to Darwin and back: 24/07-25/07

Tue, 24/07/07
-> Ti Tree 6566 km, 1.73$/l
-> Alice Springs 6764 km, 1.43$/l, run almost out of fuel
-> Kulgera 7050 km, 1.67$/l, K. is tricked into buying batteries for 12$
-> Marla 7233 km, 1.61$/l
-> Wild Camping IV 7362 km,
near Cooper Pedy,
M. finishes Harry Potter, K. almost explodes,
what a long day of driving...

Wed, 25/07/07
-> Cooper Pedy 7478 km, 1.38$/l,

visit the Serbian-Orthodox church which is an underground dugout and really nice,
police officer stops us and asks about the back number plate,
he is very relaxed and tells us to fix it soon
-> Glendambo 7747 km, 1.47$/l
-> Lake Hart 7873 km, visit the salt lake we've seen on day 2, very nice

-> Port Augusta 8038 km, 1.30$/l
-> Adelaide 8353 km, 1.20$/l, home sweet home!

to Darwin and back: 21/07-23/07

Sat, 21/07/07
M. plays chess in the city,
buy mp3 transmitter for the car radio,
K. buys the new Harry Potter,
book canoeing in Katherine Gorge
-> Palmerston Petrol Station 4900 km, 1.24$/l
-> Litchfield National Park 5077 km
->Florence Falls,
nice swimming holes but a little overcrowded

-> Wangi Falls 5110 km,
nice swimming,
two falls, one of them with a warmer whirlpool,
locked ourselves out of the car,
found thief from Melbourne who helps us to break in with a coat hanger,
people here are exceptionally friendly,
M. finishes B. Clinton's biography 'My Life' and starts Harry Potter, K. not amused
-> Tollmer Falls 5120 km,
no swimming because of protected bats,
magnificent landscape

-> Hayers Creek 5281 km, 1.50$/l
-> 5293 km: puncture!,
K. freaks out,
M. cool and rational,
1st: searches for the torch,
2nd: figures out how the car lifter works
3rd: replaces wheel,
problem fixed in 30 minutes
-> Katherine 5430 km, 1.32$/l
-> Wild Camping III 5456 km (close to Katherine Gorge)

Sun, 22/07/07
-> Katherine Gorge 6461 km,
canoeing possible this time because of the pre booking,
absolutely fantastic,
one of the best parts of the journey!,
great misfortune: lost the car keys somewhere along the river!,
but: keys are found by an older couple, kindest people alive!,
such a relief, tried already to hotwire it...,
takes almost the whole day to get going again,
now only a spare wheel is missing to feel safe again

-> Katherine 5520 km, 1.32$/l,
--> kangaroos all over the place, have to stop
-> Mataranka 5634 km,

showers but no kitchen,
K. feeds peacocks with bananas,
try to attack but escape was possible,
meet couple from the Gold Coast,
explain to us that these non-communicative older Australian travellers who go to bed at 8 are called 'Grey Nomads'

Mon, 23/07/07
-> Bitter Springs 5655 km,
-> Mataranka 5660 km, 1.41$/l
-> lunch nearby Elliot 5957 km,
M. mistaken for an Israeli,
meet guy with the same car (Ford Laser GL) who advices us to repair the spare wheel in Elliot
-> Elliot 5980km, 1.50$/l,
repair the spare wheel, safe again!
-> Tennant Creek 6242 km, 1.47$/l
-> Devil's Marbles 6351 km,

use camping area,
looks much better at daylight
--> lose the back number plate of the car, the car falls apart and 2000 km to go...

to Darwin and back: 18/07-20/07

Wed, 18/07/07
-> Gunlom Falls 4097 km,
fantastic water holes,
nice swimming under the fall,
meet couple from WA,
not too crowded,
see lizard
--> Alligator River very dangerous
--> Kambolgie Creek
-> Bukbukluk 4146 km,
what a name!,
meet German couple from Edit Falls again
-> Mardugal 4227 km,
go to billabong but afraid of crocodiles,
shower there illegally,
-> Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre 4229 km,
meet couple from WA again,
K. moody, is afraid of being captured because of the shower,
good introduction to Aboriginal living
-> Yellow Waters 4231 km,
great billabong with lots of birds
-> Cooinda 4232 km, 152$/l
-> Jim Jim Billabong 4242 km
-> Gubara 4290 km,
lone camping with bats and crocodiles nearby,
K. panics and tries to run away,
stay and try to survive the night,
leave first thing in the morning,
animals eat parts of the bread

