Friday, July 20, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Day 166: Kalbarri - Perth
I left my pillow in our motel room and didn't realise until we were 60km out of Kalbarri. After much umming and ahhing we turned back. I must really love that pillow to do another 120km for it.
We have driven straight through to Perth from Kalbarri and have booked into a motel for the night. Now we just have to figure out what we do next. Time to sleep on it!
Emelie
We have driven straight through to Perth from Kalbarri and have booked into a motel for the night. Now we just have to figure out what we do next. Time to sleep on it!
Emelie
Friday, July 13, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Day 164: Exmouth - Coral Bay
We were picked up in a rickety old mini van at 7:30AM by Ningaloo Reef Dreaming and spent the next 30 minutes driving to the beach where we got a dinghy to the boat.
No one can guarantee a whale shark spotting, however Ningaloo Reef Dreaming could have been more organised with keeping us occupied while we waited.
After being dropped off back out our car we snuck into the caravan park and had a shower before heading down to Coral Bay.
Still raining. We checked into a backpackers hostel, first time for us. Oly was excited at the bunk beds of our double room and bagsied the top. Of course it was party night all night for the other residents and I was glad of my earplugs.
Emelie
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Day 163: Fortescue River - Exmouth
Arrived in Exmouth and managed to get a space in the over flow of the caravan park for one night, the place was heaving, every nook and cranny had a caravan or tent squeezed in.
We have booked to "swim with the whale sharks" tomorrow so yet another early to bed early to rise.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Day 162: Port Hedland - Fortescue River
Day 161: Broome - Port Hedland
Again, we struggled to find accommodation. Luckily for us 30 minutes before we arrived at the Best Western someone had cancelled giving us the opportunity to further boost the economy of Port Hedland by paying $200 for a room for the night. This town is really overpriced.
We stopped here mainly to see what is on offer as far as mining jobs go and have a look at the town. As it happens all the white collar jobs are recruited in Perth. After hearing about the crazy mining boom we decided it wouldn't be such a hardship to spend a couple of years up here working.
Emelie
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Day 160: Turkey Creek - Broome
Everything in Broome is fully booked, of course it is school holiday time and we hadn't booked in advance. This does not bode well for the rest of our trip because I think it is going to be pretty much the same all the way down.
Emelie
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Day 159: Timber Creek - Turkey Creek
On the way, we came across a sign for the "Beef Road Monument" so we stopped to have a look. We were slightly puzzled as to what was beefy about these concrete slabs. If anyone has any idea what this monument is for... please enlighten us!
Next stop was a very brief one at the beautiful Lake Argyle. It is a giant inland fresh water sea around
When we finally arrived at Turkey Creek we where just in time for a helicopter ride over the The Bungle Bungles. I know I said I would never get in a helicopter again after Uluru, however time dulls memory and it didn't seem such a bad idea. That is until I saw the helicopter had no doors...
It was very impressive and strange to think that The Bungle Bungles where only "discovered" and brought to the worlds attention in the 1980's by a film crew who where flying over the area. Since then it has received a World Heritage listing making it Australia's 15th natural wonder.
Emelie
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2007-07-07 Lake Argyle, WA PHOTO ALBUM |
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2007-07-07 The Bungle Bungles, WA PHOTO ALBUM |
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Day 158: Darwin - Timber Creek
In 1855 the explorer A. C. Gregory's boat was wrecked at Timber Creek. He is said to have named the site Timber Creek after he cut some timber to repair the hole in his vessel. Apparently the tree is still there with the date 'July 2nd 1856' carved in it. We didn't see it so I can't verify that this tree exists.
That is about as interesting as Timber Creek gets.
Emelie
Day 157: Darwin
As I loitered outside the manager came up and asked me if I had been in, "No" I replied looking decidedly guilty even though I was innocent. "You should do, we get more women than men going in to see them".
Today is Thursday and Thursday nights are Mindil Beach Sunset Markets. The markets are a fusion of food, crafts, entertainers and a stunning sunset. It was packed.
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It is definitely worth checking out if you are in Darwin on a Thursday or Sunday. Be prepared to be jostled amongst the many (I was stabbed in the chest with a protracted pen sticking out of a back pack, it tore a hole in my t-shirt and drew all over my bra! I was not terribly impressed as I disentangled myself from the man's bag) and be prepared to share your romantic sunset with the thousands.
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Emelie
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2007-07-05 Buzz Cafe, Darwin PHOTO ALBUM |
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2007-07-05 Mindil Beach, Darwin PHOTO ALBUM |
Photo Album
After someone asked me why I had put the same photo twice on the Sydney post I realised that my introduction of the Picasa photo albums may not have been as obvious and I had presumed...
Soooo.....
Soooo.....
On the bottom of each post I have been putting a link like this:
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2007-06-20 Sydney, Australia PHOTO ALBUM |
If you click on it you will be taken to my Picasa gallery with all the photos for that post plus additional ones that I haven't managed to incorporate into the blog entry.
