Mataranka to Darwin and In Between.

Genuinely THAT happy in Mataranka Hot Springs

Mataranka Hot Springs were my absolute favourite part of the road trip. It was just one of those perfect days when everything falls into place. The weather had been getting progressively more beautiful the further north we drove, however this was the first place where it was really like a paradise. There were two separate hot springs in the little town. The first, main one was this pool which was just the perfect depth and temperature. It's hard to believe that it's not man-made. I could have stayed in there all day. You're floating around looking up at the sun shining in through the palm leaves and spider-webs, glistening and reflecting on the pool. The water was warmer than the air so it felt like a relaxing bath. The whole thing was so peaceful. It was just amazing.

The Wild Hot Spring

The second Hot Spring in Mataranka was really cool. It was a bit more rugged. It was actually a flowing river where you get in at one end and the current gently sweeps you along a winding route for a little while until you get to a bridge with a ladder to get out. Actually, for anyone who's been to Discovery Cove in Florida, that's what it was like. Most of the rest of the group did this but since it was a lot deeper and I'm not a strong swimmer, I decided to just film the rest of them doing it. I did hang out for a while clinging to a rock, and then a log, but it wasn't quite as relaxing. The surroundings were just as spectacular though. I remember thinking that it looked like a movie-set or a painting, not somewhere that really existed.



After a blissful day, we decided to try and make it to the next destination before sunset. Katherine was another brilliant stop along the way. For more than one reason. We planned to get to Katherine with enough light left to cook a barbecue and spend the rest of the evening relaxing with some beers. Technically, that's what happened. Brenda, a Katherine local, was throwing a surprise birthday party for the girl who was lodging with her. She really wanted to have more party guests for the surprise and she knew that there were usually a group of backpackers camping up on their way through the town. So she drove by a few times. Finally she plucked up the courage to approach the group and invite them to the birthday party. The group were split. Some of us were completely against the idea, some of us for it. I was for it. Brenda seemed like a lovely, genuine woman and anyway, there was eight of us. If anything happened. at least half of us would probably get away. So we agreed to go to the party but secretly devised an escape plan in case anything looked a bit off. We had nothing to worry about. We had a brilliant night and Brenda was an amazing host and one of the most interesting people I've met.



We said our goodbyes after breakfast and hit Katherine Gorge, another of my most anticipated stops. The whole place is beautiful. We spent most of our time climbing to all the different look-out points overlooking Katherine River. Hopefully the photos do it justice. We had time to get some more hot spring time in though, spending the late afternoon floating around in Katherine Hot Springs. As we were getting ready to leave, a very  helpful ranger told us that it's a favourite spot of crocs. In fact he even feeds them! It was really helpful of him to tell us that after we spent hours there. He did redeem himself though. giving us a great tip on the best road-house on the Stuart Highway. We made our way another few hundred kilometres to Emerald Springs. After three weeks on the road, it's easy to get excited about a really great road-house. We had the best breakfast of the road-trip and a hot shower before heading to Litchfield.

Florence Falls

Wangi Falls

I think we seen about 10% of Litchfield National Park - maybe even less. It's massive. We did pick out a few key parts we made sure to see and they were beautiful. The park is so big that you drive for hours between sights. The highlights were Florence Falls and Wangi Falls, which Barney actually swam out to. There were beautiful walks and climbs up through the trees to tree-top look-outs and loads of different types of spiders in their natural habitat. It was amazing that for such a huge tourist spot that the environment seems to be so well conserved.

The bar at the Ski Club

It didn't take too long to make it to Darwin from Litchfield. Anyone who has been to Darwin will know that it's not exactly a sprawling metropolis. The city only has a population of about 130,000 people and the CBD consists of about two streets. But when you're coming off the back of three weeks of looking at flat, vast desert interspersed with little towns and natural wonders, Darwin looks like the hub of human civilisation. (Which everyone knows couldn't be further from the truth.) We quickly got acquainted with the bars along Mitchell St and settled in to a six month stay in Darwin.

