Kakadu!

Hello all! This week has found us in Darwin, in the north of Oz. It has been very hot, and we have relaxed, reading lots and keeping cool in the cinema!!! Pride and Prejudice - bring back Colin!!! This week also has contained our trip to Kakadu National Park and rainforest....it was amazing! The group was lovely and we all got on really well, the guide was great too! There were 7 Germans, 2 Irish, 2 Danish, 1 Japanese, 1 Swiss and 1 other English person as well as us! We had 3 days on the tour, and had very early starts each day - 6am was a lie in!!!! On the first day we did a river cruise on the Mary River, and saw crocs close up, then walked through the wilderness to Baramundi Gorge or Maguk to swim in the rock pools!(and we needed to as it was very very very very hot! 80% humidity!!). On day 2 we were up very early to visit Twin falls and Jim Jim Falls.....as it is the start of the wet season we were amongst the first people to see Twin falls flowing - as it dries up in the dry season! We couldn't swim however at these waterfalls as the increased water levels meant the crocs could get in!!!! We didn't fancy that!!! We then headed on to Nourlandgie Rock to look at Aboriginal Rock Art. On day 3 we moved on to Litchfield Park....looking at Termite mounds - 7 meters high, before swimming in two more rock pools at Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls! We saw tonnes of wildlife, including dingos, wallabies, wild horses, cattle, pigs, birds of prey....and guess what......we actually saw.......a galah!!!! we saw a 'flamin' galah'!!!!!!! It is a bird, much like a cockatoo, with a pink breast! The best bit of the trip for me though was the 4 wheel driving - well, we were passengers, but i still loved it, it was like being on a roller coaster! and when i am on a roller coaster i just can't stop laughing.....it was like that!!!!! and the bestest bestest bit was on the way to Twin Falls - a part of the road was no longer a road, but a river - it was touch and go whether we could cross or not, but our guide decided to go for it!!!! i was loving it, the water was well high - to the doors, and we were tipping from side to side, but it was fab!!!!!!! hehehehehehe The whole trip was great, everyone was lovely, and we all got on well. At night we camped at sites in the wilderness, and although we had permanent tents, you could still hear and see the wildlife all around you! (Including frogs in the shower rooms!!!) We even had a bit of a sing song on the bus! And what camping experience would be complete without a fire! Mark has been wanting one for ages, and he finally had his chance - creating a brilliant camp fire that we all sat around on our last night! A true camping experience! On returning to Darwin we all met up in the evening for food, and as luck would have it we won $50 worth of beer and champers!!! A perfect way to end our trip! So although sweaty, tired, hot and just a tiny bit smelly.....i absolutely loved our trip to the wilderness of Kakadu!!!!