've found that my fancies have changed. Cities are just that--sure there are lots of people and entertainment and restaurants and the like, but we have found life to be much more enjoyable in the smaller places, the quieter places, the slower places. Where most everyone is kind and genuine. We encountered that in Port Douglas and in the small towns of Western Australia. 

Being abroad this long has definitely opened our eyes to both the world and to ourselves. Once we eventually return home we will probably find ourselves much different than when we left, but that's sort of the point. And Australia had it's own hand in shaping our world views so we can't write it off completely the way we sometimes pretend to. It certainly wasn't all bad, and our last fews days showed us that it could actually be very nice. 

So we will miss parts of Australia. We will miss the delicious wine, the beautiful beaches and reefs. We will miss the wage (but not the prices). We will miss the laid back atmosphere (but not the laziness). We will miss our friends (but not all Australians). We will miss the unique animals life (but not the snakes and spiders). 

So for all the good and bad, I'll take Australia for what it's worth. And indeed, it definitely was worth something. 

But our travels are nowhere complete! I actually hope and suspect that they will never be complete for the rest of our lives. Throughout all the frustrations and the heartaches and the minor disasters and the trepidation over the unknown--I love it. I don't think we could ever stop. . . so we won't!

I hope you will continue to follow us as we engage places (15 countries!) beyond this little southern corner of the world. We love it, but we are ready for more! We are ready for everything! (But we will start with Asia). So, follow us on the THIRD installment of our awesome travel blog:

John and Kristin's Asian Adventures!

Follow us here!

Perth and the Southwest: The Last Oz Adventure

In looking up accommodation in Perth, a common theme began to emerge. Because of the mining boom in WA, the city's population has begun to swell, with miners visiting the area mid-week and spending all their money. With the already limited choice in backpackers in the city, this meant that most of them had started to go to shit, but were also becoming outrageously expensive. Great. This indeed became the case when we started to research a place to stay. Dorms went from an average of $30 per person, per night and most of the ratings were abysmal. Luckily we were able to find a small backpackers located just outside the downtown that had one of the highest ratings and would give us our own double room for $34 each per night. It was the best value we could find and so we took it. 

After dropping off the car we spent the morning running around Perth. Thank goodness our Indian visas that we had applied for and mailed ahead of time were waiting in our passports at the Post Shop, as well as an important package sent by John's mom from the US. So we did all of our errands then raced to the Chinese Embassy and arrived just before closing to submit our application for our visas. They guy checked everything over and said they would be ready the following Monday morning (2 days before we were to leave Oz). So thank goodness all of that went to plan as that was the last major to-do before leaving on our round-the-world trip. 

We checked into our backpackers, which was much more like a boarding house, as most of the tenants were long-term stays who were working in Perth and using the lodge for cheap accommodation. This had both pros and cons. The pros was that we had our own room with a big double bed, internet access, a proper bathroom, and the kitchen actually was clean since people kinda lived there. The con was that the house was full of people who mostly knew each other and they kinda took over the place like it was their own home. On our first night, as I was preparing our first (and last) real meal in a week, nice roasted veggies and sausage with pasta, one of the girls tried to tell me I couldn't use the turned off, cold oven cause she had made a cheesecake and it had to sit inside the cold, unused oven for 24 hours. Apparently she doesn't understand how things work in a backpackers, cause commandeering the oven for 24 hours to let your cheesecake sit is not kosher. I objected that I had to actually use the oven to roast veggies for my dinner and luckily the owner of the place was standing right there and took my side. Win for Kristin! So we enjoyed our lovely meal and nice big bed that night. Well, until they decided to watch movies really loudly until 2 am and we were right next to the TV room. But still, it was nice to have one last proper bed. And, it gave us plenty of time to start planning Bali and beyond!

Three days in Perth and it was time to set out on our last Oz adventure to explore the Margaret River wine region and the southwest. We got a Wicked Camper van for the last few days as it was 50% off. We had beautiful sunny weather as we headed out the first day, and only an hour or so of driving to do! Our first stop was Freemantle, the popular coastal town just 30Kms south of the city. It's become a very popular spot and we could see why. Our friends Chris and Thirza lived there for a while and we think it would have been a much better fit for us than Melbourne. Clean, new, quaint buildings line the streets and on the waterfront is a huge park with great restaurants lining the wharf--including our reason for stopping: The Little Creatures Brewery. Little Creatures is one of the best beers we've had in Australia, and on a sunny Saturday afternoon the place, which has a brewery side and a restaurant side, was hopping (get the pun? :P)! We headed over to the brewery to do a tasting and they gave us a tray with a sample each of their 6 beers on offer--for free!

All that beer, for free! We ended up walking away with two pint-sized bottles of their Bright and Pale Ale, however, as it was a great deal for 2 for $10. This final weekend was to be all about the booze. We enjoyed our lunch in the beautiful park before heading on down the road to Yalgorup National Park. It was a quick stopover with no real walks, but the attraction here was ancient stromatolites. They are living, microbial colonies that use nutrient-rich waters to build themselves up, but they use sunlight in the same way plants do to create oxygen. Only they are older than plants, and their existence on Earth is responsible for the initial oxygen that allowed life on land to exist. This area in Yalgorup was one of the few colonies on Earth to contain living stromatolites, so it was one more "wow Australia is really old" moment and once again kinda cool.

