Damn, I lost my SD memory card!

Damn, damn, damn. Today hasn't been the best so far.... I was in the internet cafe this morning and tried to upload my photos from Litchfield and I left my SD memory card in the computer. After breakfast I remembered and went back to look and I guess someone took it, damn!

Fortunately, I had backed up all my pictures (around 1000), and sent them back home, so all I had on that card was the last 2 days, pretty lucky! I would have been gutted if I lost a whole load of photos. As it is, I got a replacement for $30, which is pretty good! I'm amazed I have lasted this long without losing something, as it's always been a running joke with me losing stuff at home. So one loss in 8 months is pretty good going. Oh, I did lose some shoes in New Zealand, but I'm not going to count that...

Met up with Liam this morning, got chatting about his 'story'. The obligatory questions every traveller asks new people they meet. Where have you been? How long has you been travelling? Where are you heading to next?. Turns out he has been in OZ for 14 months, run out of money, and needs to get to Townsville in the hope of finding work. He has enough money to get there and then is going to sell his car, which is a bit of a beast (if you like bangers). We are also going to travel with his mate, a french guy called Kevin who has a big curly afro. That's pretty cool. At the moment, Kevin cant leave until tomorrow so we are setting off in the morning. I guess its not like im in a major rush or anything. So just killing time in Darwin until the morning...

Oh, and I just found a hole in one of my shoes, so I think I will have to buy some new ones. I thought converse were supposed to be good quality??! Think they've only lasted a few months...

Ah well, as they say you need the bad bits to make the good bits better. Or something profound like that.

I think I will go and buy some new shoes.....

Back from Litchfield NP

Hi!!

Just got back from camping about half an hour ago! The trip was great. We rented a car from some company in Darwin city. All the rental companies look a bit shady around here but we managed to get a reasonable deal on a small car which was a yaris.

Drove to Litchfield national park which is not too far away. The first site we pitched up at was really crappy. Big rocks in the floor, and a tap. That was about it. Oh and a toilet. But if you wanted to get to the toilet you had to get past the webs.

It was extremely hot the first night and was pretty manky sleeping in the tent, but there were lots of mozzies outside so it was a tough decision as to which was better.

The next day we headed to a different campsite and this one was brilliant. A couple of dollars more but it had flat ground, decent showers, toilets etc and laundry so I could wash my stuff.

I was a bit concerned about renting a car, I always hate the idea of it being rented in my name because I always assume the rental companies will try and scam you. So we haggled a good deal, by lying outright about what the quote lady had told us the price would be. My memory failed me for those few minutes, so the guy matched the 'quote' we had been given. I think you are allowed to do stuff like that when youre travelling. They kind of expect it. Anyway, we took the Yaris a bit more offroad than I would have liked but to get to the camp sites we had to go down some pretty bad roads. We were pretty much doing jumps at some points. I had kissed my savings goodbye by this point! Then on the second day we were driving and the inside mirror just bloody fell off!!! So we kept it in the glove compartment mostly, and held it up as and when necessary.

The weekend was a nice mix of hopping from hiking trail to waterfall and checking out all the good places to swim. Lots of the water holes were closed as its the end of the wet season and crocs sometimes still hang around. The worst we came into contact with was a pretty big lizard. I wonder if that's what a goanna is??

So on returning the car today the rental guy said we had gone over out allowed km limit. I assured him we hadn't and that he had agreed to give us 200km a day. I also said that in view of the fact the car was falling apart, theres no way I was gonna pay any extra km. His reply was 'shit happens'. Brilliant! So we agreed to disagree. But its not a problem because I managed to convince him my debit card was a credit card so as to cover any damage which occured. As it happens he can't take any more of my money anyway! You have to try and stay one step ahead you know!

So I'm just killing some time here at the internet cafe. I have all my bags and am technically homeless while I wait to meet Liam about the trip to Cairns. I am heading to his hostel around 10 as he overslept. All good. Means I can update the blog.


So anyway, I think my phone signal will be pretty hit and miss for the next few days. Should be in Cairns in around 3-4 days I think. I'll try and get back online then.

Talk to you then...

Oh and for some reason pictures aren't working again, but I will add some more when I am online next.

Cheers

My first follower...

I have my first follower. I have no idea who 'Isla' is, or in fact what a follower actually is, but I have one now. Wicked!

Happy Anzac day!

Hi, hope everyone is well.

Today is a national holiday in Oz, to remember people who died in WWI. Although, it seems like an excuse for a big piss-up for most people as the pubs are full and everyone seems pretty merry.

Today has been a good day so far! Just when you start thinking things are getting a bit dull loads of offers come your way!

A girl I was chatting to on the Ghan train from Alice Springs, Eleana, is here in Darwin. She is from Holland. I saw her yesterday and she wanted to know if I like camping. I do. Her and her dorm-mate Andy, from Germany, were thinking of going to Kakadu national park for a couple of days and finding someplace to camp there for a couple of nights. Sounds good! We looked into renting a car but had some difficulty as it was already 8pm Friday night, the day before a public holiday. We didn't really get far. The 3 of us had a chat about it and Andy has to be back for work on monday and doesn't really want to pull a sicky. Even so, since the offer is still good me and Eleana are picking up a rental car tomorrow morning and heading to the park. She has the tent, so all I have to bring is some food and drink. Pretty good deal!

