Kakadu National Park - Day 4

Day 4
Monday (Sept 3) morning we got up and everyone in Joel and Roxanne’s campervan jumped into ours and we headed down the bumpy road to try to get to Twin Falls. We ate breakfast on the road which was an adventure in itself. A portion down the road we realized it was going to take too long to get there and back in time for everyone to get back to Darwin to drop off the Winnebago. So unfortunately we headed back. Joel, Roxanne, Casey & I were heading onwards to Cairns while everyone else was going back to Darwin. So saying goodbye, not know if or when we would see each other again, everyone blessed Casey & I as well as Joel & Roxanne with a gift that everyone had signed. It meant so much and every time we read it, it brings a smile to our faces. It was truly an amazing trip and such a great time with some wonderful friends that we will truly miss.

Kakadu National Park - Day 3

Sunday (Sept 2) morning we took off to Gubara to seek out its swimming hole. The 3 km hot hike took us through sandy areas with tall grass as well as dried up creek beds nestled in the forest. At one point we weren’t sure if there was going to be any water till we found it tucked away in the forest against a big rocky hill. All the guys went straight in for a nice refreshing swim. Us girls stayed on shore until the boys ventured off down through some rocky areas where the water was running from. Roxanne and Erienne jumped in for a swim. Yvonne and I got a good laugh as they freaked out at the fish touching their legs. Next thing we knew Casey & Cory showed up telling us that Cory had an orange snake drop on him from a rock above ham and he thought it was a branch until he threw it off his shoulder. While all of them were in the water Yvonne heard a hiss and the two of us went to look at what it was at a safe distance and saw a Merten Water Monitor Lizard. It looked like a black snack with legs and a tummy. Everyone jumped out of the water to check it out and get pictures. Casey took so many pictures you would think he was a photographer for National Geographic. One more thing I have learned about my husband this trip is how much he loves seeing wildlife..... in the wild. Every time he gets excited I think about if we have a son how cute he will be. Once we hiked back we had lunch and headed back on the road to Yellow Water. When we arrived we felt like we had walked into another world out of a novel. Knowing there were crocodiles in the waters gave it a feeling of being dreamy yet wild. Flat fields of tall grass, lush greens trees and creeping through it like a snake, was a glass like river. The sky was full of white fluffy clouds with sunbeams breaking through kissing the earth with beautiful birds dancing through the air. Some people said on the boat tour they had just seen a herd of wild horses running through the plains. This place was truly a treasure tucked away. We enjoyed a short stroll on a little board walk along the water’s edge. Then we ventured off into a field that lead us on a path through a forest to a billabong surrounded by bamboo and water lilies which gave a more tropical feeling. We took a group picture and the guys tried to dare each other to jump in the water but none were silly enough to do it. Walking back we soaked up all we could see before heading back on the road. We started heading towards our campsite which was close to a waterfall but as we came to the road we realized Joel & Roxanne’s campervan couldn’t make it on the unsealed road (dirt road that’s extremely bumpy). So we talked about what to do and all decided to park on the side of the road and camp underneath the stars for the night. Chef Nick cooked up another incredible dinner and after dinner, for the last night together we turned off all the lights to star gaze. The amount of stars you could see where beyond comprehension. The sky was lit up with indescribable beauty. Casey & the crew laid on the road staring at the sky for hours. They were awed by the shooting stars whose tails of light that seemed to last forever. One friend said to Casey “if God wrote across the sky I would believe in Him” and Casey pointed to the sky and said “He has”.

“He counts the number of the stars; he calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and might in power; His understanding is infinite.” (Psalm 147:4,5)....”Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?” (Psalm 144:3)

What an amazing way to end our day.

Kakadu National Park - Day 2

The next morning (Sat. Sept.1) we all got up bright eyed and bushy tailed and headed to Mamukala. This wetlands was full of beautiful scenery and birds. We then headed on to Bardedjilidjl Walking trail which took us along East Alligator River. This trail took us through some cool rocks some with aboriginal art and some cave like ones to. The boys loved the walk along the river as it was full of crocodiles. All of us ladies were a bit more nervous and the fact that we saw how high they can jump we didn’t feel to safe. We also thought the guys were a bit crazy. Once again we were reminded of how different men and women are. After our long hike we headed back to Ubirr Rock and had lots of time to look at all the Aboriginal Rock Art and hear some history about the area and the Aboriginal people. Just before sunset we headed to the lookout point of the rock. The view from this massive rock was breathtaking. There were two levels of this rock. The lower level you saw more massive rocks that were stacked like the game janga and the massive flood plans with kangaroos running across the vast green fields containing a few trees and pockets of water with different kinds of elegant birds. Once at the top portion of the rock you could see everything. Someone said that they felt like we were in the movie Lion King where the monkey holds the new baby Simba up and all the animals are down below. Besides what you could see on the lower level you could also see a vast expansion of lush green vegetation of every kind. There were large groups of white cockatoos that would take off all together and swoop across the blanket of green. When the sun started to set it was magical as the color of the sky kept changing. Once we all pulled ourselves away from the beautiful scenery of that place we headed back to Jabiru for the night. That night we enjoyed an extraordinary meal by Nick and Erienne that there were few words except for the odd “this is incredible”. We ended the night with some good conversation and great laughs.

