Hey guys/girls, so i've put this entry off for a while cause i knew it would be huge. and since i haven't found an efficient way of uploading pics i got lazy. anyway, in June i had a week long break and my classmate, Anderson, and I headed to the Northern Territory, Darwin specifically. Whats in Darwin?? good question...Its a small town on the northern tip of Australia, and its probably closer to Bali than the nearest Autralian capital city. So as you can imagine its known to be highly influenced by asian culture. meh...besides food at the markets, their wasn't a whole lotta asian'ness ..for example: no import cars, no menthols, no kaoreoke, and no 35 year old mama's boys. During a stay in Darwin, we also visited Litchfield National Park, and Kakadu National Park. The scenery here was some of the best i've seen in my life, just breathtaking. We were told that 70% of Crocodile Dundee was filmed at Kakadu. We were also told that crocs enjoy tourist meat the most... 
So this is our hostel. We arrived really late on the first night (1am). We checked in and got assigned to a 6 person dorm, in which 4 people were already enjoying their slumber. The first night was shite. had to unpack, get changed and jump on top of the bunk in complete darkness. And when i was finally able to get some sleep, despite the volley of snores, our 7th bunkmate crashes into the place only to find out that someone has stolen his bed...it was like the drunk funnier version of Goldielocks. He basically started blindly punching this poor guy in his bed. The guy being punched screamed a little, then after realizing it wasn't a horror movie, calmly collected his things and left. drama over. The next morning we met the puncher himself. He's from France ( i can't remember his name) and he ran outta money travelling and was stuck in Darwin indefinetly. and he was nice guy. So the next day we realized there wasn't much to do in Darwin, except take pictures like this  
 
The only meat up there i haven't tried yet is Camel. I thought it would be too dry and lumpy...OOOOHHhhhhh.. 
After walking around ALL morning (2hours). We thought we'd cover more ground on wheels. So naturally, we rented badass scooters. Theres nothing like the feeling of the wind through your helmet hair and 7 horse power between your legs. 
Saw this tree riding along the shore. One of my fav pictures 
Bad to the Bone The next day we headed out to Litchfield National Park for a day tour. The first stop was magnetic termite mounds 
It was pretty amazing to see these gigantic structures. I could say more about Termites but i know absolutely nothing about them. 
If you look closely you can see the whole termite. I believe the darker parts are their heads, and the translucent parts are the bodies. but yet again, i have no idea. 
This was Sammy, we met him on the tour. He was friends with the guide and came along just for kicks. He stuck a twig in the termite hole and all the termites came rushing out. Then he tongue'd them to death. I tried a few termites myself. They taste like pepper. There's also yellow ants that you can eat, and they taste like lemon, seriously. 
One of the croc'less water holes in Litchfield. Days before they had caught a 8 foot croc in another water hole. 
Im drowning here.  
a series of cascading natural whirlpools. so refreshing. After Litchfield, we headed out to the Mindil Beach Market for dinner. It is famous for its diverse cuisine and breathtaking sunset. When you approach the market, the first thing you notice are the smells. Its like crazy saliva inducing food smell. The next thing you notice is that the nearest bank machine is back in town and you don't have enough money to try everything ! 
 
Malaysian 
Are you salivating yet? 
Dutch Poferjes: mini pancakes 
PEACE !  
The sun in the palm of my hands, and the corny'ness in my brain 
Mindil Beach: me, Julia, don't remember, Anderson, don't remember, Albert The next day we planned to go off to Kakadu for 3 days. We ended up sleeping in an hour past the meeting time. Everybody was pissed off at us, and i think we were lucky they didn't leave. Suffice to say we didn't make the best first impression, but our group was really friendly and by the end of the trip we had all felt we'd known each other for years. First stop was a jumping crocodile boat cruise. 
Checking out the pet snake before getting on the boat  
The snake in my hand felt really good  
The cruise was awesome ! They explained to us that spotting crocodiles in the wild is actually very rare. and that they have created, due to tourism, an artificial environment in which crocs have learned to wait for the boat. It was like waving a treat in front of a dog and waiting for it to jump.  
The pictures don't really illustrate how massive these crocs are. Everytime they jumped up and landed back in the river you could feel the boat rock. People kept telling me stories of tourists taken by crocs. One in particular, a german woman who got snatched under in a crowded swimming hole. People felt the croc brush their legs as it grabbed and drowned her. They found her body the next morning. In spite of these stories, we did swim in a water hole with croc warning signs. Our guide assured us it was safe 
Pit stop before Kakadu to pick up some essentials (beer, ice cream) 
Kakadu ! On top Nourlangie Rock 
Self Explanatory 
Setting up to watch the sunset at Yellow River 
reflections 
Finishing up Day 1 in Kakadu. That night, i opted to sleep outside of a tent on a tarp. I woke up startled a few times thinking something had crawled into my sleeping bag. Your mind can play some dirty tricks on you. I did, however, hear ruslting in the bush. It turned out to be a cane toad lurking around our camp. We all got up to take a look. Then outta no where Elise(3rd from the right), the mild mannered Melbourne based Environmentalist, charged the toad in a fit of white rage and smashed it to pieces with a shovel. We were all shocked and speechless. Cane toads were introduce to Australia in attempt to erradicate another pest, but it backfired. And because they're skin oozes poison alot of animals that try to eat it die. Hence, Elise's temporary murderous episode. After that we threw it the fire and tried to get high off the fumes. 
Cliff diving swimming hole 
Morning shower 
Mr. March and Mr. Photogenic 
This site was incredible. We hiked an hour up a steep rock face. At the top it was arranged like a staircase of mini swimming holes. The water was perfect and the rocks acted like natural heating platforms if you got cold. You could stand underneath the waterfall on a ledge and let the water pound you. It was the best massage i haven't paid for. The place was literally like natures version of a spa resort. I could almost picture the indiginous people coming here to relax on weekends. assuming weekends meant the same to them as it does to us. 
View from the top 
A tourist last year died falling over this cliff trying to take a picture. Our tour guide really liked to scare the shit of us. 
 
Our guide painted us with aboriginal rock paint. He's the type of guy that will always live in the bush. You can just tell he respects and is very knowledgeable about wildlife and indigenous culture. 
Us on the other hand stereotype and deface the art of aboriginal painting by taking pictures like this. 
Mia and Anderson in a friendly battle to the death 
The final five: Me, Elise, Mia, Katie, Anderson  
"If he could put it on his face, i have to at least touch it." dangerous quote out of context. 
On the way home from Kakadu. Overall, it was one of the best experiences i've had in Australia so far. It really did exceed my expectations and the people in our group had alot to do with it. The night we got back into Darwin we met up for dinner, and it was strange to see each other groomed and showered. I had started getting used to having sand in my hair. After that we caught our bus outta town and flew back to Brisbane. On a side note, i recently got back from a trip to a coastal town, Byron Bay, in New South Wales. I was looking for a friend in a bar and i ran into Katie ! it was very unexpected and huge coincidence. anyway, i'll post about Byron bay later (months from now..ahah) Finally, i'd just like to comment on Steve Irwin's untimely death. Everyone in Australia is reeling from the news. He was truly Australia's unofficial ambassador. I think the younger generation has been affected most by his passing, kinda like if you found out your favourite superhero died. I've been to his zoo, and it was a testament to his passion. When i was there, there was huge plans to expand, and i hope it still does. Peace out ! | 