It was just a quick drive down the highway until we reached our rest stop for the evening--they had pretty fancy toilets and we once again had a cooker so we could make pasta--so that was a nice bonus. As I was preparing dinner, a young English gentleman came over who had rocked up on a bicycle. He very humbly asked if I had any water to spare as his bottles were empty and the water at the rest stop had to be boiled before it was safe to drink. I said of course, as we had a 4L bottle of spring water, and filled him up. We began to chat and discovered that he had come all the way from Perth on his bicycle! That's 100km! I was quite impressed and quite certain that I would never attempt such a feat, and we offered him one of our camp chairs as we sat down and started talking. His name was George, he's from England, he's getting work at the moment as a surveyor living in a small beach town south of Perth (about a further 80km from the rest stop), and came to Australia because he was sick of sitting around in England doing nothing. Can't blame him. He was a very intelligent, very well spoken, and very nice guy. We chatted through the evening and past dark talking about Australia, traveling, people, the universe, etc . . He was lamenting the fact that he would have to bike another 80km the next day and didn't think he would make it, so we offered to give him a lift as we had a big van that could fit his bike and were heading down that way anyway. He was very gracious for the offer, and we were just happy to make a new friend! It's those funny, happenstance moments that occur while traveling that justifies traveling as an end in and of itself. The ability to meet people from different parts of the world, to exchange ideas and insights, to simply encounter those instances of goodness that seem to exist everywhere--even in unlikely places and circumstances. It's nice to be on the giving end as well--we were happy to be those random people he met at a rest stop that gave him water and a lift back home. 

The next day we we dropped him off in the small town of Bunbury, and as we didn't need our Australia guide book anymore we donated it to him so he could see what else there was to explore in the country. We included our e-mails inside as well so we could keep in touch in case we ever ended up in the same part of the world again--hey, you never know. He told us that our tales of our travels inspired him to want to get out there and go more places. After bidding goodbye, we headed down the coast for the day we had been looking forward to for weeks--it was wine tasting time! Margaret River is considered one (if not THE) premier wine region is Australia, known for their world class Bordeaux-style and Chardonnays. Sounds great to me!

So here we were driving along the highway ready to taste some wine when all of a sudden we heard a high screech noise followed by several pops. We could tell it had come from our car and immediately pulled over on the highway. I was so nervous as John got out to take a look under the hood to see what was going on. "Yup, we have a problem" were his words and my blood pressure skyrocketed. "Oh for goodness sake, give us a freaking break, Australia!" was all I could think. It was our wine tasting day, our last few days in Australia, and I was terrified we would have to waste the day trying to sort out the damn car. One of the belts underneath had broken off and the trick was figuring out which one. We immediately called roadside assistance to tell them what had happened and they asked us to describe the location of the belt in reference to other parts of the engine. John was afraid it was the water pump, but after further conversation the guy on the phone thought it was just the AC belt, which would have been a godsend as that would have no effect on the engine and meant the car was still perfectly drivable (minus the air conditioning). We hopped back on the highway to test her out, keeping an eagle eye on the temperature gauge. She never moved, keeping a steady under half-way position--our day was saved! 

Ten minutes later we pulled into our first winery called Flametree Wines at a prompt time of 10:00 a.m--right when they opened for the day. But after our mini scare, we were ready for a drink! We were the only ones there as it was Sunday morning, and the girl at the cellar door, while quirky, was super nice and knew a lot about wine. We could tell it was a bit early for her, and she admitted that her coffee had not quite kicked in, but she had a great personality, great knowledge, and enthusiastically took us through their wines. We ended up purchasing a nice bottle of their newly released Semillion Sauvignon Blanc, which is a very popular wine in Australia though not part of our usual repertoire. Theirs, however, was particularly nice and we wanted to purchase something as she was a really friendly and helpful cellar door hand. We told her that we were after a really good Chardonnay and immediately told us that she, too, was a Chardonnay freak and that she always goes to Pierro further down the road. This wasn't on our original list of wineries, but we added it on based on her recommendation. We headed down further into the region, stopping at a beautiful spot along the coast to snap a photo:

The next stop was a nice, boutique winery called Fermoy Estate and they had a very nice range of good, affordable wines as well. Apparently in 2000 some random girl at a bar in Sydney struck the fancy of the crown prince of Denmark and two years later they were married and one of Fermoy's wines was served at the wedding reception. They were indeed good wines, and the cellar door hand was once again really nice, but we were holding out for that "OMG this is amazing" Chardonnay. 

And then we went to Pierro. THANK YOU, Flametree wine girl for the recommendation. We realized when we got there that we sold one of their varieties--a Semillion Sauvignon Blanc "LTC" (Little Touch of Chardonnay) at Sea Temple and had actually had it at one of the wine trainings. However, it was even better than I remembered when we had it at the cellar door. Even their budget range Chardonnay, at $25, was a steal as it was a really good Chardonnay. And then we had their flagship: a 2010 Pierro Chardonnay and it was perfect. At $70 a bottle you would expect it to be good and believe me, it was good.  THIS was our "OMG this is amazing" Chardonnay and we gladly parted with our $70 to take one of these with us to have on our last night in Australia. We told the cellar door lady as much and she was really nice and said she was honored that this would be the last wine we wanted to have in Oz. 

So, after 3 wineries we had made all the purchases that we could afford, after making a quick stop at the Margaret River Dairy Company to grab a lovely double cream Camembert cheese, that is. But there were still wineries to explore and you can't turn down free tastings, so off we went! The next stop was the larger commercial winery, Vasse Felix, who we also sold at Sea Temple. They do have a nice Chardonnay and their Cane Cut dessert wine is particularly delicious. We were just in to try and as they are one of the major wineries their cellar door was actually quite busy, but the people who served us were still nice. 

