Category Archives: Australia

Day 61 – 2nd Month-y-versary

Taadaaaa! Second Month-y-versary. Man, time flies (except when you are waiting on the bike).

We hadn’t planned anything special for today but were super lucky because Liz and Borja asked us if we wanted to tag along to Berry Springs. These springs are a bit outside of Darwin, maybe 50 or 60km. Without a bike we have no easy means of making it there. So of course, we said yes.

On the way there, Liz was reading up on the Territory Wildlife Park which is around the corner. The feeding of the stingrays was announced to be at 1.10pm and she really wanted to go. Again, we tagged along and so all four of us went into the wildlife park.

A train thingy! Tshoo-tshoo!

A train thingy! Tshoo-tshoo!

A little train is going around in circles in the park, transporting visitors to different stops with different attractions. Flo and I hopped out at the Monsoon Forest Walk to attend the Forest Frenzy at 1.10pm while Liz and Borja went to see the stingrays. We decided to meet up again at 2pm on the Flight Deck to watch the Nature Display of the big, predatory birds.

The Monsoon Walk itself was lovely and we saw quite some birds. The first station was a simulation of the rain during the wet season. For the birds on display here, I really liked the crimson finches which were intensely red in the sunshine. Some of them were having a bath when we watched. So cute! It also was the first time we managed to see a kingfisher. We, then, had to hurry a bit to make it to the feeding.

"I am a tree" ... "You can't see me"

“I am a tree” … “You can’t see me”

Many pigeons and lorakeets attended the feeding as well as black birds that would swoop down to catch meal worms out of the air (they were being thrown…obviously, worms can’t fly). My absolute favorite bird was Mumbles, the tawny frogmouth. She was sitting only inches away from us, waiting until it was her turn to be shown and explained. She’s a bit of an odd case as she’s a runt and has been trained to be okay with daylight despite being a nocturnal bird. The only defense mechanism that frogmouths employ is to try and look like a branch from above. Mumbles demonstrates this nicely.

Flo and I decided to walk to the flight deck instead of taking the train. This lead to us having to hurry a bit which in turn caused all my insect bites to itch like hell in the sun and heat. I was very much looking forward to cooling them later on.

Ranger and a cool owl

Ranger and a cool owl

The flight show was amazing. The ranger showed us a buzzard that is smart enough to use stones to crack open emu eggs, a large stork that lives in the Northern Territory and a bird of prey that emerges itself into water in order to catch fish. So awesome.

Afterwards, we visited the nocturnal house where we saw another tawny frogmouth, a small nocturnal wallaby and other very cute looking animals. The bats had just been fed and were hanging next to their fruit kebabs.

*lol* The crocodile was very passive even in the face of a small child

*lol* The crocodile was very passive even in the face of a small child

Another stop at the aquarium to check out the crocodiles and fish before heading off to Berry Springs. Getting there, the springs turned out to be a bit of a disappointment and we were glad that we had spent so much time in the wildlife park. One of the pools was closed off to the public, the other one was quite full and the water rather murky so that snorkeling didn’t make much sense and we had just one swim before heading back to Darwin. The other not so nice thing was a health warning about the water, so you weren’t supposed to put your head into it.

Back at Darwin, Celia and Tig had a little pool party going which we joined after a short nap.

 

Day 60 – Ticking boxes

Although the bike was gone, we could not wholly pop our legs up and relax quite yet. Nina (smartly) wanted some other things wrapped up before the weekend. But not after the most important task of the day, of course: prepare good food!

Earlier this week I promised the house a nice German green bean salad. The ingredients were in the fridge since yesterday, so I felt like getting the prep done before anything else today. The longer it can rest, the better!

Nina used the time to organize us some flights to Dili in East Timor. The cheapest ones are for the 12th. Since the bike is due to arrive on the 15th (I believe it when I see it), that gives us ample time to get our bearings before hand.