Kakadu National Park - Day 1

Friday August 31st a group of 11 of us got together to venture out into Kakadu National Park (Crocodile Dundee was filmed in Kakadu). This national park is one of Australia’s most famous and is 19,804 sq. Km in size. The Alligator River system runs through this park which was named after what they thought was alligators but is actually full of Equestrian Crocodiles (scary mean crocs). Australia doesn’t have Alligator’s.....opps.
Seven of us packed into a Winnebago (Erienne, Nick, Jamie, Cory, Adam, Casey & I) we rented while Joel & Roxanne had their campervan that another couple (Yvonne & Trent) jumped in. The first day we drove from Darwin to the park which took about 3 hours. Our first stop was a Jumping Crocodile tour on the East Alligator River. Prior to the boat ride we each held a python that I found to be crazy strong and the big guy kept trying to get face to face with me. I stayed back and made lunch while everyone went on the boat ride. When they arrived back they all were so amazed by how close they were to these huge and fierce Crocs, Casey said if he reached his hand over the boat railing, he would have lost it. I thought t myself “ I’ve seen them before”, silly me. After lunch we headed back on the road stopped quickly at the gigantic termite mounds for a group picture then back on the road. As the sun was setting we were racing to make it to Ubirr Rock which was suppose to be the most amazing place to watch the sunset (we couldn’t believe there was better sunsets than we have already seem but Australia continues to amaze us with the most beautiful sunsets). When we arrived a few of us ran up the trail and up the rock to try to catch the sunset. We made it to Ubirr Rock just after the sunset so missed it by minutes but what we saw was amazing and so we all decided we had to come back the next night. On our way down the massive rocks it was dusk and so slowly getting harder to see and as I was walking down something furry ran across my path. My first thought was what kind of fury creature was that and before I finished that thought I realized it had 10 hairy legs and was a hunts man spider!! I jumped back and grabbed Roxanne (freaking her out) and together we ran across its path. Why me!!! We then went to a little town called Jabiru and found a campsite, made dinner and hung out.

Chilling in Darwin

We have been in Darwin from August 3-30th. Casey ended up working at the hostel doing maintance to help pay for our accommodations which was a real blessing. So Joel & Casey worked a lot during the day while Roxanne and I were good Hostel wives getting the groceries, cooking and cleaning. Sunday morning’s Casey, Joel, Roxanne and I went to the Darwin Baptist Church which was only a short bus ride away. The church was great we felt so welcomed. Casey and Joel had two opportunities to share with the church what God did in bringing the 4 of us together and in Joel and Roxanne’s lives, it was awesome! Andrew from the church gave us a ride back to our hostel every Sunday as well as took us on a bit of a tour around the area. Again we felt like we had met more extended family we had never met before and felt right at home. After church Joel and Casey would join about 80 other guys from all over the world to play soccer for a couple hours. During the evenings the 4 of us would get together and read Driven by Eternity together and talk about the things of God. We had such a great time encouraging one another.
Adam and Cory (friends we met in Cairns) met up with us in Darwin. We also met some new friends from the UK Erienne, Jamie, Nick, Trent (Australia) and Yvonne (Canada). We enjoyed a lot of meals together, hung out at the pool and had some great times at the Mindil markets being silly. One day all 11 of us jumped on the bus and headed to Alexander Lake for the day. The guys had fun playing soccer (or football as the English called it) and enjoyed a swim. We had a picnic and watched the sunset over the ocean. Another day we all went to a indoor rock climbing place and had a blast. Casey had injured his hand from work so unfortunately wasn’t able to try it and I was the photographer. By the time we were leaving Darwin it was going into their “spring” really it started getting so hot you could barely breath, they really only have two seasons in Darwin wet and dry.

First week in Darwin hanging out with Liz

We have had a great time in Darwin. We had a great time the first weekend (Aug 5th) we went to Mindil beach markets and met up with Liz (she is from the UK and we met her on our Uluru trip when we were in Alice Springs). We enjoyed another beautiful sunset, some amazing food and great company. The next weekend (Aug 13) we went out for an extraordinary dinner with Liz, before she left to the East Coast, at the Jetty. It was a definite treat with all you can eat seafood, steaks, roasted squash, cheese cake and chocolate truffle. Not in the typical backpacker budget but definitely worth it. After dinner and about 3 servings of dessert we enjoyed a nice walk on the Esplanade and wonderful conversation. We had an amazing time getting to know Liz and look forward to keeping in touch.