After 4 wineries it was time for a pit stop to grab some lunch to soak up some of that alcohol. We grabbed some sandwiches and stopped into the Margaret River Chocolate Company to snag some free samples and purchase a truffle or two. Can't resist that yummy chocolate! The Flametree wine place had a Chocolate-Mandarin-Chili-Shiraz dipping sauce that sounded delectable but we didn't purchase that either. 

Our next stop was a winery called Cape Mentelle--we had never heard of it before going to Margaret River, but I read great reviews about it so we decided to give it a try.The guy that served us was a young guy still in Uni, but we was very nice and actually really knowledgeable about wine. It was a departure from the traditional people you get at the Cellar Door, so I was quite impressed by his passion and knowledge of wine. They had some nice ones as well, in particular a nice Bordeaux (a true Bordeaux as it did contain all 5 grape varieties required to earn such a title). We enjoyed chatting with him for a while about other wines we enjoyed and some of our experiences in NZ as well. 

Our last stop of the day was at one of the biggest wineries in the area as well, but also known for it's quality wines---Leeuwin Estate. They are quite an old winery and like the Mission they have a concert series every summer on their property that attracts a large crowd. They had a restaurant as well, which we had heard was very good, but unfortunately we were still on our diet of PBJ and pasta and our perfect little Chardonnay was all we could afford on our budget. They did have some nice wines, indeed, and are known for their Chardonnay--but they were $10 more expensive than Pierro and I think we made the right choice for us. 

It was around 4:30 when we finally finished and now that we were sufficiently boozed up it was time to park it for the night. We had originally intended to stay at this one campground that I had read somewhere was $5 per night but when we got there it was quite crowded and the sign said it was actually $9, per person, and we didn't have that kinda cash on us so we headed a bit further up the road to another campsite in a national park which was only $7 for the night. It was a but further inland, but much less busy and hence quieter. We had a quick rinse off in my handy solar shower, before enjoying our other pint of Little Creatures that we had kept before making some dinner.

As I was cooking our pasta, an older Aussie guy came over with his daughter. You he could tell he was one of those proper Aussie types--no shoes on, his wide brim hat, holding a stubby of cheap beer. But he was actually super nice and just came over to have a chat as they were in the campsite next to us. His name was Chris and he was out camping for the weekend with his whole family--daughter, wife, and in-laws. He was also a certified mechanic who now worked for BP in Australia. At first we started talking about that and about this special fuel that BP has produced in Australia called Opal fuel that is just like unleaded petrol only there is no odor to it so you can't sniff it (in Aboriginal communities, huffing gas is also on the list of substance abuse issues). After that, the conversation turned to other things related to Australia and our travels, but once our dinner was ready he excused himself but invited us over later to chat with his family and have a drink. Our streak of meeting nice people in random situations seemed to be persisting and so we accepted.  After dinner we sauntered over to the bonfire they had going, bringing our bottle of the Firetree Wine to enjoy with some company. They were a very nice bunch and even the in-laws were nice to talk to. They were really into this fad called Geo Cacheing, which we had first heard of in NZ, where people hide little trinkets all over the world and you find them via GPS. 

These people had been truly out bush, taking their 4X4 to places where there weren't any proper roads, to remote indigenous communities that still hunted and ate the Goanna lizard, and had actually been all over Australia. They were really keen to listen to our experiences and observations and were in general really nice people. 

These final days of our Australian adventures revealed such a different side of the country and a different sort of folk to us that we hadn't encountered in significant numbers throughout our whole year. All I could keep thinking was "why couldn't have Australia been like this the whole time?" John and I reckon that if we had settled in Freemantle in those first 6 months instead of Melbourne that our whole opinion of Australia would have been much more positive. But at the least we were ending things on a good note. 

The next morning we once again exchanged e-mails with our new friends and set out further down the coast to a small town called Pemberton that has a very scenic drive called the Karri Forest Explorer. It was a quaint country town and we grabbed a coffee before heading out on the drive. The first stop was a famous tree called the Gloucester Tree. Before there were airplanes, these tall trees were used as lookouts to spot possible forrest fires. Metal rungs were drilled all the way to the top to make it possible to climb, and even though they aren't used as lookouts anymore it's still open to the public to climb. It was about 61 meters to the top , which is quite a decent way, and once you reached the top you could see out in all directions.

Once we reached the ground it was a good spot to have some lunch. We opened up the back of the van to make some sandwiches and so John could make some noodles. Soon enough, we had several birds paying us a visit begging for a morsel of food. One larger, colorful bird was particularly keen and hung around a bit--trying to scare other birds away and eventually flying at my hand in an effort to snag some grub. Well, after that display of bad manners and the fact that there were signs saying not to feed the birds (Whoops!) we stopped--though it took them a while to get the picture. Apparently birds really like pasta and peanut butter!

The next part of the drive was to a small dam and lake, it was nice and peaceful but nothing particularly stunning so we headed to the next few stops where we saw some more big trees before finally pulling up to a nice waterfall called Beedelup falls. It was nice--there was a swing bridge across and the valley where the waterfall was located even had a remote little resort where people could stay. 

Our last stop along the drive was a small river called the cascades where you could take a short walk around the area. Apparently if you had a keen eye you could spot lampreys in the river, but unfortunately we didn't see any--that would have been really cool.