After that was out of the way, we could kindly borrow Celia and Tig’s car to get to town. The staff at the Indonesian Consulate was super nice and friendly and we got everything lined up in no time. Normally one requires return tickets for the visa, but our carnet and a written guarantee to leave the country again (plus show of sufficient funds) got us over that bump without issue.

On the way back we picked up a paper map of East Timor. A blue mood crept over us when we looked at our remaining funds back in the embassy, so we were not up for any sightseeing today (stay tuned on that, the correct term should be “suspiciously low funds”).

Before calling it a day, we followed Celia’s recommendation and had a brief excursion down to the beach through the mangrove that starts right next to the house. It was pretty cool to see the abundance of life in the salty muddy wetland. With every step we took, birds crabs and mud skippers hurried away from underfoot, until we broke out of the grove and onto the tidal beach propper.

The salad was a hit (*sigh of relief*) – Tig had to leave early for the night shift, but the rest of us current inhabitants made the best of it and emptied the odd bottle in his stead.

Day 59 – Bye bye Rocinante

Workshop impressions, all packed and ready to go.

Workshop impressions, all packed and ready to go.

All the maintenance on the bike had been done so packing was the only thing that was left to do. We bought a lot of expensive gear in Australia for which we are trying to get a GST refund. However, this means that we will need to show the gear at the airport and cannot ship it with the bike. In the end, three bags were strapped to the bike while the panniers and our clothes stayed with us.

Flo set out to get the carnet stamped and drop the bike off at the shipping agency. It didn’t take long until Tig and I could pick him up. On the way back, we stopped at a motorcycle shop and I got to buy new summer gloves. Using the leather gloves for winter only makes a very limited amount of sense in this weather so I am really happy with the purchase.

It's been a while since we have seen "so many" people gather ... ahh, NZ

It’s been a while since we have seen “so many” people gather … ahh, NZ

It was Flo’s first afternoon off since we arrived in Darwin. We, quite lazily, had a look at the public transport system for the first time as we wanted to go to the Mindil Beach Sunset Market in the evening. In the end, we hitched a ride with Liz and Borha instead, though.

The market is as cool as advertised, with us just arriving in time for the picture perfect red sun plunging into the sea beyond the namesake Mindil Beach. And what do you know, just after sunset we ran into Frederike and Lars again, who we’d almost expected to be on their way home already.

So we decided to browse the market together. Everyone found something they’d enjoy sooner or later. Nina got the recommended Borneo fusion veggie combo and a chocolate mud cake muffin, I got my croco sandwich and Frederike got an necklace souvenir that she was very happy with.

Like Christmas market at home

Like Christmas market at home

After two hours or so, we headed ‘downtown’ to get a beer for the guys. Having a beer together in Darwin had been discussed previously and now was the perfect time to make it happen.

I, unfortunately, was very tired but had fun anyway. Coke got be back on my feet for a while though. It was a fun evening with a bit of interruption of the adjacent 18th birthday party. 🙂 Flo and I then took a taxi home as the buses stopped running before 11pm at night. Frederike and Lars had one more day in Darwin left before flying home. Maybe, just maybe, we might see them again on the road somewhere. Maybe even in NZ.

This post is a combined effort of Flo and me. I apologize for the confusing jumps in the use of ‘I’. You are all smart people and will figure it out. 🙂

Day 57 – Motorbike Maintenance

It was quite a relaxing day for me as Flo had to do maintenance on the bike for basically the whole day. This is something I just have no clue about.

Flo struggling with the oil filter

Flo struggling with the oil filter

After the first 10.000km on this trip and 44.000km on the bike in total, it was time for an inspection and the exchange of some parts that wear. Flo might write the more technical post but he doesn’t have the time so here is what I saw:

The bike had to be taken apart quite thoroughly. The air filters were changed, the radiators were checked and cleaned as far as possible. The spark plugs (don’t ask me what that is) need to be changed, the oil was drained and changed. In the afternoon, the rear tire came off and new brake pads were put in. Lots of things were cleaned and the crash bars were even sprayed again in rust-preventing matt black.