Also, I got a reply from the guy who posted the lift offer to Cairns! I was getting a little put-off cos I had applied to a couple of other posts since then from other people and nobody was really replying. Two Swiss guys (with hard to pronounce names) offered me a space in there car but they are leaving tomorrow morning and I've already agreed to the camping! Damn. But shortly after the English guy, Liam, called me to ask if I still needed a ride. He is pretty flexible on times so we agreed to leave Tuesday morning. I think we arrive back from camping to drop off the rental car at around 8.30am Tues, and I'm meeting Liam around 9am I think. So no shower for a LOOOONNNG time. I'm sure I will make a great impression. Going to have to try and hunt down some showers in the park.

So, had a quick chat with Liam this morning and all sounds pretty promising. He has a Subaru 4x4 and is heading to Townsville (not too far from Cairns). That's good enough, I can make my way from there on the train. It's a fair old drive at 2500km, so between the two of us (unless there are others?) it will probably take 3-5 days I suppose. Depends how much we drive. He has a tent and camping stuff so we will find some places to sleep. Sounds like fun!

I think being more spontaneous is working out well!

Just off to an outdoor cinema this evening and then going to pack and stuff ready for an early start tomorrow to the park!

Will keep you posted on the roadtrip the next time I can get online. That may be in Townsville at the weekend.

Bye for now!

Plan to get to Cairns

Good news! Just picked up a message about a car-share ride to a place called Townsville, close to Cairns. They are planning to leave in the next day or two. Just gotta wait to hear back.

Fingers crossed!

Still in Darwin...

Hey,

Went to the croc park today. That was pretty good! It's been very hot today so I didn't stick around too long. The public transport in Darwin is not great, the buses go every hour and a half or so which meant a bit of hanging around but i'm getting into my new book quite a bit now. It's the original book of the film 'yes men', about the guy who decide's to try saying yes to every invitation he is given. I've been wondering whether that's a good idea, might have to try it for a day or so, see where I end up.....

Checked out the notice board, there is only one new offer of a lift and thats to a town called Kununarra which is the wrong direction for me. Lucky I wasn't doing the yes thing....it look's pretty remote. The irish guys in my room are all working today and the German dude is pretty dull and doesn't really leave the room so it's been quite a quiet one. I will chat to the irish guys tonight and maybe go for a few drinks but I know they are up early tomorrow and trying to save money.

Getting a little bored of Darwin now. I obviously have the attention span of....something with a short attention span. It's a nice place but there isn't a huge amount to do. I think I will either move hostel and meet some new people or I will head to Cairns sometime around the weekend or just after. Or if all else fails just take the advice of my book and accept the next lift offer someone gives me...could be fun!

Bye for now

Arrived in Darwin - April 21st

(Alice Springs)

I arrived in Darwin yesterday at around 6pm. The ghan train was long, taking a full 24 hours. The train was quite a bit more basic than I was expecting, with broken chairs and generally pretty poor facilities. The views were great though and I was lucky enough to have a spare seat next to me so I managed to get some decent sleep.

The overhead speakers played the cheesiest promotion song on quiet a regular basis, and there was a recorded narrator telling us about the journey. Then the on board staff would repeat the same thing word for word. Quite funny really. Someone got annoyed in the carriage and unplugged the speakers, which made me laugh even more.

Along the way we stopped off at a place called Katherine, around 1pm yesterday. I was a bit concious of smelling bad cos I'd spent the day taking photos in Alice Springs before we left, and then slept in the carriage. I payed $29 to take a bus out to a place called Katherine Gorge and took some photos and stuff. Again it was very hot. Got back onto the train for the last 6 hours to Darwin. Not alot I could do about the smell, and I wasn't the only one that's for sure.

Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk National Park)

I lasted the whole trip on a family pack of Safeway biscuits (keeping cost's down!), but after the Gorge walk I was pretty hungry so got a meal with my last $15 I had in cash. When we arrived in Darwin they told us the station was in the middle of the stix, and we had to pay $15 to get the bus transfer. I was surprised they didn't tell us that before, and I'd just spent my last money on a burger. Haha. Luckily the driver was cool and let me on without paying. I had to leave him my passport for a couple of minutes whilst I nipped to the ATM the other side. All fun and games.

My hostel at the moment is reasonable. I'm sharing with 2 Irish guys and one from Germany. The german dude isn't very talkative, but the irish lads seem nice. They are both looking for work in Darwin as they want to stick around so it must be a decent place! All the other beds in the room are free at the moment so I'm hoping it doesn't get too much busier.

So far just had breakfast, sorting/planning my budget this morning. It's my last payday today and I got a little more than expected which is always good, so just planning out the rest of the 2 weeks in Oz. Gonna take a look around Darwin CBD this afternoon and plan some trips out the the croc park and the Charles Darwin national park over the next couple of days.

Not sure about how im getting to Cairns yet. I could get a flight which is only $169 with Jetstar, and sleep at the airport as its a 5am flight (and that saves on a nights accommodation!), or there are quite a few notices up in the hostels offering spaces in cars where people are taking roadtrips around different places. I think I will probably do that, if I can find someone who is leaving at the right kind of time heading towards Cairns. Its good to have options though! Funnily there was a guy looking for travel mates on a boating trip to Madagascar. He say's he has a boat and is looking for willing crew mates to learn to sail with him as he want's to go across the Indian ocean over to Madagascar. Sounds like one hell of a trip. It's funny what you can find in hostels.

Just been trying to add some pictures altho its a bit tempremental, I will see how it goes.

Katherine Gorge (cliff view)