After that it was a short drive to a small national park called Shannon just down the highway. It was a quiet spot to camp for the night and once again, to my surprise, they had hot showers! It was actually really nice they had a regular size water tank but underneath was a small furnace and they supplied the firewood to light the fire to heat the water (with a temperature gauge on the front). It was a very eco-friendly way of offering such a service and it was really lovely since that far south the nights could be a bit nippy. We lit the fire just before dinner and once we were all fed the water was nice and hot! There was a drive we could have done around the area, but we decided to save the petrol as we had an early morning ahead of us--having to make the 4-hour drive back to Perth to the Chinese Embassy to pick up our passports with our Chinese Visas inside. They close at noon so we were up and off by 6 a.m. It was our last full day in Australia and all we could think about was that fantastic wine we were going to enjoy!

The line was actually quite long at the embassy, so it was good we got there with time to spare. We chatted up the guy behind us, a young guy studying and we were chatting about our travel plans. Once we secured our passports with the visas it was a huge relief--all of our travel plans were set! Now it was just time to enjoy our last day in Australia! We headed about 35Km out of town to a small national park with a nature center and a very nice campsite. They had a camp kitchen with power, proper bathrooms and showers, lots of shade, and we were the only ones there! We mostly just hung out and watched movies (while I caught up on all my blogs!) until the sun finally started to set and we were ready to enjoy our wine and cheese! It was just as glorious as we remembered. 

After two years of working and traveling, we were about to embark on a completely new adventure--going to places and countries that were unfamiliar, culturally different, and non-English speaking! 

The next morning we woke up early, dropped off our van, took a taxi to the airport, and caught a plane to Bali!

West Coast: I Would Drive 1,800 Miles

Our trip down the West Coast, our longest stretch of driving from destination to destination, would not be as comfy as our wonderful relocation campers. With our solar shower, little tent, and more bird food for our diet, we would really be roughing it! Since we didn't buy a mattress or any padding for our tent, at each rest stop we had to use our sleeping bags as our only source of padding--which meant we were basically sleeping on the ground. And by ground I mean a rough, stone- ridden compacted dirt area. Sound excruciatingly uncomfortable? Oh, it was. The first few nights we became masters in contorting our bodies to semi-comfortable positions so my hips didn't dig into the ground, but by the third night when the nights got cooler so you had to struggle for warmth AND comfort my hips were in pain and I had to give up--time to sleep in the car! And so we did for the last two nights which was much more comfortable (and warm). At least we stayed in free rest stops (with toilets!) the whole way down so that was about as much luxury as we were afforded. 

Our first day was once again the longest drive to Karjini National park. Our friends Chris and Thirza had also recommend this park to us so we decided to check it out.  The first night we arrived really late at the campsite and while it was slightly windy outside, which meant quite a nippy bath as our solar shower was also pretty cool, we were exhausted enough to fall asleep. However the one good thing about that night was the stars. Being out in the middle of nowhere, with no clouds, the sky that night was truly brilliant. In the morning the sun was shining, so it was off to explore the only part of the park accessible by 2WD called Dale's Gorge. The rim walk of the gorge wasn't anything spectacular, but once you walked down into it you were greeted by a lovely plunge pool called Fern Pool. The rocky terrace steps led down to the small pool which was quite cold and had a nice little waterfall:

We enjoyed a bit of time there before heading back along the bottom of the gorge. This walk was much more interesting and in the shade which was nice.

It led to the other side of the gorge and another small swimming hole called Circular Pool. We didn't swim in this one, as John was drawn to all the handprints on the cliff wall. The area was full of the yellow ochre rock that aboriginals mixed with water and used to make their yellow paint, and many tourists had taken after the tradition. John, being the art enthusiast, made some yellow paint and left his own mark on Australia, to live on into perpetuity (assuming rangers don't wash all the graffiti off). 

We made another quick stop at the Karijini National Park Visitors Center, which was actually really nice and very informative about the region. It's located in the Pilbarra, which is some of the oldest remaining rock/landscape in present day Australia, some 600 million years old. The center had information about the geological and social history of the region, including the information about Aboriginals and their work on cattle stations. It also included information about blue asbestos which is present in the region. There is a town at the far edge of the park called Wittenoom, which was a blue asbestos mining town in the 60s, but they stopped after they realized that inhaling blue asbestos fibers can cause cancer. The maps warn you not to visit the abandoned town or the local gorge. Although, apparently the rock is still used in jewelry. 

So after our morning in Karijini we headed out back to the coast. Our destination was originally going to be Exmouth and the Ningaloo Marine Park, but Exmouth was quite a drive up and we could still access the marine park via a small beach town called Coral Bay. We arrived early the next morning and rented some snorkel equipment from a little family-run business in a shack right on the beach. You could access the reef right off the coast, although the best sites were a bit further out and accessible by a 25 min kayak trip. We decided to stick to the coast, as it was till gorgeous white sand beaches and pristine clear blue water. 

The sites we visited in the Great Barrier Reef were much healthier and hence much nicer, but it was still neat to be able to snorkel right from the coast. We saw several varieties of fish and even a few sting rays! 