Flo was very happy that he could use Tig’s garage and

Preparing the antipasti platter

Preparing the antipasti platter

tools as it made things much easier. It still took forever though and it is not quite finished yet.

To say thank you for giving us a bed and a garage, we also decided to cook for the flat tonight. Flo made gazpacho which was lovely in the hot climate of Darwin.

 

 

 

Day 56 – Arriving in Darwin

It was a weird feeling when we packed the tent for the last time for a while. Given that we camped for an estimated 25 nights in a row, Flo and I were mighty tired of packing up every morning. On the other hand, it has been our home for the last month and maybe even a bit longer. We will probably not use it through all of Asia as rooms are cheap enough to not bother with camping.

This little fellow lived in the tap

This little fellow lived in the tap

After packing and a short fright when I flushed a frog out of the tap onto my water bottle, we left Mary River National Park and headed for Darwin. For the first part of the route, Flo tried to read up on attractions along the road but then we both decided that we could do with half a day in a city and thus headed straight for Darwin.

The only stop we took afterwards was crossing the Adelaide River and seeing a giant jumping crocodile statue. It is at the place where all the “jumping crocodile tours” leave from.

The similarities...perplexing :P

The similarities…perplexing 😛

Arriving in Darwin at lunch time, we both enjoyed being in a city again. There is food everywhere and supermarkets with everything rather than a road side gas station that mainly stocks cans and tins. So we had a lovely lunch and were prepared to spend half a day while waiting for our hosts to come home when Flo checked his mails and we got the information that Tig was off work for the day and we could just drive to Coconut Grove right after lunch.

Celia and Tig’s house (it is more than a flat) is very tropical. No closed walls, slatted windows (it makes sense here) and one story up in the foliage of the palm trees. Getting out of our gear, we had a frantic hour or two. Flo started to organize shipping the bike and the information that we kept getting was quite different to what we got on the road. At some point the option was shipping today or waiting till October 23rd so we rushed around to maybe make it in a couple of hours. Luckily, all of this cleared up at some point and the cut off for the ship is now on Thursday as we had expected.

Tig gave Flo a ride to the motorbike shop to pick up all the parts that he had ordered and then we had a lovely afternoon/evening in the shade. Our hosts then invited us for dinner and cooked a delicious meal for us. We were joined by their flatmates Liz and her partner. It was Liz’s birthday so lovely Celia had bought champagne and we had a merry first night in Darwin.

Day 55 – It’s over 9000!

Exactly 10.000km!

Exactly 10.000km!

… 10.000 km actually. Still in Kakadu, 5 km before the Mamukala bird watching area, we have completed the first 10.000.000 meter of this trip, in the 2nd country along our way. Not bad, eh?

Over all, this was a pretty sweet day for us. We got up at quarter past six and had everything ready even before the bakery opened at 8am to get breakfast. As a bonus, I got a smile out of the lady at the petrol station for mentioning our next destination: She was from East Timor and was genuinely excited that we decided to go and visit her home country.

Posing with the bike

Posing with the bike

First destination for the day was Ubirr and surroundings. A nice curvy road led us to the border between Kakadu national park and Arnhem Land. Border is meant quite literally, since travel past the border store into Arnhem Land is restricted and requires a permit from the traditional owners. Geographically, the border is marked by the Arnhem Land limestone escarpment and the East Alligator River.

The road follows the escarpment for a bit, offering a great change of scenery from the monotonous savannah so far. It turns out, exploring the Kakadu National Park via the Kakadu and Arnhem Highways is a sure way to be bored out of your scull. There are great things to see a couple of km off on side tracks, but so far most of it was locked away from us behind corrugated sandy 4wd tracks.

This changed today: We started with a short walk from the Border Store along the river, croc spotting and through the nice cool Manngarree Monsoon Forest. Saltwater Crocodiles were shy, but we saw hundreds of cute flying foxes hanging from the trees. The walk was made even more pleasant by Frederike and Lars, who joined us once more.

