more cheating . . . broome - coral bay

and then there were three . . . haley, jens, and i cram into a hyundai (pronounced hi-und-eye in oz) getz



"80 mile beach" . . . why they call it 80 mile when they use kilometers in australia is beyond me


mars


more mars



fishing (unsuccessfully) in port hedland


this is what happens when you don't plan ahead


grilling some snags on the barbie in exmouth


one of about 300 roos we saw driving around exmouthf
strapping on my bcd for a dive with manta rays

humpback whales


swimming with tiger sharks . . . not nearly as tough as it sounds

this is cheating, I know . . .

OK, so realistically, I'm never going to catch up on the blog at my current pace. Plus, I'd like to start writing about aspects of my year abroad other than the outback trip. So . . . I think it's best to catch up, at least through the end of my outback trip, through pictures and captions. It's cheating, I know; but pictures should do the job for now. Enjoy!
Bell Gorge. I can't tell you how many times I tried to climb up that waterfall. I was dying to jump off the ledge behind me to the left. Despite a valiant effort - no success.



Block party at Windjana Gorge.


Find me a better sunset, I dare you.



Goodbye, Gibb River Road. I'm second from left, I think.



1709 KMS from where we began . . .


1502 HMS from where we're headed . . .


the most luxurious "hostel" ever.

4WD's apparently aren't cool enough for Bart-Man.

At long last . . . the Ocean. Cable Beach, Broome.

the gibb (2/?)

G'day all. Law school is now in full swing, so I was thinking: what better way to cope with spending countless hours in the library than to reflect on better days? And with that I began writing this post . . .

"Bush camping" has its benefits and drawbacks. Most obviously, the best part about camping in the middle of nowhere is the isolation. No noise restrictions (more on this in a later posting), no kids running through the campgrounds at 7:00a.m., no prohibitions on campfires (or at least noone to enforce the restrictions), and so on. Add to that the fact that the trees, the road, and most importantly, the stars, feel like yours and yours alone (yes, I know I'm cheesy - but you would be too!).

On the other hand, there is one major downside to bush camping: the unavailability of running water. Sure, we had plenty of drinking water, but we couldn't justify cleaning our dishes with our reserves. Usually this isn't a big deal, but when you've had chili for dinner the night before, it's just kind of nasty to put all of the dirty bowls back into the truck.

And then there's lack of "facilities." In truth, I don't usully mind "going native", but on this fine morning--July 4th I might add--it was especially hard to find some cover. Gumtrees aren't normally wide enough to hide my country-fed frame, and, unfortunately, there weren't any boab trees in sight. There was, however, one lonely bush about 50 metres from our camp. Bingo!

I don't even know why I'm mentioning this, but yeah, I guess it's pretty funny. So there I am, hiding for cover, you know . . . and all of the sudden a large kangaroo jumps out from the other side of the bush. It wasn't trying to attack me or anything, but I suppose he was just as startled as I that he wasn't the only one hiding behind the bush . . . the only difference being that he wasn't caught with his pants down! Anyway . . . it certainly made for an exciting start to my morning.

Our aim for the day was to detour from the gibb way up to Mitchell Falls via Kalumburu road, another unsealed road that runs perpendicular to the gibb through the Mitchell Plateau up to the ocean. This leg of our trip was by far the most remote, and it showed. After turning off the main road toward the falls, we drove for about an hour and a half down a dizzying, windy, single-lane, dirt track that zig-zagged through pandanus palms, paperbark trees, and gumtrees . . . definitely the most diverse landscape we'd seen since starting out. Though beautiful, we were happy to have arrived at our camp by mid-afternoon.


Knowing that we only had about 3-4 hours of sunlight left, we rushed off for our hike to the falls, which was marked as a 3 hour return. I suppose they overestimate the walking projections to be one the safe side; we made it to the falls in about 45 minutes.

You would think we'd be bored of waterfalls by then, but that definitely wasn't the case--each was different in a unique and spectacular way. Mitchell Falls is probably the most picturesque, as it has three layers and cuts deep into a massive gorge. Plus, since this was the most tropical of the areas we'd visited, there was just a lot more water. We had to be careful to avoid some of the faster moving currents.

For the next two hours or so, we swam in the river and watched the sunset over a scerene kimberley landscape. The contrast between the colors of the rocks, the water, and the sky really made for some spectacular photos. Of course we did some goofing off too . . .


While most of the group was starving by sundown, Christof and I--in usual fashion--decided to take a detour. We'd heard that there were several aboriginal cave paintings just a few hundred metres off the trial and decided to do some exploring. It took some time, but we ultimately found them. Honestly they weren't that impressive.