Otherwise, we just enjoyed relaxing and napping on the beach for the afternoon and ended up meeting a really nice Dutch couple who were vacationing in Australia as well. They were going to take the train, called the Ghan, across the Australian outback from Darwin all the way to Adelaide. It's a trip we would have loved to do, but our budget just didn't allow for it. They were really nice and we chatted for a while. Among several stories they congratulated us on our election results and told us to not get married :)

Karijini and Coral Bay were the highlights of our West Coast journey. We had to skip Monkey Mia where they feed dolphins and Kalbarri National Park where you can see beautiful wildflowers, as we wanted to save on petrol and we didn't quite make the trip in time for peak wildflower season as most of them had died away. That was the one big disappointment, as I really wanted to see the outback awash in bright, beautiful color. Maybe another time. So really we just jumped from major-ish town to major-ish town, stopping to grab a coffee and us the internet to finalize fun stuff like tax returns and filling out our Chinese visa applications. 

One stop we did make though was in a small town called Carnarvon. The sight we were after there was the Overseas Telecommunications Commission dish at the Satellite Earth Station. It was just an old, rusty dish in a small west-coast town that went out of service in 1987, so what could possible be interesting? Well, luckily John and I had seen a movie called "The Dish" about this very object. It, in conduction with NASA, was responsible for receiving and then broadcasting all the communications from the Apollo 11 moon landing. Back then, two guys--one Aussie, one American, were responsible for running the whole station and broadcasting the moon landing to the world. It was quite a large task for two guys, and they had to battle the gusty winds that pass through the area and which we experienced that day. If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend it. It's got Sam Neil, who is an Australian actor. So yes, it was just a really interesting stop and actually an important part of history. There are plans to make a NASA museum, but those haven't gotten off the ground yet, so at the moment you can just wander around the place (though unfortunately, not inside). 

Our last major stop along the West Coast was an area just outside of Perth called the Pinnacles. It's a vast desert of yellow sand with a bunch of limestone pillars or rocks sticking out all over the place. They aren't really sure where the rocks came from. They could be old compressed sea shells, calcium-rich organic matter that had been held together by old tree roots, which then slowly disappeared, or some other ancient geological process that I can't recall. Either way, in the late-day sun it was quite a unique and pretty sight. Kinda reminded me of a potential cover for a U2 album. 

But anywho, that was the last major stop along the West Coast. The next day we finished our 3,000 km (or 1,800 mile) drive and made it to Perth--the major capital city that is still miles from nowhere! The end of our Oz adventures was near!

Broome: Where the Dinosaurs Are (Were)

The daytime driving to Broome was much like that which we had experienced--long stretches of road, cloudless skies, hot days, but luckily as we headed further south the nights got cooler once again. Leaving from Darwin, we drove non-stop that day all the way to the WA border. We arrived quite late in the evening, though at all WA borders there is a quarantine station in order to prevent specific bugs like fruit flies and cane toads from entering WA. The lady at the station was really nice and after searching our car, she told us to just pull off to the rest stop and have a sleep (even though the sign said no camping). It was another 40Km drive to the nearest town and she wasn't going to make us drive that so late at night. So we pulled off for the night and had a nice sleep in our new fancy van (but not before using the rest area bathrooms to have a quick solar-bag shower of course). 

The next morning we woke up at what we thought was 5:45 but time zones during daylight savings time get very confusing. Tasmania, Victoria, and NSW all have the same time zone on the east coast, but Queensland is one hour behind as they don't do daylight savings. Adelaide is a half hour behind Victoria and Co, while Northern Territory is a half hour behind Queensland (or an hour and a half behind Adelaide), also not using daylight savings. Once you get in to WA, even though it's a huge territory they don't do daylight savings either and it's an extra hour and a half behind NT or 3 hours behind the east coast, or 2 hours behind Queensland. Tasmania also starts daylights savings a month before the rest of them. Confused yet? Yeah, so were we. When we woke up at what we thought was 5:45 we were surprised that it was actually light outside with the sun coming up over the horizon about 30 minutes later. We hit the road at what we thought was a decent hour, listening to the radio who told us that it was actually a whole hour back than what we thought. So we actually woke up at 4:45 a.m with the sun rising around 5:30. Geeze--for people who get up at noon they really do sleep for half the day since the sun sets at 6:00! So, we made really good time to our first destination called Mirima or Hidden Valley National park. It's a smaller and 2WD-accessible version of a more popular national park near the Kimberley called Purnululu. It's once again a huge collection of the dome-shaped rocks that we found in Kings Canyon and Alice Springs. It was a short, nice walk and cloudy for probably the first time since leaving Tasmania. 

As we continued our drive along the fringe of the Kimberly region (also called the last frontier as it's hundreds of thousands of hectares of complete wilderness--roughly the size of the UK), we noticed a dark cloud slowly building throughout the day. Sometimes it's hard to tell what is cloud and what is bushfire smoke in the outback, but as the sun started to set it just got darker and more ominous. Add that to the fact that we were driving pretty much alone along a stretch of outback highway and you've got the ingredients for a great horror movie. We also passed over the town of Wolfe Creek where the horror movie about a serial-killer who targets backpackers was made. I Wikipedia -searched the real story though, and the movie took substantial liberties about what actually happened--and where. But still, we pulled into a campsite for the night just as the dark cloud was moving closer and closer. That night we anticipated a huge storm bringing the torrential rain that is infamous during the Wet in the northern part of the country, but instead were treated to the most amazing lightening storm I had ever seen.