Thu, 19/07/07
-> Anbangbang Billabong 4317 km,
observe birds,
M. apparently too loud for bird watching
-> Nourlangie Rock Art Sites 4319 km,
some nice paintings,
'talks' by rangers quite trivial
-> Jabiru 4349 km,
buy apples and post cards,
bigger city but not worth the detour
-> Guluyambi 4398 km
-> Bardedjilidji Sandstone Walk 4398 km,
nice rocks,
very near to the water...,
wallabies and strangest grasshoppers
-> Ubirr Rock Art Sites 4404 km,
best Aboriginal Art so far, still not too impressive,
beautiful outlook on Arnhem Land,
looks as if this Aboriginal community actually works
-> Manngarre Rainforest Walk 4406 km, seasonal closed
-> Mamukala 4473 km,
bird watching station, very relaxed
--> leave Kakadu National Park
--> South Alligator,
--> Mary River, apparently highest crocodile population in the world
-> Termite Mounds 4605 km, not too bad
-> Corroboree Station 4611 km, 1.46$/l
--> Adelaide River Bridge
--> Fogg Dam, see long-necked turtle
--> Stuart Highway (back again!)
-> Darwin 4737 km, 1.24$/l,

beach in the evening very crowded because of the Mindil Market,
sleep in Hidden Valley Tourist Park,
city inhabited by tourists

Fri, 20/07/07
-> Casuarina Beach, spend half of the day there
-> again Mindil Beach
-> Palmerston Market 4839 km,
nice little market,
crazy birds on the trees,
Aboriginal dancers,
anoter night in the Hidden Valley

to Darwin and back: 15/07-17/07

Sun, 15/07/07
-> Old Telegraph Station 2401 km
--> K. desperately tries to operate mobile
--> seen central market
--> Westpac ATM gives us only 20$!
--> ANZAC Hill beautiful; good overview of Alice
--> M. a little moody
-> Ti Tree 2700 km,
Red Sand (Aboriginal art shop) is a big rip-off
-> Wycliff Well 2887km, 1.76$/l,
Ufo capital,
K. tries to call home
-> Wachope 2905 km, 1.70$/l,
K. complains about lack of flat bread,
little Aboriginal boy wants money for a drink, give him chocolate instead
--> Devil's Marbles, OK but not too impressive
-> Tennant Creek 3021km, 1.46$/l,
Mary Ann Dam is beautiful,
M. makes stones jump on the water
-> Banka Banka 3131km,
best camping spot with microwave, fridge, washing machine, drier, hot showers and a slide show in the evening,
again: Australians do not communicate too much, at 9 o'clock everything is quite,
only some Irish want to talk,
M. gets sick of camel satay made of Mongolian camels,
nights are warmer already

Mon, 16/07/07
--> overtake two vans and one truck
--> Elliot
-> Dunmarra 3390 km, 1.59$/l, discovered first toad
-> Daly Water 3463 km, 1.66$/l,
more expensive than highway,
Lonely Planet lies regularly, do not trust it,
it is getting hotter

-> Larrimah 3561 km, wild chickens,
-> Elsey Cemetry, graveyard of some unknown ('We of the Never Never')
-> Mataranka 3656 km,
beautiful hot springs in Elsey National Park,
palms everywhere,
first bathing opportunity
-> Bitter Springs 3660 km,
less crowded hot spring,
K. sees a snake (probably lizard),
looks almost like a jungle
--> dead animals everywhere (even wild pigs)
-> Wild Camping II 3788 km (between Katherine and Mataranka)

Tue, 17/07/07
-> Katherine 3783 km, 1.33&/l,
first real signs of civilization after Alice
->Nitmiluk National Park 3810 km,
swim across Katherine Gorge without seeing crocodiles,
want to use a canoe but they are sold out, want to book in advance on our way back
--> bush fire and lots of dead animals alog the road
-> Leliyn (Edith Falls) 3910km,
beautiful swimming lake,
K. too lazy to get to upper pool (2h walk),
crazy youngsters jump from the rock (15 m),
K. prevents M. from imitating them,
meet German teacher couple who travels around the world (Europe->Asia->Australia->America)
-> Pine Creek 3977km, 1.53$/l
--> enter Kakadu National Park
-> Kambolgie 4071 km,
from now on constant crocodile warnings,
crazy French group occupies camping site,
warn us to go away because it is going to be very loud,
they did not lie and used a generator the whole night,
they get up before dawn!,
hear dingoes howling,
lots of birds in Kakadu