For dinner we celebrated the 4th of July with hamburgers, hotdogs, smores (made out of some funky stawberry marshmallows - the only kind we could find), and well . . . a lot of beer. All in all a great and relaxing day (aside from learning that one of our two fridges was broken, and having to choose between keeping our food or beer cold . . . i'll let you guess how we resoved that one!).

The 5th was a pretty simple day. We drove back down Kulumburu road, enjoyed Aussie burgers (all the usual ingredients plus beet root, egg, and pineapple) at a road stop named Drysdale Station, and camped out at a stop further along the gibb named Mt. Elizabeth. The only thing notable about the day was the number of the cows in the road; they really made for some close calls. For dinner we made pasta, which we enjoyed over a few rounds of Texas Hold Em'.

the gibb (part 1/?)

Well . . . as you know, I've been back home for about three weeks now (5 now that i'm actually posting this). In fact, it's snowing outside as a write this (well, it was when I started this post). What I wouldn't give to return to Australia for the remainder of Sydney's summer! But anyway, seeing as how that's not going to happen, I suppose I better catch up on my blog before school picks up. There's so much more to tell about my year in Australia . . . I could write for the next month straight and not do it justice.

That said, the events that took place in this and my next entry were the highlight of my entire year abroad. At last, after months of planning, recruiting a cohesive and easy going group of travel buddies, and two close calls with the vehicles . . . we were about to make our way to the famous Gibb River Road--a 700K unsealed former cattle road, which stretches across the tropical/outback kimberley region to the west coast fishing town of Derby, WA.

First, however, we needed to clean the standard petrol out of our gas tank. Thankfully we were joined the following morning in Kununurra by Mark Crumblin, the nephew of my Rotary host counsellor, Warwick Crumblin, who just so happens to be a Ranger in Kunnunurra. After pointing us to a trusty mechanic, Mark led our group on a quick morning tour of the surrounding area. The highlights of our excursion were the Ivanhoe Crossing - - a partially submerged bridge across croc infested waters, and a swim in the Ord River (which yes . . . you guessed it . . . was also croc infested - - but hey, if Ranger Crum says we're good - - we're good!). After our swim we picked up the second truck from the mechanic, who charged us only $80 for his labor (or "labour", as it is spelled in oz).

Leaving Kununurra around noon, we arrived at the Gibb River Road around 2:00 p.m. At the road's entrance, a sign is posted noting what sections of the road are too submerged to drive across. Having planned our trip dead smack in the middle of "dry season", all sections were labeled as "open." To be sure, that didn't mean that the road wasn't submerged in places, but only that, properly equipped, one could make it across the road (see vid below)

It's always amazing to me how quickly landscapes can change in Australia. Only hours before in Kunnunurra, we stood at the base of a large dam, which was designed to support the region's crops. Now on the Gibb, the trees lining the road were becoming less and less frequent. However, as we made our way across the range, a new type of tree, the Boab (or Boabob as they are called in some other countries), was beginning to spring up everywhere.

If ever there was a tree that looked as if it was straight out a fairytale it would be the Boab tree. Found only in Australia, Madagascar, and mainland Africa, Boab trees can store up to 30,000 gallons of water in order to survive the harsh conditions typical of their natural habitats. As a result, their trunks and limbs often swell to the point where it literally looks as if the tree has swallowed a cow. At the top of this posting is one of the larger boabs we saw on our trip. Below is one that, well, just looked like it needed a hug . . .

Well before dark we arrived at El Questro Gorge Resort and Campground. As the name suggests, EQ is pretty posh as far as the Gibb is concerned. Being less than an hour from the road's start, EQ gives visitors a taste of the kimberleys without having to endure hours upon hours of unsealed roads and river crossings. Guests can choose to stay in "luxury tents" (e.g. bunks and sheets provided) or to pitch a tent in a designated camp area. You can guess where we slept. (On a side note, much of the film Australia was filmed at the EQ Ranch. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman spent several weeks there).

Since we'd already paid $15 pass to have access to the entire EQ ranch, we thought we'd try to make the most of it by doing a quick hike before dinner. The hike through the actual El Questro Gorge (one of many on the ranch) was labeled as intermediate with a 1.5-2 hour return. What a hike! Despite it's arid surroundings, the interior of EQG was lined with lush palm trees, which provided a remarkable contrast against the cliffs, now bright orange from the sunset. Better yet, halfway through the gorge was a swimming hole, which was probably 7 or 8 feet deep - just enough to provide a safe depth when jumping from the rocks lining the hole.

