Waterfalls galore

July 3, 2010 - After a day of rest in Darwin, we headed to Litchfield National Park for, you guessed it, more hiking! What makes Litchfield a little different, though, is the accessibility to 4 different waterfalls and swimming holes. Also, obscenely tall and large termite mounds are common residents of the park.

We hiked around three of the four waterfalls, swam in a natural swimming hole (free of crocs), and compared our heights against those of the termite mounds. Here are some photos to highlight our day (we left our other camera in Sydney, so these only cover the first half of our day). Enjoy, whoever you are... if anyone is still reading this...

 No Australian park is complete without one of these signs.

Some termites can sense magnetic north, and build their homes facing that direction.

Who's taller, 2 of us or 1 of them?

Wangi Falls... closed due to crocodile risk!

Hike to the top of the falls

Aboriginal Adventures

July 1, 2010 - We landed in Darwin in the late afternoon. If the heat and humidity were any indication of the days that lie ahead, perhaps we should have thought twice about living out of a non-air-conditioned campervan. But, we went full steam ahead (no pun intended). After a few un-exciting errands, we were on the road to Kakadu National Park, shortly after sunset. Visitor guides suggested avoiding driving the long road at night, since wildlife is most active at that time. But, all the better for Tony and I, as we were in search for the things that go bump in the night.

The road to Kakadu was pretty uneventful, probably because it was so dark to see anything. But, as we approached closer to the park, we saw something that looked like a famished, hairless cat. But, it ran away too fast to get a close look. Oh well. We also noticed lots of small bush fires, which we learned later were set intentionally. After a 3 hour drive, we reached our campsite for the night. Campsite for us meant a electicity hook-up for our van, and bathroom facilities.

We woke early the next morning, to start our day of hiking and sightseeing.
Day 1: Rock Art
Stop 1: Ubirr Rock. Aboriginals often used art to pass on stories and lessons for future generations. The art in the rock shelters are estimated to be about 1,500 years old. We saw lots of great aboriginal art and learned a great deal about the aboriginal culture.

Stop 2: A walk to a viewing platform (yes, I forgot the name).

Stop 3: Nourlangie Rock. Similar to Ubirr Rock, Nourlangie Rock also provided several rock shelters the housed aboriginal paintings. The art style was different and older than that at Ubirr.

Stop 4. Back to Ubirr! We read that the sunset at Ubirr was the best place to go… so we went back again. At the top of the art walk are rocks platforms that overlook the wetlands and surrounding landscape. Although a little cloudy for the perfect sunset, it was the perfect place to end a long and tiring day of hiking.

Day 2: More aboriginal culture
Stop 1: Warradjan Aboriginal Culture Center was a great place to read more about the history of Australia. But, sorry, no pictures allowed!

Stop 2: Yellow Water. This area, also known as the wetlands, is well, exactly that... but no, the water was not yellow as the name suggests. We opted out of taking another boat ride and strolled along a metal grated walkway instead. We kept our eyes peeled for wild crocodiles but saw little more than birds and a lizard. But, it was a beautiful and peaceful area for the last stop on our Kakadu mini tour.

En route home, we finally saw one of the animals on our list of Aussie must-sees… a wallaroo (well, that’s what we thought it was).

UPDATE: Monkey Found!

Yes, that's right, Fez has been found! He was hiding in a gift basket intended for my aunt in Australia and has been hanging out in her house ever since! HOORAY FEZ!

Shortly after his discovery, little Fez fell into the mouth of one giant domo. No worries though, as the Aussies would say... he's safe and sound once again. And we vow to try our hardest never to lose him again.

Also, is anyone out there? We have not received comments in ages...if no one is watching, then the show should be canceled. So, if you're paying attention, let us know and comment below! Otherwise, no more blogs!

Home sweet glampervan

After a short recovery in Cairns after our liveaboard trip, we boarded the plane the next day for Darwin. From Darwin, we would drive a few hours to Kakadu National Park to experience some aboriginal culture and enjoy all that nature (or the "bush" as Aussies call it) had to offer.

In search of adventure and a unique experience, we opted to rent campervan instead of staying at the conventional hotel. What is a campervan you ask? Imagine an RV or mobile home, miniaturized in the form of a large van. Yup, double size bed, sink, dining table and 'kitchen' all in one Toyota Hiace. Still having a hard time imagining how ALL of that could possible? Here's some insight into the magic:

 Daytime

 Nighttime: dining table = bed support / bench cushions = mattress

We opted for the non-bathroom version for one obvious reason...renter is responsible for emptying the 'gray water'.

So, there's a preview of our lovely accommodations for the next week in Darwin. More soon on Kakadu, Darwin, and Litchfield!

Turtles, Sharks, and Nemos on the Liver Aboard!

June 28, 2010 - Might as well take advantage of having Internet, so here goes another update! Olivia and I were excited and anxious for our first liveaboard trip, yet still tired and sleepy from the early morning departure. After arriving at the dive shop for check in it was off to the Scubapro II, which will be our home for the next 3 days.

It was 6:30am as we began our 3 hour journey through rough seas to reach our reef destination of Milln Reef. The itinerary read a little something like this...dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, sleep, repeat. Yup, 11 dives in 3 days including our first 2 night dives...EEK! The first day's dives were more of the same - cool coral, but nothing pelagic or macro to feast our eyes on.