The heat that radiates during the day just builds and builds, and in the night releases in a spectacular display of lightening across the flat desert plains. No rain, just heaps of wind. It was like watching a giant strobe light with flashes going off simultaneously, one after another, with the occasional lightening bolt streaking across the dark sky. We literally just sat in our camper van and watched, with the show eventually lulling us to sleep as the thunder was infrequent and distant considering the amount of heat. It really was incredible--I had never seen a storm like it. (We made sure to move our van out from under the large trees and into a much more open area). 

But, if you're lucky enough to get the calm evening skies, you are treated to some magnificent sunsets in the tropical north:

By morning, the clouds were gone and it was back to sunny blue skies. It was up early to explore the only part of the Kimberley that is accessible by 2-wheel drive: Geike Gorge National Park. It was a nice walk along a riverbank that gave nice views of the gorge and the river that runs through it. Apparently, though, in the rainy season the region has experience some crazy flooding, with the water level rising by up to 25 meters! It was nice and dry for us that day, though. John was lucky enough to spot a freshwater crocodile in the water! (Though it quickly disappeared underneath before we could get a photo). 

After our short morning stop, we made good time to our final destination of Broome, a quaint town located thousands of kilometers from anywhere. Along the way we made a quick pit stop at a rest area for lunch that contained an enormous boab tree. These trees are found mainly in this region and can grow up to be several meters across and even more meters around. Check it out for yourself:

There is also a famous tree located a a town not too far from Broome (and by not too far we mean 200Km) called the Boab Prison Tree. During european settlement apparently one of these huge trees was used as a holding cell for aboriginal prisoners before they were transferred to the main prison. Another piece of not-so-great aboriginal history. But still, the tree was awesomely massive!

We pulled into Broome that evening, opting for another powered site at a caravan park located just next to the town beach. Might as well make full use of our awesome $1 camper van for the last night! I was able to do a proper load of laundry which was much needed, and we were able to prepare for our next leg of the journey. Turns out we wouldn't be able to get a relocation deal to Perth, and would actually stay in Broome for a few days. I didn't mind--as I actually thought it was a really beautiful place with wonderful beaches. Plus, with a sunrise like this, you could hardly mind a few days stay:

Yes, I really did take that picture our first morning in Broome, right as we awoke in the caravan park. It was like a scene straight from a postcard.

Unfortunately we had to turn in our nice camper van the next morning, but we traded it up for a nice hostel instead. The place we had stayed in Alice Springs was kind of a dump, but it was cheap so we put up with it. We had heard that Broome can be quite expensive since it's so far from anywhere, but luckily we arrived after peak season so the prices started to decrease and we were able to get a bed in an air-conditioned dorm for $24 each--which is actually quite cheap for Australia. But the place we stayed was actually a more upscale hostel, or a cheap motel. They had a big, CLEAN kitchen, free breakfast, a bar with cheap meals and drinks ($5 for a beer--unheard of!), double rooms with en-suite bathrooms, a pool, and clean dorm rooms which we elected to stay in. So it was actually a really nice place and the only people in our room were another British couple and thank goodness the guy didn't snore!

But yes, Broome was one of my favorite stops in our Outback trip. It started when we dropped off our camper van and we were chatting with the guy about how to get to town, as it was quite hot and there was a brochure at the depot for a local micro brewery called Matso's with some really interesting sounding beers. He told us the directions and we started the 20-30 minute walk. About 10 minutes in, the guy pulls up next to us in his car saying he is headed on his lunch break in the same direction and offers to drop us off. Nice guy--and he's native Australian! So we graciously accept the offer and he drops us off right at the brewery where we enjoy a delicious sample of beers including: Mango Beer, Ginger Beer, Chili Beer (John's favorite), and a really nice Pale Ale and Dark Ale. With our bellies full we make the walk to the information center where we can catch the local bus that drops us at our accommodation. After a nice afternoon swim, a hot shower, and some internet access, we were able to sleep in a real bed (with AC!) 

Our few days in Broome were nice and relaxing. We were able to catch up on e-mails, blogs, trip planning, and luckily we were able to follow the election! In between relaxing in our room and enjoying the pool, we also made a few jaunts to the local beach, Cable Beach, as it's considered one of the best beaches in Australia--if not in the world. Indeed, the second night we made the walk out there to enjoy the sunset over the Indian Ocean. 

Our last full day in Broome also coincided with the US elections. We followed the online action throughout the early morning on the NY Times and were very happy with the outcome. At least we may actually come home in April! To celebrate the occasion, we made the 6-Km return walk along the beach to an area called Gantheaume Point where, if you are lucky, you can spot 120 million-year-old dinosaur footprints at low tide! Unfortunately, the tide wasn't low enough during our stay for us to view the actual ones as they are often covered by the ocean, but at the top of the cliff they have a cast of the prints so that everyone can see what they look like. The region is actually well known for having dinosaur footprints of various species dotted all the way up the coastline--this particular one of the Megalosaurpod variety that they suspect is from the Late Jurassic period. Cue John doing his best impression of a T-Rex:

So yes, Broome was good to us. Beautiful beaches, an Obama victory, and enjoying the beauty of the red sands of Australia with the brilliant blue of the Indian Ocean. We headed back along the beach in the sunset, once again a fantastic sight:

Arriving at the backpackers, we enjoyed a cheap barbecue put on by the hostel that included a free beer or wine! Great way to end the day.

As we didn't get a relocation vehicle for the final leg of the trip, I managed to find a cheap one-way rental to Perth from AVIS in a mid-sized hatchback. We bought a cheap 2-person tent from Coles, filled up the solar shower, stocked up on our usual fruit, granola, and PBJs (no cooking utensils again) and headed out to make our last long journey along the wild West Coast!