Feeling extra adventurous, Christof and I decided to continue on to the end of the gorge in the dark. The rest of the group, meanwhile, would take the other truck and head back to camp and begin preparing dinner. Armed with only a headlamp, Christof and I followed the stream up through the gorge, which was so narrow in parts that we had to swim through 4-5 feet of water to continue on. I have to admit, it was pretty scary swimming (fully clothed, shoes and all) through pitch black waterholes miles from nowhere in a region known for it's reptiles. But all's well that ends well, and by 830pm or so we made it to the end of EQG. I'd love to say that our hike concluded with a stunning view of the outback, but it didn't. We were lead into a V in the gorge where a 20-30 ft waterfall fed into the stream. We couldn't actually see the waterfall due to the darkness of the surrounding walls, but we could hear it splashing what seemed only a few metres in front of us.

Tired, hungry, and ok, a bit scared, Christof and I picked up the pace on the way back out the gorge and made it back to camp around 9:15. We'd hoped that the group would be excited about our accomplishment and have a bbq feast waiting for us upon our arrival. To the contrary, the group looked as though they'd been starving for weeks and had decided in my absence that I would be the one to be sacrificed for the survival of the team. As it turns out, I'd secured my tent with a combination lock (a combination which I forgot to share with anyone else in the group), and as a consequence, I locked away many of the cooking utensils and food. Let's just say that they weren't too impressed by our daring night hike and that I'd be cooking my own darn steak once everyone else had already eaten.

The following day, after enjoying what would be our last warm shower for a few days, we set off to do two more hikes in EQG before moving on down the gibb. Our first hike took us through Amalia Gorge, which featured several verryyyyyyyyy cold swimming holes (which only I and Clayton 2 were willing to brave). Admittedly, I can never turn down the opportunity to jump off something into the water.

After lunch under a canopy of cockatoos, we hiked Emma Gorge, and again benefited from the late afternoon lighting of the gorge (see reflection photo at the end of the post). Emma Gorge, too, concluded with a massive waterfall.

Well behind schedule, we all agreed that we'd "bush camp" that evening. At around 10:00 p.m. we pulled off at a clearing and set up camp. I prepared dinner --trying to earn back the affection of my fellow travelers following my slip up the night before. Nothing special, just chili and quesadillas . . . perfect food for what proved to be an exceptionally cold night in the outback.

there's water in the outback?

Yep, and plenty of it . . . at least in the tropical parts of the Northern Territory. Today's post covers the next leg of our trip, Kakadu to Kununurra, during which we swam in waterfalls, went kayaking down Katharine Gorge, drove through a river in our 4WDs, and took a dip in a croc-infested lake.

As would be the case for the next four weeks, I woke from my first night on the road around 7:00 a.m. to a chorus of yapping birds (and bats). It was really something. At any given moment you could look up in a tree and see 15-20 cockatoos or parrots. In what would become my morning ritual, I poured myself a bowl of nutrigrain cereal, made a cup of instant coffee, and repacked all my stuff for the long day ahead. All together it took us about an hour and a half to get on the road again, usually between 10 and 11 a.m. -- not bad for a bunch of nomad backpackers!

Kakadu national park is extremely diverse. In many areas it's much of a marshland like the Florida Everglades; in others it has red canyons and waterfalls--all of which we saw in a single day. The highlight of our first day on the road was Jim Jim falls, a towering waterfall at the end of a wet 45 minute off-road drive and a rocky 30 minute hike. Getting there was half the fun! Once at the falls we were able to cool off by jumping into the river. Thankfully, JJ falls had a "croc trap" downstream (as if that's supposed to reassure us).

After the falls, we drove back through the off-road track to a small base camp where we pitched tents beneath a canopy of gumtrees. For dinner we chowed down on spaghetti, topped off with an endless supply of VB. Andy entertained us for the evening by blasting 80s music on his ipod speakers.




As if JJ Falls weren't impressive enough, the nearby Twin Falls were even better, if for no reason other than the fact that we had the waterfall all to ourselves for most of the afternoon (most people were probably deterred from climbing to the top of the falls because the hike to TF was marked as medium grade and two hours each way.) Walking quickly, we made it to the top of the falls in a little over an hour. Once at the top, we relaxed in a rocky swimming pool leading into the waterfall and enjoyed PBJ sandwiches for lunch. On the way back, Christof and I went for a detour to do some light rock climbing on the way down.



