We’ve strung you on long enough, so this will be the final post about our trip up to the top end.

Waking up early in Jabiru, we headed out to do a 12km loop hike up and around Nourlangie Rock. The trail took us through many different ecosystems.  The trail was shockingly narrow at times and included harrowing drop-offs.

The hike featured aboriginal rock art at various spots along the way.  This helpful sign points the way.

We managed to finish the loop hike in about 4 hours without encountering anyone else (so crowded!)

We then headed back to Jabiru and hit up the German bakery for lunch.  Then back to our room / pool for some R&R.

 

That evening we headed up to Ubirr to witness the sunset – it did not disappoint.

During “the wet” the entire plain below this rock is completely flooded.  Looking out on the large expanse of green, it is very hard to imagine that volume of water.

After the sun set, we made a quick dash back to Jabiru, as we were warned it is very dangerous to drive at night due to the high number of single vehicle accidents involving wildlife.  I didn’t want to hit any kangaroos and thankfully didn’t.

The next morning we awoke for our last day in Kakadu with a 3 hour drive to Darwin in front of us.  We checked out some wetlands on the way out of the park and were generally surprised by the amount of water (and birds!) even though it had been 3+ months since the last rain.

After seeing smoke everywhere the entire time we were in Kakadu, but never seeing fire, we finally came upon an active bushfire right along the side of the road.  Apparently, these are, for the most part, set intentionally to refresh and renew the landscape.  Still shocking to drive by.

We made it to Darwin and checked into our nice big hotel room with a big balcony on the 25th floor.  In Darwin we saw the Axis of Awesome (comedy rock band) and also saw a movie at an outdoor movie theater.  Other than that, we mostly just relaxed and spent time at the wave pool.

A good quality Handel Holiday all around.

Sara and I love to leave you wanting more, so here you go, part 2 of …

After a smooth ID-less flight, we arrived in Darwin.  Since they limit your carry on bag weight to 7kg (15lbs) we both had to check bags.  The bags were quick to get to the carousel, and Avis gave us the keys to our car and we were on our way.

The next few towns we were going to didn’t have much in the way of services, so on the way out of town we stopped at a grocery store to get supplies for a few days.  We got lunch at Subway and Sara was shocked they didn’t have vinegar as a topping.  I was sad there was no yellow mustard.

Our destination was Batchelor, NT – only about 100km away.  We were quickly out of Darwin and in a rural area.  Then we began to see the “Road Trains” on the 2 lane highway. These are as terrifying in person as they would seem to be.  Just a normal 18 wheeler with up to 3 EXTRA trailers.   Additionally, the speed limit once we got out of town was 130KPH (80.78 mph!).

We checked into the Rum Jungle Bungalows and got some advice from the owner regarding what our plan should be for the afternoon.  She suggested checking out the magnetic termite mounds and Florence Falls.  So off we went.

First stop, magnetic termite mounds.  These are very interesting because the termites align them with the magnetic field in order to minimize the amount of sun it receives every day.  Some mean scientists once altered the magnetic field around one and the termites duly built their mound in the “wrong” direction.  Jerks.

The other type of termite mound is made by the cathedral termite.  These mounds are all over the Northern Territories and come in all sorts of sizes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After investigating the mounds, we headed towards the Florence falls, with the promise of a refreshing croc-free dip. It did not disappoint, the hardest part was figuring out how to get in a rock pool without concussing ourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then headed back to the bungalow.  We had a few drinks and then headed out for the short walk to the local tavern.  We were told to bring a torch (flashlight) because cane toads and snakes are nocturnal.  Luckily we saw neither.  We did stop a bit to look up at the absurd number of stars we could see.  Amazing.  We could even see that “star dust” you only normally see in long exposure photos.

We woke up early (Happy Anniversary!) the next morning to beat the Darwin day-tripping “crowds” to some of the Litchfield attractions.  First, we went to Walker Creek, which is a creek with a series of 7 pools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw <10 people on this hike.  3 were leaving their campground and 4 were still at their campground.   Sara was pretty excited that I only rolled my ankle 3 times and never bad enough to need to be carried.

Next we headed to Wangi falls, did a quick loop hike and took a dip in the croc-free* (*may include freshwater crocs) pool.  We had some burgers at the cafe there and headed off to the Tabletop Swamp.  It was swamp like.

It was nearing 2pm, which was our get out of town time.  In the outback, car insurance doesn’t cover single vehicle accidents at night, because that is when the ‘roos come out and jump into your car.  We had a 4 hour drive ahead of us, so we had to get a move on.  Luckily we had brought my iPod to musically entertain us (I have 7 Bon Jovi albums!).  Unfortunately, for some reason, the car stereo would only play albums in alphabetical order, which is shockingly maddening.

We arrived in Cooinda and had a few beers by the pool.  Then we sampled the local cuisine for dinner – me: Kangaroo, Sara: Barramundi.

We then retired to our room for the night.  How many lucky ladies get to sleep in a partitioned shipping container the night of their 12th anniversary?

That’s it for me, you’ve all been great, I’m outta here.