Darwin is hard to describe. It has it's own definite identity. The opposite of Melbourne, Darwin was never designed or planned. It's as if it didn't expect to become a city. It's outer suburbs were recently their own remote towns but have now become part of Darwin. Infrastructure hasn't caught up with the rapid growth of the city. There's been sporadic mining booms throughout it's recent history and it's in the middle of another one now. The local economy coupled with the haven of fantastic weather during what is the winter for the rest of Australia makes it an attractive option for backpackers and relocating Australians. This rapid expansion seems to have taken another community by surprise as well. In a few generations, most of the Indigenous community have been displaced and there seems to be a lot of social issues that nobody knows how to reconcile.

Sunset from Skycity over Mindil Beach

Overall, the theme of Darwin is a bit too "macho" for me, although some of it was really amazing. Cullen Bay and The Waterfront are two areas that are really stunning. The atmosphere in Cullen Bay, which is five minutes outside the CBD is just wonderful. All the millionaires live there and every house has it's own boat in the harbour behind it. Along the pier, there's a strip of restaurants and bars which for some unknown reason, never seem to be too busy. It's a refreshing change from rowdiness of Mitchell St. Mindil Beach and the Skycity casino complex ten minutes outside the city are fantastic.

Sunbathing at Cullen Bay (on a Sunday)

For a long time our Sundays consisted of  a walk to Cullen Bay or the beach, followed by a trip to Mindil Beach Sunset Markets to watch the sun go down and feast on various Asian cuisines from the stalls. Then we would mosey over to either the Casino or the Ski Club to finish the evening of with a few beers. Sometimes we didn't do it in that order. Sundays were really important because it was the only day that Barney and I really seen each other. We worked opposite hours all week so we really tried to make the most of our one day together.

The Sunset Cruise

 My absolute highlight from Darwin was a champagne cruise at sunset out of the harbour and around the coast of the city. That was really beautiful. We started our voyage at Cullen Bay then it took us out of the harbour and all around the coast, giving us a different perspective of all the sights we were used to. It was as romantic and peaceful as it sounds. I'm really glad I experience living in Darwin. I'll be honest and say there were aspects I didn't really like but there were some really great things too. It's hard to describe the feel of it. It's just somewhere you have to judge for yourself. I do definitely recommend a visit though.

The Olgas and Devil's Marbles

The next day, we woke up at 6am to flee the campsite that we were staying in for free (but it wasn't supposed to be free). Since a few people were awake, they decided to drive to Uluru again to see it at sunrise. It's supposed to be amazing. As you all may know, mornings aren't my thing, nevermind sunrise. I glanced at it from my bed in the back of the camper and dozed off again to sleep. Fortunately Barney got a gorgeous shot of it. 

The Olgas

Later on, we drove to The Olgas; giant rock formations sacred to the Aboriginal people. We took a trek through their valleys. The scenery is amazing. There's such a contrast between the huge red rocks and the green meadow-like valley in between. It's baffling how they came to exist. They just look so out of place in the middle of the desert. 

The Devil's Marbles

The Twits on the Rocks

Afterwards, drove North, heading to Alice Springs and along the side of the highway we came across the Devil's Marbles. This is another weird rock formation. They're just this pile of rocks that look like a giant piled them on top of eachother. We stopped to have a closer look at them and of course the boys had to climb them, with no thought given as to how they would get down again. 

Anyway, after that whole fiasco, we got to Alice Springs. It was mediocre. I thought, being the main town in the centre of Australia, and the gateway to Kings Canyon, Uluru and The Olgas, it would be a bit fancier. We had planned to stay there for a couple of nights, but we just went back on the road the next day. 

The Red Center

Adelaide

We spent three days in Adelaide. Wow, it was awesome; if only for the luxury of the hotel room. I've never showered and bathed so much in such a short space of time. I felt like the Queen of Adelaide. We did emerge to do a little sight-seeing around the city. True to form, the sight-seeing soon descended into shopping topped off with drinking. Well, you have to make the most of it when you're in a city. The day we checked out of our hotel, the rest of the campers told us we were all invited to a barbecue at some couple's house that they had all met the night before. I thought those poor people only said that when they were drinking and most definitely did not intend for eight Irish and Scottish travellers to set up camp outside their house and feast in their garden all night. They actually turned out to be really welcoming and we spent the evening listening to their own travel stories and advice for our own journey. It was a lovely display of generosity and trust.