Flo looking at the super green flood plain

Flo looking at the super green flood plain

Next stop was Ubirr itself, which we hit in time for the 11 am guided rock art tour. The style of the ranger turned out to be not quite our cup of tea, but we ducked ahead and got the highlight of the park (for us) almost to ourselves as a reward. Climbing some 250m up the Nardab Lookout on top of a limestone cliff, we got a mind boggling 360° view of everything that makes the Kakadu: Savannah, bush fires, river lands and billabongs, rocky cliffs, monsoon forest and the perfectly flat and pool table green expanse of a flood plain right at our feet. Jackpot!

Despite the lunch pack being ready on the bike, we could not resist the authentic Thai cuisine offered at the Border Store. Lunch packs can be dinner, right?

Goose posing

Goose posing

We cut the next bit of croc-watching short to head off to our final destination in Kakadu: The above mentioned Mamukala wetlands. This wetland is cut off from the South Alligator River during the dry season and holds a good bit of water that can only escape via evaporation. Now, during Gurrung (mid-August to September) thousands of birds, mainly geese, flock to this wetland to fatten up. It was in deed quite spectacular, the noise, the diving geese and seemingly endless supply of waterlilies.

So that is it than. On our way to Darwin, we gave in to the weakness once more and cut the gravel trip to the Shady Camp short by staying in the pool-providing Stuart Wilderness Lodge. It is going to be the last night of camping for a good wile. Beyond Darwin, where lovely Celia and Tig have offered us shelter, we also got a place to sort ourselves out in Dili, thanks to my former colleague Joseph.

Day 54 – Too hot

Our second day in the Kakadu National Park began and it immediately showed us that it would be hot and humid today.

While packing, the tent turned into a sauna. I simply couldn’t finish packing the sleeping bags. Flo laughed quite hard when I stormed out of the tent to cool off, completely covered in sweat. Due to the heat we needed to take our time and were late on the road.

Lookout on the Nourlangie art walk

Lookout on the Nourlangie art walk

Nourlangie, a region in the park, was our destination for the morning. When we arrived at the first walk it was already unbearable in the sunshine. We did the walk anyway, hopping from art site to art site and shade to shade.

Getting back into our biking gear was close to torture. Flo and I quickly agreed to skip the next walk and have lunch in Jabiru instead. Jabiru is the biggest town within the national park (due to the local uranium mine of all things). Luckily, a real bakery could be found and we had a lovely lunch with cold drinks and pizza pieces. Another motorcyclist joined us in the shade so we had nice lunch time company as well.

For dessert, I had one of the apricot rolls which was too sweet for Flo so I had the whole thing and then felt like rolling into a camp and sleep in the shade. Which is almost exactly what we ended up doing even if Flo was slightly frustrated with us doing so little today.

Jabiru, black-necked storch

Jabiru, black-necked storch

So we rode onto the campground in Jabiru. After a half-hearted attempt to put up the tent, we just jumped into the pool. Water is the only relief to cool down at least a little bit.

After an hour, Flo wanted to use the time to do some of our internet things. Three steps out of the pool area, we were covered in sweat again and agreed that we can check emails in the pool area.

Grabbing the laptop, a camper van with Frederike and Lars in it came our way. They also felt the heat this day and joined us in the pool for most of the rest of the day.

We promised ourselves to do better tomorrow and went to bed good and early that night.

Day 53 – Tornadoes and cathedrals

Yes, they are that big now

Yes, they are that big now

Ok, hands down, I think we are at peak termite mound now. I have mentioned before that the mounds have been constantly rising in height coming north. They are now up to 3m high fortresses. I am not sure if these actually are the famed cathedral termites building those, but the title sure would fit.