Around Darwin: The Tropical Top End

The next morning we dropped off our little car and picked up our first relocation camper to Darwin! It was a Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4, called a "bush camper" as it's been outfitted inside with a cooking area, sink, and bed. They really were creative when, whoever designed the thing, managed to turn the inside of it into a living space. We at least got a photo of the outside. 

But yes, now WE had the huge car with Roo bars that would annihilate any little Hyundai Getz, or Kangaroo, that crossed our paths. Luckily we didn't smash into anyone, or anything, while driving ours.

So we picked it up, our wonderful $5/day car (plus $200 of petrol included!) and headed north on the Stewart Highway . . . which looked a lot the other roads we had been driving on. As we made the 9 or 10 hour drive north to our first camping spot at the free rest area on the side of the highway, it really started to dawn on us that the outback really was nothing. Here is the Outback in a nutshell: thousands of miles of long, flat roads (which was nice for the gas mileage), thousands of acres of bush scrub, and a cloudless blue sky. 

The only real sights we were able to find were burned out cars on the side of the road (of which there was an unsettlingly large number), termite mounds decorated with an occasional t-shirt or hat to make termite mound people, dead kangaroos, and the frequent bush fire clouding the road and sky with grey smoke. Oh, and the random camel:

That was pretty much it, for the entire journey from Darwin to Broome and eventually along the west coast, the scenery did not change. The roadhouses that sprinkle the highway every few hundred kilometers or so are the only hints of civilization--and even then--you are still pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. But still we drove the whole darn thing.

We took a quick pit stop at an area that afternoon called The Devil's Marbles. They are precariously stacked rocks covering a large area and they are just neat to look at. They were all originally underground but have slowly eroded away to reveal the nifty formations.

After that our first stop along the Stuart Highway heading to Darwin was Katherine Gorge (or Nitmiluk) National Park. We turned into Katherine town to stop at the grocery store and load up on essentials. It was hot, just as hot as Alice Springs had been, only now you had to add the humidity to that equation--making it sticky hot (and the worst kind). In the checkout area of the only grocery store, the stench of everyone's BO mixing together was quite overwhelming. So we got what we needed and made a quick exit. Our first part of the day was meant to be spent walking a lookout track that started at the Katherine Gorge visitor center. However, after making the 30-kilometer drive there from town we saw a sign as we were walking in that said the track was closed for construction and repairs. All of the other walks were significantly longer, at least 3-4 hours, so we had to nix that and headed to our next destination and campsite for the night at another part of the park called Edith Falls.

I was drawn here because of the advertisement for swimming holes, which would be a wonderful escape from the heat of the day. So we headed in and made the short, 30 minute walk up to the Upper Pool. It was beautiful and perfect, and a wonderful, relieving site to behold. 

We made our way down the rocks to find that we were the only ones there, which was also really nice. The good thing about this swimming hole (besides the cool water) was the fact that it was also crocodile-free, which can be a problem in the tropical top end. So we hopped in and swam around, enjoying the peace and tranquility.

After a while, a group of teenagers joined us as well, but they were a bit more adventurous and decided to go cliff jumping off the rocks. We decided not to join them on this particularly risky activity, as the edge of the plunge pool had many shallow rocks sprinkled around. We still stayed a bit longer though, before heading down back to our camping area for the night and the larger, and less scenic (though larger) lower pool. Apparently it's quite popular during the less sweltering winter months, but luckily we had reached shoulder season and so it was not very crowded. While it wasn't as pretty as the upper pool, we still took a dip in order to stay cool, and had fun with the little fishes that would come have a taste of our feet and toes! They tickled! After that it was time to head back and prepare our one real dinner for the week.

We noticed after putting on our swimsuits that subsisting on our cheap diet of essentially bird food (fruit, granola bar, PB& Js and pasta), combined with walking several kilometers each day meant we had noticeably lost some weight. We could also tell as we both had to up the notch in our belts just to keep our shorts on! So that night our pot of delicious chili was particularly delicious and fattening, although it still didn't do much as it was back to the cheap stuff for the next week.

Although that night chili may have not been the best choice because even as the sun went down, the heat did not decrease the way it had in the desert. We were in the tropics now, and the evenings were still very warm. That night after our pot of chili and cold (well as cold as we could get it since the campground water sits in the sun all day) showers, we made up the bed to our van, keeping the back doors open in hopes it would cool it down. Yeah, it didn't. That night we tossed and turned in the heat, praying for some wind or some release from the warm, humid evening--but it didn't come. Absolutely NO wind. Completely stagnant and hence, for myself, completely unable to fall asleep. We had a small refrigerator in our van that ran on a battery that would charge when the engine was on, thus had been charging all day so we could keep it on at night. Inside we had put a big 10L bag of spring water so we could have cold water on our walks. That night, after laying awake staring at the ceiling, I ended up taking the bag out of the fridge and cuddling with it in an attempt to cool myself down enough to sleep. Kind of like a reverse hot water bottle. It worked pretty well, actually. Though luckily it was the only time I had to revert to such desperation to fall asleep.

