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AUSTRALIA Kakadu (27.2.-1.3.) During We stopped at Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, a low dam built by European settlers at the beginning of the last century. They hoped to create wet fields for rice farming, but the project did not work. However, waterfowls liked the area and many made it their home. They can be seen here in large numbers. Our next stop was in the Window on the Wetlands visitor center, where we learned about the wetlands of the Northern Territory. Large part of the Kakadu N.P. where we were heading is part of the wetlands and especially now in the wet season large areas of the park are under water. The heart of the Kakadu N.P. is the town of Jabiru. We arrived there towards the evening and despite a warning from the receptionist about possible heavy rains decided to camp (instead of renting a cabin as she suggested). Our tent was certainly ready for heavy winds or serious rain, but the problem appeared somewhere else. The heat did not diminish during the night and the humid air inside of our tent did not move an inch. After only five minutes we were totally wet. We were ready for Himalayan conditions, but did not bring any battery-operated AC, not even a fan. After 30minutes of trying to persuade ourselves that it is truly, really starting to cool down (yeah, wishful thinking!), we gave up, found the keeper in a bar and happily paid for an AC room. We slept well all night, until some big white parrots woke us up in the morning. The On February 29, we visited the very interesting cultural center called Warradjan, which was built and is being maintained by the local aboriginal people. The land of the Kakadu N.P. still belongs to the aboriginal people, who lend it to the Australian government. Certain parts of the park are reserved as strictly aboriginal land and are off limits to visitors. The Warradjan visitor center has interesting displays about the life and culture of the Australian aboriginals and their not-always-easy coexistence with the white settlers. On our way out off the park, we finally saw three wallabies (we decided that that will count as seeing kangaroos). We left the park and camped in a nearby village. On March 1, we turned back towards Darwin. We stopped in an old mining town of Pine Creek, which is on a highway from Darwin to Alice Springs, but unfortunately we did not have time to turn south and go deep into the Northern Territory land and visit the famous Uluru Rock, which was some 1000 miles away. Instead, we had to be heading back to Darwin. Before reaching the town, we stopped at an excellent Territory Wildlife Park. Designed like a miniature safari-ZOO combination, this park offers an excellent opportunity to see typical Australian wildlife like kangaroos, emus, crocodiles, various birds and others. There were almost no other visitors and we stayed there until the closing time. In Darwin, we found a little family-run motel and got ready for the next day flight to Cairns. Cairns (2.-3.3.) On The reef is located several miles off the coast. It took us over 2 hours to get there on a boat. It was cloudy and rained most of the day, but that turned out not to be the real problem, since it did not matter under the water. The wind and consequently large waves were the problem. Not only did they make snorkeling more difficult, but for most of the people on board, the trip to the reef and back turned into quite a horror. The boat was being thrown up and down and to the sides by the waves so much, that not only was it almost impossible to move around the cabin without falling, but even computers and other navigational devices on the captains' bridge fell on the ground and some broke. Luckily, we anticipated the trouble, took an overdose of Dramamine and thus survived the trip without getting sea sick. Fortunately, the bad weather did not ruin our snorkeling experience. We saw many corals and fish of most amazing shapes and colors. The Great Barrier Reef is a truly exceptional snorkeling experience. Sydney (4.-5.3.) We On March 5, we went for a walk through the city. The city has a great ambience. Perhaps it is its location on the jagged coast where suburbs were built along pleasant bays and beaches. Or maybe it is the old quarters, lively streets with many department stores and nice architecture. Perhaps all of the above and more. We toured the downtown area first and had a great fresh seafood lunch in a small Japanese restaurant. Then we took a ferry to Manly, a suburb on the north-eastern side of Sydney. We went for a walk on the beach, which was quickly filling up with people on this early Friday afternoon. On our way back, we again admired the views of the Sydney Opera and then went to take a closer look at it. We concluded that the building looks much better from distance. We finished the day with a walk through the Botanical Gardens. Some wedding party rented a small portion of the park to take pictures and have a private picnic there. We really liked Sydney and understand why so many fellow round-the-world travelers end up moving to this vibrant and beautiful city.
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Australia Population: 19 500 000 Population growth:
0,96% Literacy rate: 100%
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the
night between February 26 and 27, we flew from Singapore to Darwin.
It was a short flight and when we landed in Darwin at 5am we had only
about 2 hours of sleep behind us. However, we were not going to get much
rest, as we had a long drive to Kakadu National Park ahead of us.
When offices opened at 8am, we rented a car, went to the city to buy
food and supplies for several days of camping and then set off. It felt
somewhat strange to drive a car again after many months. Especially
since it was on the left side of the road. We were doing quite well for
a while, but then the sleep deprivation overwhelmed us. We pulled into a
small parking lot next to the road and tried to sleep for a while. Unfortunately,
it was very hot and the air-conditioned air in the car warmed up to an unbearable temperature within half an
hour, so we had to turn the engine on to start the AC again, at which point we
decided to continue our drive. 
next
day, we went to the Bowali visitor center and planned our
park visit. First we went for a 14km bush walk on and around the Nourlangie
Rock. This hike gives one a good introduction to the landscape
and vegetation of the non-wetland part of the park. Eucalyptus trees and
tall (up to 2-3m high) grass are the main vegetation in the area. At
first, the
trek took us to several sites with aboriginal paintings, some of which were
dated to be over 5000 years old. Then the path climbed up this huge
"rock" (or rather a flat-top mountain) that offered us beautiful
views into the surrounding countryside. However, only now the real Australian
bushwalking started. As if it was not enough that it was so hot and humid that
our cloth was all soaked with sweat, it also started to rain. On the top
of that, flies and mosquitoes started to bite us hard to complete the
experience. We also had to wade through areas where our path was flooded
due to recent heavy rains. After getting back to the car and returning
to our AC room, we concluded that this was a complete Australian experience,
despite the fact that we were not bitten by a venomous snake or attacked by a
crocodile.
March
2, we flew to Cairns. It rained the entire day, but since we had only one
full day to spend in Cairns, we decided to book a snorkeling trip to the Great
Barrier Reef regardless. In the end, that was why we came here.
As part of our educational preparation for the trip, we attended a two-hour
lecture about corrals in a local private educational center. For example, we learned that
even though corrals are animals, their body contains a significant amount
of algae and so even vegetarian fish bites on corrals.
landed in Sydney on March 4 and contrary to our habit hired an expensive
taxi to
get to Maroubra Beach - the part of Sydney where we were going
to stay at a house of a friend of ours from the USA. He was not to be there,
but two of his friends who are currently renting the house welcomed us. We ate pizza on
the Maroubra beach and then Andrew took
us for a night drive through Sydney. At night, we admired the nicely lit
Opera and the Harbor Bridge from across the
river. 