Australia: September 2014

My blog has been screaming for a post for months now. I couln't bring myself to type it up with all my busy life in the past months but here I am trying to recall the now distant seeming memories of my latest travels.
I finished work at the end of May and decided to head straight home to Estonia just days after. I really needed a holiday and missed spending time at home. It was a long travel to Tallinn but six weeks of holidaying kept me motivated! I only then realised how far away Australia really was after travelling for 34 hours in a row. By the time I landed in Tallinn I couldn't tell if it was day or night. I was as confused as I could possibly get. There were familiar faces greeting me at the arrivals hall with "kiluvõileivad" and sushi. "Kiluvõilevad" are traditional Estonian rye bread with butter and sprats. I know it doesn't sound so tempting but that is a match made in heaven!
After just getting used to being home I had to leave again for Ireland to enjoy a short week travelling around the country with my mum. We visited Dingle peninsula and Ring of Kerry. A lot of driving in one week but all totally worth it! The week passed in an instant and it was time to pack my stuff again and commence a long journey back to Sydney. To my surprise I had no issues getting back into Australia. I had expected them to ask me a couple of questions at least but nothing. They ask more questions when I travel to Dublin! But that might just be the Irish friendliness trying to have a casual conversation with travellers.. It felt very strange to be back in Sydney. I should have felt like I was back "at home" but I had this itchiness within me that wouldn't let me chill out. Not sure why. I must have been confused whether being in Sydney was a holiday or back-to-reality wake up call. After procrastinating for a week I decided to head up to Darwin, NT and enjoy a couple of weeks of sunshine before falling back into an office job. Immediately, I had my one way flight booked to Darwin, train from Darwin to Alice Springs and a flight back from Ayers Rock to Sydney. Anything that happened in between these was yet to be discovered.
Darwin welcomed with warm temperatures averaging around 30 degrees and clear blue skies for the whole week I planned to spend there. Darwin is the largest city in Northern Territory and tends to get very hot, wet an humid in the summer months (which would be European winter months). Nothing goes on during that time and most of the highlights of the nearby national parks are inaccessible. So, the best time to visit is between May and September.
I stayed at a hostel called Dingo Moon Lodge in the central party district of Darwin on the main street. The hostel itself was pretty basic but good enough for one week's stay. Although I wasn't impressed with one particular French girl in reception who seemed to have bad manners or was suffering from a language barrier. No offence toward the other French girl who was actually lovely. There's nothing much to do in Darwin itself -it's got no beach although it has got kilometres of wide, unpolluted beaches, stretching along the coastline. Swimming around Darwin beaches is generally not recommended and seriously dangerous during May-October due to killer box jellyfish. In general, swimming is not recommended all year round due to saltwater crocodiles inhabiting nearby creeks and estuaries. It can be a torture not being able to swim on the beach that looks so beatiful and tempting on a hot day (which is pretty much every day!) I took the risk and had a couple of "swims" in the water up to my hips just to cool me down. Luckily, I did not spot any crocs.
After having spent a day wandering around Darwin I decided to book a few tours to explore the massive national parks around Darwin. I decided to take the approach of all or nothing and booked a 3-day tour with overnight camping in national parks. After exploring all of the options available I decided to go for Wayoutback Tours and booked two trips with them. First one "3 Day Buffalo Dreaming Top End Safari" to explore Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks.
This was the best way to make sure I had it all covered. I quickly realised Kakadu is pretty much the size of half of Estonia - a vast 20,000 sq km! It does take some time to get around and explore. During our first day we got to go on a 90 minute Mary river cruise for some crocodile spotting. A few months earlier I had heard of a family being out on a river in NT and a male in his 50s who was rinsing the fish bucket over the edge of the boat got snatched by a croc in front of his family! I made sure I was not leaning over the edge of the boat in any way during our cruise. I spotted a few 4-5m crocs and a couple of babies too. It's amazing how difficult it is to see them on the shores but once I got used to the sight of them I started seeing them more easier. We finished off the day with a viewing platform in Kakadu and soon headed to our camp site in the park.
The campsite was rather interesting I should say. There were warning signs to beware of crocs and not go for a swim in the nearby pond.The funny thing is that we camped pretty damn close to the pond!! I did not sleep well that night. I kept hearing something moving around the tent and prayed it wasn't a croc! I was hoping not to become someone's dinner or breakfast.... It was all well in the morning and I was chuffed we had all survived. I am sure the tour company would not set up a permanent camp site if it wasn't safe.
Day two kicked off with a morning drive to Gunlom Falls. It the last ten kilometres before reaching the waterfall were rough. I was again praying to make it there in one piece! We had to hike a short but challenging 20 mins up the hill to reach this secret yet magnificent rock pool. Absolutely worth the hike!! We spent a few hours enjoying a beautiful morning until making our way back down to the car park. Gunlom Falls had another surprise in store for us though. A short walk from the car park was a stunning lake look alike rock pool where we enjoyed a refreshing after lunch swim. The rest of the day was a long drive through Kakadu National Park to our next camp site at the entrance of Litchfield National Park. This time we camped in a caravan park not in the bush. I rolled out my swag and had a few beers in the evening and finished it off with stargazing before falling asleep.
Day 3 was probably my favourite. Early morning dip in Florence Falls. I wasn't going to have a swim because it was a bit cold (maybe 25 degrees outside!) but quickly changed my mind after reconsidering in 20 secs. I was most likely to visit this place once in my life. It would have been rude not to take advantage of the opportunities presented to me! The rest of the day was filled with a few extra waterfalls and rockpools. Words can't really describe the experience, so I'll shut up now and let the photos do the talking :)