After an uneventful day travelling we finally approach Coober Pedy, the stop I was most looking forward to. As we left Port Augusta, the landscape was already changing. The soil starts to turn dryer and redder, there are vast plains with flat, red-brown mountains in the distance and the plant-life if mostly shrubs and trees that look like they should be in The Lion King. The most noticeable difference though, or rather, the most exciting difference is that from here, the sky is now endless and blue.

One of the underground buildings in Coober Pedy

We got to Coober Pedy around four-thirty and made our way to the lookout point beside our underground hotel and watched the sun go down over the strange Bedrock-style town. Coober Pedy is a town in the middle of desert, which was founded on Opal Mining, which still goes on today. Most of the people here, live underground to combat the hot days and freezing nights. We checked in to our cosy dug-out hotel room for a brilliant night's sleep. The next day we wandered around Coober Pedy. One of the sites we visited was Faye's Underground Home, dug out by three women by hand over ten years. The house is huge inside, it's unbelievable that someone could have done that by hand.


The next stop was another four hour drive away. The next stop was Kulgera, which consisted entirely of a roadhouse, fuel station, bar and camp-site. We had a great random night in the middle of nowhere, befriending the locals, a travelling couple from Queensland and the bunch of truckers that hung out in the smoking bay. It's hard to really comprehend how vast Australia is and that there are so many places like this dotted along the Stuart Highway that are hundreds of kilometres from any other civilisation.

Sunset

A watering hole in the middle of Uluru

On the journey to Uluru (Ayers Rock) we came across a herd of wild camels, just hanging out at the side of the road. They were happy to pose for pictures when we stopped to ogle them. When we arrived at Uluru, me and Barney went off on our own, doing a peaceful walk around the base. The rest of the group decided to climb to the top, and I think most of them made it. Around the base was gorgeous. It's not what you imagine at all. For a start, it's much bigger and it's not just some big rock. It's fascinating learning about how different areas were used by the Aboriginals for different things, and what certain aspects of the rock meant to them. It's an entire habitat, with trees. grassy areas, caves, watering holes, and sometimes rivers and waterfalls. Some of the places around it were little havens of peacefulness.. We made it to the sunset lookout point to capture Uluru glow red as the sun set behind us.

Let The Adventures Begin...

Bells Beach

After all this time planning our big road-trip, we're really doing it! On Sunday, we moved out of our apartment, super-hungover, after a bit of a hooha with the landlord. Eventually we set off , many hours behind schedule and drove to Geelong where we camped up for the night in a housing-estate (true Pikey style) and had a very cold night's sleep.

On Monday the weather was gorgeous. Geelong is a beautiful town. After getting ourselves all fed and cleaned up at McDonalds, we head off to Bells Beach. There, we were able to watch the surfers close up. Bells Beach is famous for holding huge world surfing competitions and you can really see why. You only think Malin Head has waves. The sheer power of the ocean is so obvious and I had an unfortunate incident with it's force... or rather my flip-flop did. 

The Coffin!
The entire space we had to sleep.

Pretending to cook.

From Bells Beach we drove on with the intention of a barbecue. We stopped off at a little village or "Shire" called Anglesea with the nicest, most helpful locals. We stocked up on food and beer and made our way to Airlie Inn campsite where we finally had our first barbecue of Australia! The camp-site was great, really clean and brilliant facilities. Got a nice warm shower after sleeping in "The Coffin"; the official name for the top bunk of the three-person camper.   