After returning from the falls we left Kakadu and set off for Katherine, a small outback with a large Aboriginal population. Our three/four hour trip featured a great drive through gumtree-lined dirt roads and a stunning outback sunset (FYI - generally, when driving through the outback it doesn't look as red as you might imagine. There are actually many shrubs that grow throughout the outback, which, when viewed from the ground, give the landscape a brownish color. Only when you view the land from a slight elevation or from the air does it look bright, bright red as you've seen in pictures.)

Once in Katherine we had three priorities: 1) find a place to camp for the night, 2) eat, and 3) find a place to watch the Eurocup soccer championship (Germany v. Spain). In short time we'd found a caravan park (which had as many kangaroos as guests as it did campers), cooked up plenty of steaks and beans (incidentally, most beaches and public parks in Australia have free gas grills for public use), and found a backpackers in town where the game would be shown. Thankfully, the backpackers didn't have a 24 hour reception desk, enabling us to sneak in to watch the game at 4:30a.m.. Too bad only one goal was scored throughout: Spain 1. Germany 0. I've been trying my best to appreciate soccer, but pre-dawn games where only a point is scored don't help the cause!

The reason tourists visit Katherine is to tour the iconic Katherine Gorge, which features thirteen gorges and several waterfalls throughout Nitmiluk National Park. We decided to tour the river via canoe rather than by boat and were rewarded with great views of the rocky gorge and several refreshing swimming holes. A few signs warned of crocs in the river, but freshwater crocs, 'freshies', unlike 'salties', are generally harmless unless provoked.

Our time in Katherine was not all fun and games, however, as we also had to cope with some rather serious car troubles which, if not addressed quickly, would have thrown the rest of our trip off schedule. Prior to our canoe trip Andy noticed a major problem with the steering in one of the trucks and concluded that it wouldn't be safe to drive to 500k's to our next destination, Kununnurra. His concerns were confirmed the following morning when a mechanic informed us that the casing holding the bearings between the axle and the wheel was cracked and that, had we drove further we would have risked the wheel falling off while driving! Given the seriousness of the problem, our rental company agreed to meet us halfway between Katherine and Darwin with another truck. Since this would take most of the day, our group split up took care of personal stuff, mainly email. I spent the afternoon didgeridoo shopping, of all things.

A "didge" is a traditional ceremonial instrument used throughout Norther Australia's aboriginal communities. It's basic sound is a drone, but experienced players can also mimic the sounds of dozens of outback animals. They're a really popular gift among tourists, especially when hand painted by a local. After much shopping around I bought a yellow didge with red and white traditional paintings throughout (Red, Yellow and Black, the colors of the Australian outback, the sun, and the skin color of Aboriginals, are the colors of the Aboriginal flag and are the most authentic throughout community art). I've been trying to learn how to play it ever since, but I struggle with circular breathing. I've worked up a pretty good drone sound though!

After picking up the replacement car around 3:00p.m. we all met to head to our next destination around 6:00. But not before one more close call . . . Christof, in all his brilliance, mistakenly filled one of our diesel tanks with regular petrol. Luckily we noticed the mistake before starting the car and were able to switch to the sub tank, but given the size of the tanks in our trucks, it was a costly and timely (we had to drain the tank properly the following morning) mistake. Needless to say, Christof was the brunt of many jokes throughout the rest of the trip.

We finally got on the road around 8 p.m. and arrived in Kununurra after midnight. All of the camper van sites were either full or closed, so we parked in a residential park in town for the night. Kununurra would be our last stop before heading off on the rugged Gibb River Road.

will post soon, i promise

hi all. thanks for loyally checking the blog despite the infrequency of my postings. i've been extremely busy over the past month. traveled the great ocean road with friends, went diving on the great barrier reef with a friend from home, successfully completed my exams, and now am in new zealand. i've started several drafts for future posts but just haven't had time. please check back soon! cheers,

off the beaten track . . .

G'day everyone! I'm grateful to those of you who still check the blog, despite the infrequency of my postings. The counter shows that I've had something like 1,600 hits since May. Thanks for refreshing the page every 20 minutes, Mom. I do feel special. Really.

So . . . it's about time I post about my experience in the Australian outback. Like the Cuban Invasion postings, this one will have to come in installments. This posting will get us through to our first night out under the stars . . . many more to come!

I suppose I should start with how the trip came about. During the second week of classes, after a course that ended at 9p.m., I joined a few classmates for a beer at a nearby pub. There I met met a German guy named Jens, who was there with another guy I'd met once before, Daniel. At some point in the conversation he asked, "Hey, what are you doing over the winter break (June - July)." I replied, "I'd like to see some of the outback, since it will be warm." "Cool. Let's plan something", he said. "Alright, cool." And that was that. I was headed for the outback, and Jens has been one of my "best mates" since (Daniel too, but he didn't end up joining us for the trip).

