Notes from Sydney

I stepped off the plane in Sydney to a cool, dry, refreshing breeze - what a change from Darwin! Ok, let's back up. Dinner Tuesday night was indeed crocodile - it was prepared like chicken fingers and tasted a lot like chicken with a little fishy taste to it, and a little tougher, but good. I enjoyed the second half of the trip a lot, especially once the group shrank and gelled. We were one night in Katherine, where we took a river cruise through the Katherine gorges (saw a live crocodile!), and two nights in Kakadu National Park, where we took another cruise, a hike in the rain to see Aboriginal art, and generally took it easy. Some nights Nicky and I hung out with the girls, some nights we hosted poker night for the boys - it was nice to have a girl friend who would play with the boys with me! Also she is my age, where the other girls are younger and the boys are older.

Anyway, then we were in Darwin for a night, and used it as a base on Wednesday, the final day, for our day trip to Litchfield National Park, which was great. Our first stop was the termite mounds, which frankly gross me out so I'm not going to talk about them. Then we got to do the fun stuff, which was swimming and hiking in waterfalls! We took about an hour and all jumped in the pool. There was actually a really strong current so we had to aim for a rock and grip onto it carefully! But the water was cold and clear and felt great. Then we took a 1km hike around the upper part of the river that feeds the waterfall, then back to the bus. We also stopped at another waterfall but couldn't go in because the water levels were so high that crocodiles had been seen there, though we didn't see any. Then lunch, then back on the bus and to Darwin for the official end of the tour.

Luke and Michelle dropped of Jonas, Jens, Phil and me at the hotel we stayed at the night before and where Jonas, Phil and I were storing our bags until our flights out that night and Jens had booked another night. We puttered around a bit, fiddling with our hastily-packed luggage from the morning and gathering things for the afternoon/evening, then headed out to the internet cafes. I finally wandered back to the hotel around 6:30pm, where Jens let us each use his shower before our final group dinner, which was really nice. The girls begged off early and the rest of us killed time at the club until it was time to leave for the airport. Jonas, Phil and I ordered a cab (ah, small-town Darwin) and made tracks. Jonas' flight was right away but Phil and I were both flying through Brisbane about ten minutes apart, on our way to separate destinations, and we were able to keep each other awake until boarding shortly after 1am.

I arrived in Brisbane with precisely five minutes to kill (waiting in the restroom line) before my connecting flight. The good thing about these tiny airports is that it's very easy to have a connecting flight! The second gate was right after the first, and in Adelaide it was the very same gate and plane. Love it. I also got to watch the sunrise during the landing in Brisbane, which made up for being SO completely out of it after 3 hours' sleep! The flight to Sydney was more turbulent but I really couldn't manage to stay awake long enough to get worked up about most of it! I easily found my pal/hostess, the lovely Miss Adina of Miss Adina's Amateur Chauffeur Service, and we made tracks to her house where we laid out a plan for the day. We tackled some of my errands, with varying degrees of success, and took a ferry ride from Watson's Bay to Circular Quay. Now I am SO ready for bed! Fingers crossed that we'll see my camera tomorrow...! It was a lovely day of exploring and I am looking forward to being up for more tomorrow :)