Then comes the night dive... Olivia was much more anxious about jumping into the pitch black water than I was and I could tell she was apprehensive to say the least. It wasn't the best start to the dive either...as soon as we jumped in Olivia loses her torch (flashlight) and her snorkel. Not to panic though, our dive master has a spare light, which she hands to Olivia.  All is good (although again, nothing to see except a sleeping turtle) and in 30 minutes, the dive is over.

Day 2 - Our day starts with a 7am dive...yup more of the same, cool coral and Nemos (clown fish), then it happened...our first shark sighting! It was on our way back from dive #2 of the day and there it was, a fully grown white tip reef shark, about 6 foot long. I dive down to get a nice video of it and swim with it for a good 2 minutes (I'll post on youtube and link it here when I can). Highlight of the trip for me. The rest of the day went similar to the rest...sharks, turtles and nemos!

Day 3 - 6 am start, and to be honest, the most boring of all the days diving. Olivia and I come to realize that we have been spoiled by diving in the Caribbean. The Great Barrier Reef is great for viewing coral, but as for big marine life...nope, gotta go out much further than where we were. We finish up our last dive by noon and are back to the dock by 4:30pm. I have to say that the best part of the trip (besides me chasing a shark) were the people on board. Olivia and I met some very good people on the boat that we hope to continue to keep in contact with as we travel through Australia and beyond. Thanks to the lost divers Robert & Paul; our Canadian friends John & Christine; and our dive buddies Jacky and Ryan for making our trip to memorable and fun!

Well, that's it for Cairns and our diving adventures. Next up, the Top end of Australia - Darwin, Kakadu, Litchfield and more! Stay tuned!

Our own private beach… kind of

June 25, 2010 - Instead of staying in the Port for our last day before our liveraboard trip, we hopped on a shuttle at 5 a.m. for Cairns. Once in Cairns, we headed to the Marina for a day trip to Fitzroy Island, where we could hike, snorkel, and sun bathe. Fitzroy Island is about a 45-minute ferry ride from Cairns, and offered a secluded beach for visitors. Once on the island, we headed for a hike toward the Summit. As the name suggests, it was an uphill battle that was almost 2 miles and lasted a little over hour. But, the panoramic view was completely worth it.

Just the beginning...

Almost there....

Serenity now :)

After our descent from the Summit, we grabbed our masks, snorkels, and fins to cool off in the water. Snorkeling proved to be less rewarding than we had hoped. Coral patches lay conveniently close to the shore but were barren of any fish. Fail. At least the cold water cooled us off. We spent the last few hours of our excursion laying on the beach and then hiding under trees when it got too hot. In the late afternoon, we boarded the ferry back to Cairns. Dinner at Nando’s for peri peri chicken and a beer at a local Irish pub was the perfect way to end our exhausting day. Not that we would have much time to rest and recuperate before our 5:50 a.m. departure for the Great Barrier Reef this next morning.

 Goodbye Fitzroy!

Let's play catch-up!

After a few days at sea, a few days exploring the Northern Territory, and just a few days in the sticks with no internet access... we have lots to update on! Stay tuned for many backdated posts!

Tour de Port

June 22, 2010 - Another day of high winds forced us to search for non-dive associated fun. Unfortunately, in the sleepier-than-expected town of Port Douglas, there's not much to do. We hadn't yet checked out Four Mile Beach, so we decided to rent (or 'hire', if you're speaking Aussie lingo) some bicycles, pack a lunch, and head for the beach.

 Safety first. Although we have yet to see any form of police presence, helmets are 'strictly enforced'. This is especially nice when you're using rental helmets. Ick.

Aaandddd we're off!

But it's not long until we realize that 1) we're hungry and 2) the winds are against us. So, we take a detour to a nearby park for lunch. Our detour then turned into a search for massages and beers at a local pub. Whatever, we're on vacation right?

After many detours, we hit the beach again to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, it's high tide. This makes the sand wet and the space that we actually have to bike on very very narrow. Oh well. Back home for some more World Cup :)

Search for the Elusive Cassowary

June 21, 2010 - As an excuse to avoid the reef for a day, we hit the road in the early morning for a tour of Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest with a lot of stops along the way. Little did we know, most of the day would be spent looking for a large turkey/ostrich/velociraptor bird. Did we find it? Read on to find out!

Island in the distance on our drive. What do you see this island taking the shape of?

Stop 1: Alexandra Lookout. Near the opening of the park, we stopped here to get some panoramic views of Port Douglas, Snapper Island, and the Low Isles.

Stop 2: Beach for some morning tea (I know, how British of us).
But, while visiting an Australian beach, it is important to remember...











Stop 3: Trek (ok it was more like a 15 min stroll) through an ancient part of the rain forest. Did you know that this rain forest is estimated to be 10x older than the Amazon?!? Things that make you go hmm....picture below is of a strangler fig tree that has already killed its host tree.









Stop 4: Croc river cruise! Yes, we not only saw one, but three crocs! Albeit, there were just lying on the banks of the river not doing anything, but I guess not many people can say they saw a croc in the wild...Krike!
Stop 5: Mossman Gorge for some hiking and river viewing. Nothing too exciting here save for a freshwater river that the aboriginals use as their swimming spot. A nice relaxing way to end the day though.

So what about this mythical hybrid bird you ask? Aside from the fact that Olivia swears she saw one on the way up to Port Douglas (not witnessed by anyone else, btw) our mission was unsuccessful. The closest we got to a sighting was:



Seeing as how cassowary poop was as close as we got to a sighting of this creature, here's what we were hoping to experience - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassowary.

Up next, bike rentals and 4 mile beach! Stay tuned for more updates...

By: Tony