Over the next few weeks Jens and I set out to organize "the trip." I was in charge of figuring out where we'd go, the dates, and anything else I could fit into an excel chart; he was in charge of finding vehicles. We both worked hard to recruit fun people for our adventure.

Before long, we'd put together an itinerary, "hired" (rented) two awesome 4wd trucks (with built in fridges and tents on the roof), and recruited five others to join us: Haley (North Carolina), Clayton #2 (Texas), Bart (Netherlands), Andy (Switzerland), Christof (Germany). The trip comprised of two parts: a) an outback trip, from Darwin to Broome via Kakadu Nat'l Park, Katherine, and the Gibb River Road, and b) a coastal / mining town trip from Broome to Coral Bay along Australia's western coast. Only Jens, Haley, and I would be doing the second part.

I arrived in Darwin on June 26. Darwin is warm and tropical year round and has only two seasons, wet and dry. June is part of the dry season, so we enjoyed nice weather--a welcome change from the chilly rain in Sydney. Christof was on the same flight, so we took a cab into town, dropped our stuff off at "Chilli's Backpackers" and met the rest of the group at a pub. In the Northern Territory, unlike New South Wales, smoking is permitted indoors. What a difference it makes once you have become accustomed to both--there's nothing worse than going home smelling like an ash tray.

We had four tasks to accomplish on the 27th. First, we set out to pick up our trucks. I can't begin to tell you how great our two 4wd land cruisers were. Each was equipped with cookware, a gas grill, a fridge (connected to a spare battery), sleeping bags/mats, and two tents (one on the roof). And boy where they fun to drive. Have a look at this video of some of our off-roading just to get a sense (to classical music, of all things) . . .

Once we picked up our trucks we set out to buy enough groceries to last the group for five days. What a disaster. I won't go so far as to say that some in our group were posh, but I couldn't believe how different everyone's eating preferences were. It was also then that I learned some of the wildly different eating habits of Americans and Europeans. For example (admittedly, I'm generalizing here), Europeans eat far less cereal for breakfast and much more bread. They also don't eat PBJ, but prefer PB and Nutella, or even PB and a slice of turkey. Also, whereas we usually have a light lunch and a big dinner, they often prefer a big lunch and a light dinner. Interesting, yes, but it makes shopping extremely difficult. Just to give you an idea: Andy wanted to purchase 14 cartons of dehydrated milk. Clayton #2 only wanted whole milk. Jens doesn't drink boxed milk at all and would have bought 10 loaves of bread if he had the choice. Haley wanted muesli. And all I could think about was how we were going to fit everything into two fridges along with all the beer (hey, if I'm stranded in the outback I'm sure going to have a cold VB to pass the time!).

Our third task was to buy hats. For no apparent reason, we all agreed prior to the trip that we each needed to buy a distinctive hat for the trek. The day before, while I was still in Sydney (I had a later flight due to a Rotary presentation), everyone purchased straw cowboy hats from a store appropriately named, "The Hat Store." While everyone was fighting over groceries I went to pick one out for myself and came back with this . . .

Admittedly, I've never been known for my keen sense of fashion . . . but I loved this hat! It was comfortable, looked good on me (or so I believed), and was only thirty dollars. Plus, it was different from everyone elses, which was what I liked the most about it.

Apparently the rest of the group didn't think so, however, and I got so much slack for the hat that I went back to the hat shop and said, "hey, I'm really sorry, but I'm going to need to return the hat for one of your straw one's . . . otherwise I'll never hear the end of it." The store attendant laughed and agreed, but after trying on a few hats I was more convinced that this was the hat for me . . . and so began to weeks of endless pestering and "grandpa" jokes.

Our fourth and final objective for the 28th was to hit the road. After spending the afternoon at the supermarket we finally got rolling around 4 p.m. and headed east toward Kakadu National Park. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset en route and finally set up camp about an hour into the park. Exhausted, we settled for the least labor intensive dinner option: chili cooked directly in the can over a gas grill. As we would for many nights to come, we spent the rest of the night staring off into the stars. This was the first time I'd really taken a good luck at the Southern Cross, which can only be seen in the Southern Hemisphere, and which is featured prominently on the Australian Flag (you can't see it in this picture).

More to come folks. The next posting will cover the rest of Kakadu, Katerine, car troubles, and world famous Kununurra.