The next day, we were up and off again to our next big destination (which would eventually turn out to be a big mistake) at Kakadu National Park. Now, apparently locals in Darwin call the park "Kaka-don't" and I WISH we had listened to them. But all the literature said it was such an awesome place and a must-see in Australia. Yeah, I don't know what punch they were drinking, but it was pretty much the most un-spectacular park I have ever been to. Or maybe they didn't go while they were on a budget during the apparently crappy time of year. It's a big ass park, with the road through it stretching some 200 Km in a semi-circle. Just to enter, though, is $25 per person, which we both paid at the start even though no one hardly checks the park passes. As we drove along the road looking for walks to take (as many of them were on poorly signed unsealed or 4WD roads thus off-limits to us), the scenery was notably boring. Just trees. We finally, after about 70Km, pulled off into the first walk which was supposed to wind around an area called Yellow River, where you could possibly spot saltwater crocs (or "salties"). Turns out it was closed. Though no sign this time saying so, we just saw yellow caution tape over the entrance and had to turn back. Great start. Another 20Km up the road we turned off for another walk that showcased native, and supposedly really old, aboriginal rock art. It was a short walk and some of the art was nice, but not worth the struggle.

See, in the tropical north during the start of wet season, you have to battle a diverse array of elements. First there is the heat, and then the humidity, and then there is the coup de grace--the flies. Swarms of obnoxious flies that follow you wherever you go, buzzing in your ears, flying around your face, landing anywhere on your person that they can manage--following you into your car. It's psychological warfare battling with those freaking flies and in Kakadu they got the better of us. After attempting to walk around a relatively unspectacular billabong, the files just became to much. We didn't purchase those goofy yet utterly necessary hats with the netting over the face (though now we TOTALLY understand why people buy them), we just decided to leave. Pile on that the fact that the place where we were meant to camp that night was in close proximity to another bushfire, covering the area in smoke, and we just chalked Kakadu up as one big disappointment (and waste of gas) and made the 100Km drive to get outta' dodge. 

So yeah, if you ever go to Australia, listen to the locals--DON'T go to Kakdu--go to Litchfield! Which was our next destination and a hundred million times better. 

As a way to improve our sour moods over Kakadu we decided to splurge on a powered site at one of the caravan parks near the entrance to Litchfield. We were able to park in the shade, we had power and water in our camper van, they had real showers, and a pool! Plus, by the time we got there the sun had started to go down meaning the flies went away for the night. And there was a nice breeze throughout the whole evening. It was heaven. 

After a much needed night of rest (and some leftover chili for dinner!) we were ready to go the next morning for Litchfield! Our first stop was to a site famous for it's magnetic termite mounds. These particular termites only exist in this area and construct their mounds so that they face a perfect North-South direction so there is always one side in the sun and one side in the shade so they can regulate their temperature properly. The mounds went for ages!

There was also another mound close by called a cathedral mound built by a different termite that was around 50 years old and about 20 feet high!

So that was kinda cool but the main attraction of Litchfield is the numerous plunge pools and waterholes that are all within driving distance or along a pleasant, shaded walk. The first stop of the day was John's favorite called Buley Rock water hole. It was really a downward sloping river, with a terraced pool formation so you could climb up and down and swim in different little holes. It was really neat, very beautiful, and a great way to beat the heat!

We enjoyed these pools for at least an hour before heading on to the next one via a short walk. This was called Florence Falls and was my favorite spot in the park. It was a larger, though not huge, swimming hole at the base of two waterfalls that were flowing quite nicely. Just like in the morning when the Buley Rock hole was sparsely populated, we arrived at Florence Falls just as a big tour group was heading out. What luck! The water was nice and cool and there were shallow rocks sprinkled throughout so you could stand up in the middle. We also were able to swim to and under the falls which was great fun and SO refreshing!

The next stop, after lunch, was a much smaller waterhole and bit further of a walk up a hill, but it was located right at the top edge of a waterfall and we were the only ones around--so that was really nice. We got some photos of us right on the edge! 

We only stayed there for a short time, before we headed back down to the next, and last waterhole of the day which is also apparently the most popular called Wangi Falls. Like the lower pool in Katherine Gorge, this waterhole was particularly large and while it was nice, was not as scenic as the others we visited. But we still swam across and up to the falls, which weren't particularly large at that time of year.

But Wangi Falls was also the location of our campsite for the evening so we hung around a bit relaxing before making camp (i.e. parking) for the night. There was a short walk into a forrest right next to the waterfalls and as we walked along we came across a GIANT spider called the Golden Orb. It's not particularly dangerous for humans, but it is big and scary!

To my surprise and delight, the campground had proper showers in the bathrooms! Sixth sense I tell you. So after wonderfully refreshing showers, pasta dinner, and our nightly card games, we went to bed much happier and much cooler that evening.

A little video action of what turned out to be a great day!

The next day was our last day of the rental, so we just made the hour or so trip to Darwin, got lost in the CBD a bit, before finally finding the location of our next relocation deal to Broome. To our delight, this camper van was even nicer than the last! Besides the fact that the 4X4 had two 90L tanks for petrol, and hence wasn't the most economical, this van was an auto-transmission and the inside was so nice! It was an Apollo van, which we never rented as they are quite expensive, but now we know why. The insides have a faux wood floor, the sink is run on a battery-operated pump so you just turn it on like a regular sink, the bed was bigger, it had a nice table and kitchen area--all for $1/day with $250 in fuel included! I wish we had been able to use these deals everywhere. Plus, for John it meant that he and I could now share the driving since I can drive auto, so that was a big plus. 

So after turning in our old car, we were back on the road again, heading around the fringe of the Kimberly, through the Great Sandy Desert on our way to Broome!