Kakadu

Did some hiking around Kakadu National Park. Saw a lot of Crocs at White Lily Billabong. Even saw one go after a bird, but the bird got away. It was really cool to see the crocs out swimming, didn't get to see that on the Daintree. Really impressive to see them move along effortlessly with just a tiny movement of their tail.

After that went to Barramundi Gorge. Really nice swim after hiking in the hot, dry Top End weather. Even did a little cliff jumping, I seem to be getting over my fear of heights.

The next day was really the highlight of the trip. We hiked to the top of Jim Jim Falls. It was a really spectacular view up there. Had a little swim up there which was really refreshing after hiking for hours.

After that we went to Twin falls. Took a boat up the gorge which was nice after all the hiking at Jim Jim. On the boat ride back, we ran out of gas. so a bunch of us improvised some paddles. we used a pole, a broom and a dustpan to paddle our way back.

That night I was in charge of building a fire, so I built the mother of all bon fires. Chris, one of the people in the group had the awesome idea of fire drawing. What you do is set up a camera on a tripod and set it to as long an exposure as you can. Then take a stick that is burning at one end and move it around. Then in the picture you end up with the drawings. I'll post the drawings I made as soon as Chris sends them to me.

The last day we saw some Aborigine rock art, and stopped for lunch at a beautiful billabong.

White Lily Billabong


Crikey! She's a beaut!


Baramundi Gorge


You can swim down this little pool and through a cave to get back out to the main pool


Some cliffs to jump off


Sunrise at camp


A huge cathedral termite mound


View from the top of Jim Jim Falls


Its a loooong way down


Jim Jim Falls from the bottom


Twin Falls from a distance


Twin Falls close up. See the rainbow at the bottom of the falls?


The fire I built.


Rock art


Nice little billabong


More rock art.

The Outback

I made the 2900km journey from Cairns to Darwin. This trip took me across the outback through the most remote towns in Australia. Saw lots of Rivers and some waterfalls. There were beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and at night you could see every star.

There were lots of termite mounds since termites are the only thing that can eat the spinifex grass that grows in the outback.

Went canoeing at Lawn Hill National Park. There were sheer sandstone cliffs which the river flowed between.

We went to Hell's gate where way back they used to drop off prisoners and tell them to walk the rest of the way to the prison in Catherine. But the area around Hell's Gate was inhabited by a tribe of cannibals so the prisoners would never make it to Catherine. So if you passed through Hell's Gate you were never coming back.

We visited Carabirini which had some really cool rock formations. The Aborigines called it a lost city because the rocks look like the ruins of ancient buildings.

Stayed at the Heartbreak Hotel, which is the most remote pub in all of Australia. The nearest town is over three hours drive away. And that town only has a population of 50 people. The next nearest town is over seven hours away. It was called the Heartbreak Hotel because when they were building it, everyone told the owner that it was going to result in heartbreak. And the name kinda stuck.

It was a really fun trip, now I can say that I've seen the real Australia.

Millstream Falls


Russell the snake dude


The Inland Taipan, the dealiest snake in the world. One drop of its venom will take down an elephant.


Beware of Cowzilla!!


Lake Belmore at sunset


This is a replica of Krys, the largest Croc ever found. Over 28 feet long!

Crikey! She got me!!


Termite mounds.


Canoeing in Lawn Hill National Park


Some little falls at the park.


Looking back down the gorge.


Sunrise on a black soil plain


Purty clouds


Road Train! This is how they transport stuff in the outback since there is no rail. Some of them have four trailers and they kick up a lot of dust.


The road less traveled.


This river has exposed the bedrock... looks like the surface of the moon.


Hell's gate. Luckily the cannibals didn't get me.


The group at the border to the Northern Territory.


Not a good spot to go swimming.



Carabirini, Aborigine lost city.


A narrow "lost alley"

I think its really cool how plants can survive in the strangest places.


Koshi at the Heartbreak Hotel.


Daly Waters Pub


They had money from all over the world. That's a 500 billion dollar note from Yugoslavia. They didn't have any Jamaican money though.


But I fixed that!


Also left an old scuba certificate.


There used to be no speed limits in the Northern Territory. But now they've set it at 130 km/h


Natural spring at Mataranka. The water here is bathtub warm.


Having a drink with Charlie the water buffalo. He was the real star of Crocodile Dundee!

Goodbye Cairns!

Finally getting out of Cairns tomorrow. Met a lot of really cool people here, caught the diving bug, and finally finished reading Don Quixote. Heading out to Darwin tomorrow, via the outback. Should be a great trip.

See you next week!

This guy's name is Smeagol. My precioussssss

Cape Tribulation

Sorry for taking so long, had the flu so I didn't feel up to getting the film developed. Anyways Cape Trib was amazing and I had a really awesome dive. Unfortunately the pics didn't come out very well. I guess I'll have to buy an underwater digital camera.

We went to a wildlife habitat where I got some pics of some animals. Then we took a little hike through Mossman Gorge, where the water was really cold. After that we took a cruise down the river where we saw some crocs out getting some sun. Then we went out for a dive. We actually did a drift dive where they took us out on the tender and we jumped off the side backwards, Navy Seal style. Then we just we along with the current and they came back with the tender and picked us up when we surfaced. A really great way to dive.

The last day I just hung out at the beach the last day enjoying the sun. Its been rainy and overcast for what seems like forever in Cairns so it was really good to see some sun.

From the side of the road. The roads up in Cape Trib really reminded me of Jamaica


Me and a Koala


Emu looking for food.


Crikey!

Boxing with the Kangaroo

We made up later though. But he wasn't interested in being kissed!

A little stream at Mossman Gorge.

Sun shining down on the Gorge.

These ferns actually grow up on the tree trunks so they can get sunlight.

Daintree River... Some monagroves on the river bank

Nice little side stream we went down.

This tree frog jumped on the boat to avoid getting eaten by a snake.


Where the Rainforest meets the Reef.

Beautiful day for a dive


Starry Sea Cucumber. These guys clean up the sea floor.


This turtle came for a little swim with us.


He swam amongst us for a few minutes.


This is a white tipped shark. Too bad the pics didn't turn out. He actually swam around in front of us for quite a while which is very unusual. Don't worry mum, these guys never attack divers.


Funky looking Giant Clam


The Beach!

A snake out getting some sun.

So the people will know that we were here....

Ok State of Origin is on. Gotta go watch Queensland humiliate NSW!