12 Apostles

The Crew

On Tuesday, we drove The Great Ocean Road. I dubbed it "Ocean Road" mostly because I was so scared in the back of the camper driving around winding mountain roads so near to the cliff edge! The feeling was soon to pass and we witnessed the mass and sheer awe of the ocean waves, repetitively smashing the coastline, before being swallowed up by the seemingly endless rainforest drive.  We soon came to the Gibson steps where you see the first of the 12 Apostles, then proceeded to go to the main Apostles site which was amazing. We got there at a great time of day and got some beautiful photos. 

Imagine what this looked like at night...

We drove on from there and came to Yambuk camp-site. When we drove up in the dark, it was really eerie and apparently reminiscent of Wolf Creek. It was ages up a dirt lane and we were the only campers staying at the site. We went to bed pretty early after some issues with the electrics (sounds just like a horror movie right?). But we got a good night's sleep and in the morning the campsite turned out to be gorgeous and remote. It's situated beside it's own lake and a hundred metres from the beach. 

The Harbour town of Portland

Once again, we hit the road and drove as far as Portland, a class, sleepy little harbour town. Even though the stores are Dominos and Subways and the like, it still looks like an 1800's saloon town. After some stocking up and some lunch, we all decided to take a detour to the Grampians before we left Victoria. It turned out to be a huge detour and a lot further than we thought. We had intended to aim for Adelaide but it was dark by the time we got to The Grampians so we decided to stay the night since we wouldn't be able to see anything. A little cranky from the turn of events, a cold beer and some frolicking with the kangaroos soon calmed us down. 

En-route to  the waterfall

McKenzie Falls

The plan was to wake up at 5:30am, before sunrise and set off on a two-hour hike to the pinnacle of The Grampians for the best view. However upon discussion, we realised we would be trekking off up the mountain in the dark. A big no-no with all the spiders and snakes! So we left at 9:30am in the pouring rain and headed off to "The Canyon." We got soaked and our attire showed that we were hiking novices; no raincoats, no proper footwear and no idea of which way to go. We found our way eventually and visited the spectacular sight that is McKenzie Falls. After returning to the campervan and getting fed, we tumble-dried our wet clothes at the camp-site amenities - fondest memories of being so cold and putting on our newly dried and very warm jumpers... Snuggly!! The rain continued to pour and with the forecast predicting storms for the next two days, we decided to continue on the trail and set off for Adelaide once and for all. 

One of the many spectacular views through The Grampians

After a nine and a half hour drive, we arrived in Adelaide, parked up for the night in a random lay-by and zzzzz!!!

Farewell Melbourne

Well today is Friday, May 18th 2012. We are moving out of our apartment on Grey St, St. Kilda on Sunday and heading North in two rented camper vans. We collected them today and it's just made the whole journey ahead of us seem real. The road trip we've decided to take over the course of 21 days starts in Melbourne and ends in Darwin. We'll cover around 4000km. It will be like driving from Donegal to past the middle of Africa. This is a link for a bike tour doing the same route we hope to. Except we're just doing it by our own devices. Eek! Biker Tour Melbourne to Darwin. I'm scared and excited and a little sad to leave Melbourne. We didn't intend on staying here this long but we all know how time has a way of eluding you.


The last few months have really flown by. We start to feel like we live here now; jobs, rent, routine. Because of this, we haven't really put ourselves out there too much and lost a little of the adventure spirit. In saying that, I would most definitely recommend Melbourne as a brilliant city to live in. It just has a really cool energy about it. I don't think I'll miss our specific location in Grey St, St. Kilda though, as it turned out to be the main  prostitute street in the area. The girls themselves are nice enough, but it does definitely bring down the whole feel of the place when you're walking along on a beautiful day and there's a drugged up prostitute waving at all the passing cars. Well, you live and learn.

Overlooking beloved Melbourne
 at the Eureka Skydeck Building

I've taken some lessons from Melbourne. I've learned how to make coffee, how to bar-tend. I've learned that to be even better behind the bar, having a few yourself is compulsory. Alcohol definitely makes you better at this job. I've learned that contrary to popular belief at home, Australia is not one big continent of fantastic weather. In Autumn and Winter, Melbourne is cold, overcast, very windy and very wet. I've learned that you never work for an Irish person. And I've learned that fun and adventure have to come first over money or work. It's an easy one to forget.