The day started earlier smooth as can be for us. We got everything packed by 9am and were ready to go explore the swimming holes of the area. Although early, by the time we reached the upper pool and waterfall, it was sure warm enough for the first swim. Splashing around in the first pool, we meet Frederike and Lars again and got talking some more. We were good around the same time and hiked the 1 km back down together. The lower pool was crowded enough to evoke images of public swimming pools during the summer break back home, so all of us skipped the second swim and headed straight for the car park.

We parted with them exchanging the remaining route, which is pretty similar for both of us. Maybe we would meet again?

Ok, was that 35°C or 36°C in the shade again?

Ok, was that 35°C or 36°C in the shade again?

Off into Kakadu National Park we went, after a brief but nice lunch stop in Pine Creek. The savannah around us is very different and now at the end of the dry scorched brown like parchment, if not blackened and scarred by bushfires. The thermometer rose to 36°C in the shade and there was very little wind going.

Except for Nina’s pants, which are waiting for us in Darwin, we are in full summer gear now. One base layer and summer suit. The Compañero is holding up well, I’d say, at least as good as can be expected. The last escalation layer left is soaking our base layers in water before starting.

The Kakadu Highway is the first nice curvy road since we left the Flinders, but other than that there are not many roadside attractions. Brown grass, some trees, termites and … oh, and the occasional mini tornado. No kidding here: maybe every half an hour we see a wind hose / mini tornado blowing up leaves and dust in a nice little whirlwind.

The campgrounds are either out of reach behind heavily corrugated roads or hellish dustbowls. When we saw Frederike and Lars just coming out of campground #3, we gave in to the lure of a pool and facilities and joined them on their way to Cooinda Resort and Campground. The $36 we had to fork off to the toll troll bought us a nice cool afternoon in one of the two pools with even nicer company.

The killer at the end: We even got invited to dinner – thanks heaps to our benevolent Kiel’ensians.

Day 52 – Caves and pools

Hmm, sweet sweet shade

Hmm, sweet sweet shade

We took our time leaving Mataranka, simply because it was such a nice place. Also, because we had two long days behind us, we didn’t have many plans for today.

The first one was visiting the Cutta Cutta Caves on the way to Katherine. Arriving at the caves at 11.10am, we were out of luck. The tour had just departed at 11am and the next one would go at 1pm. After a short discussion, we decided it was worth the wait and had an extended lunch break. The local ants were fascinating, transporting all our crumbs off into the mound.

At 12.30, the “office” opened and we fled inside as it had air conditioning. Our guide Cam, who also has a motorcycle, knows about heat problems and let us store our gear in the office rather than in the sunshine outside. *thumbs up*

The caves themselves were very cool. The limestone forms stalactites and stalagmites as well as the occasional column. The air flow is quite bad so the caves are hot but bats seem to like it as the live further towards the back of the cave.

Stalactites

Stalactites

Cam then demonstrated how the caves got their current name by turning of the light and having us stand there in utter darkness. Where the light of his torch touched the stone, most surfaces sparkled in the darkness. ‘Cutta’ means star and through the repetition of the word, it is indicated that there are many of them: Cutta Cutta is many stars.

Coming back out of the cave after an hour, we were lucky to see a rock wallaby with a baby in the pouch. So cute!

Afterwards, we drove to Katherine Gorge in a National Park to camp there and hire a canoe for tomorrow. Paddling through to the second gorge must be quite epic. We, and especially Flo, were in for a disappointment: We did get a campsite but there was no more canoe available for tomorrow.

Flo then saw no point in us staying here anymore. Luckily, we got a refund for the campground and drove another 100km to Edith Falls/Leliyn to a campground in a different corner of the national park.

Again, we just put our tent up and then jumped into the “lower pool” with a waterfall in the back, just as the sun was getting low. It was beautiful and we were the only ones in the water. I was slightly scared of crocodiles (there is much talk of them up here) but signs assured us that this is croc-free water.

While preparing our dinner, Flo managed to meet a German couple who are travelling around Australia in a camper van: Lars and Frederike.