You can still click on the pictures in the blog entry to view a larger image as well as viewing larger images in the gallery.
I will be gradually adding albums for all the past posts as and when I get some spare time.
Until then there is plenty to catch up on!
Emelie
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Day 156: Kakadu - Darwin
On the way back to Darwin we stopped at the Adelaide River Queen "Famous" Jumping Crocodile Cruise. We arrived an hour early and took a seat in the empty coffee shop while we waited. After half an hour the place began to get really busy and I started to get twitchy with the "well we were here first so we should get the best seats". So after a further 15 minutes we went and waited by the jetty. Still having the English blood in us we fought in the inner queuing demon and casually edged our way to near the front.
We got on the boat and apart from the set off from the jetty where we had to sit down, everyone stood up during the trip. You could feel the boat listing as we were rushing from side to side.
Highly recommended!
Emelie
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2007-07-04 Jumping Crocs, Adelaide River PHOTO ALBUM |
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Day 155: Kakadu National Park, Ubirr
There were a lot of school groups around, all teenagers, making the rock crowded and really noisy. Not quite the spiritual, peaceful atmosphere we were hoping for.
Emelie
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2007-07-03 Ubirr, Kakadu PHOTO ALBUM |
Monday, July 02, 2007
Email subscription
In a couple of weeks this part of our trip is coming to an end.
We have decided to stop in Perth for a while, get used to a proper bed that we don't have to fold away every morning and showers that don't require thongs/flip-flops.
We still have James' visit in September to look forward too where we will do some more exploring most probably on the west coast as we have sort of skipped it.
Also in October we are travelling around India for 5 weeks.
Then England in December...
So really, we have only just begun our adventure.
With this all said, you may want to subscribe to the blog updates by email. This means that when I update the blog you will receive an email and you wont need to keep checking back to see if I have posted any entries.
All you have to do is enter your email in the box provided and when the pop up window opens just type in the text verification letters and you will be sent an email to respond to.
Any problems email me at emelie.grimwood@gmail.com
We have decided to stop in Perth for a while, get used to a proper bed that we don't have to fold away every morning and showers that don't require thongs/flip-flops.
We still have James' visit in September to look forward too where we will do some more exploring most probably on the west coast as we have sort of skipped it.
Also in October we are travelling around India for 5 weeks.
Then England in December...
So really, we have only just begun our adventure.
With this all said, you may want to subscribe to the blog updates by email. This means that when I update the blog you will receive an email and you wont need to keep checking back to see if I have posted any entries.
All you have to do is enter your email in the box provided and when the pop up window opens just type in the text verification letters and you will be sent an email to respond to.
Any problems email me at emelie.grimwood@gmail.com
Day 154: Kakadu National Park, Jim Jim Falls
Once there it was a 1km walk across huge rocks to get to the falls and plunge pool. The signs which we had seen on the way informed us that estuarine (salt water) crocs were known to move into this area and swimming was not advisable.
We were treated to this fabulous view as we made our way across the rocks. I was very conscious of being close to the river edge and wondered if there were crocs. The water was beautiful and crystal clear, I would have seen a croc coming a mile off if there were any.
We eventually got to the end. There were a few children swimming near the waterfall with all the adults safely on the banks waiting to see if the kids would act as bait.
Even when there was no sign of crocs we still didn't go in, it was far too cold and you never know if they are waiting for a main course to come along instead of an entrée.
In the sun it was wonderful. What an oasis! We found a suitable rock to pitch our stuff against and read our books. Oly soaked up some rays.
While I added to his sunshine with my smile!
We tackled the rocks again on the way back. It wasn't any easier. We lost the track a few times and ended up having to come back on ourselves as we were not able to go any further. We had done the same on the way there.
Safely back at our camp, Oly hunted and gathered some firewood for our barbie and we enjoyed our much deserved dinner.
Our camp site is nice, loads of room and the kids that I can hear are far enough away to not annoy me too much. I don't suppose many people bother to come as far as Jim Jim falls as it is arduous with the 4WD drive and the rocks you have to tackle to get there. We did see a retired couple turn back as they couldn't negotiate the rocks. We highly recommend coming here and making the effort to get to the falls if you can, it really is an oasis.
Emelie
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2007-07-02 Jim Jim, Kakadu PHOTO ALBUM |
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Day 153: Kakadu National Park, Cooinda
We had heard many a great thing about this cruise. People who we have met along the way were almost wistful about it. Yellow Water billabong is one of the two most anticipated sites in Kakadu, the other being Ubirr rock art and sunset.
Much to our amusement there was a tiny Japanese man with a lens bigger than himself. It was HUGE. He had to use a large tripod as he was unable to hold the weight of the camera and lens. Shame we didn't get a photo!
Em
PHOTO ALBUM
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2007-07-01 Yellow Waters, Kakadu |
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