A few days ago Barney and I celebrated being together five years by having a gorgeous Malaysian dinner and a scrummy bottle of wine, whilst mastering the art of chopsticks. Thankfully we haven't fallen victim to the curse of Australia breaking up all couples who enter.

So bring on the first leg of our epic road-trip, The Great Ocean Road! Eight people, two campers, twenty one days...

Kangaroos and the City

Best Buds

A little while ago me and a friend took a trip to Melbourne Zoo. I have to admit I was a little embarrassing. I didn't realise I was doing it but I was talking to all the animals. Not in a weird way, I don't think anyway, but apparently it was a thing. Sorry Dane. BUT! I hung out with a Kangaroo. I can leave Australia a happy tourist.




I quit my last job in the Irish bar... I didn't put it down enough in the last post in case I didn't get another job but now I have. Thank God. My new job is like a dream. I work either six or eight hour shifts and it's around the corner from where I live. The pay and the people are great. It's like a family there. The Irish Times was horrible. The people were lovely but it took up all my time and I missed St Patricks Day and the Grand Prix (which I still haven't been completely paid for.) Nobody can work 15 hours a day. Good Riddance Irish Times!

St Kilda Pier

We live in St Kilda really near the beach and a strip of cool bars and restaurants. This week the weather's been really gorgeous. For a while there we were getting nervous. It went down below twenty. Eek! Melbourne Autumn is setting in for sure. Time to head North? Watch this space...

Can't figure out these machines,
I don't know how the Grannys do it. 

Melbourne on the Yarra

When we do leave Melbourne there's loads I'll miss. St Kilda is cool but I really love the City Centre. It has a distinctive atmosphere I always kind of forget but as soon as I go back in it all comes back. There's this amazing view on the way in on the tram that overlooks the Yarra River. I can't say how much I love the City. I always think of Federation Square and all the tiny birds and Alexander Gardens under Princes Bridge. I could literally hang out there all day. Then there's the Crown Casino. We've been in a couple of times. I've never been to Vegas but the Crown is amazing. It's really intimidating but beautiful and really vast. I had to ask for directions in the building more than once. We got into trouble for taking photos (gamblers do not like this) like proper tourists. Embarrassing...

My friends (and one randomer)
sans me at the Grand Prix

Barney had a great weekend around Paddy's weekend. They all went out all day, had a ball and the next day was the final race day of the Grand Prix. I missed the whole thing thanks to the aforementioned horrible job. From what I hear it was pretty impressive.  I'll see if I can get him to do a little contribution soon.

Dungarees of Death

Glasgowbury
 23 July 2011 

St Kilda Festival
11July 2012

On Feb 11th we went to St Kilda Festival. The weather didn't hold up to well that day and being hungover from the night before, me and Barney left early. When we got back to the city I used the Library to have a look at Facebook and saw all these messages about Whitney Houston's death. It struck me that the only other time I wore those dungarees was at Glasgowbury where we all heard about Amy Winehouse. I'm afraid to wear them again in case another drug-addicted celeb dies an untimely death. 

Speaking of the library, the City Library in Melbourne is surprisingly where we spent a lot of time the first few weeks. We started off using it for job and flat hunting but soon progressed to borrowing books and just going there to chill out when it was too hot or wanted to get out of the hostel for a while. There's a piano that anyone can use and once while I was in using the wi-fi, someone started playing the theme to Amelie. Another time I heard Moonlight Sonata. It was pretty cool. So the Melbourne City Library is definitely an unexpected favourite spot so far. 

Passenger busking on Degraves St. 

Grafitti on Degraves St

Degraves St is the coolest alleyway in Melbourne. While we stayed in the city during our first few weeks, we got breakfast most days along this street. It's lined on both sides with open-fronted Italian cafes and restaurants. This was the street where we watched "Passenger" busking and the crowd gathered around on milk crates to watch. 

Work

After about two weeks I got a job the this Irish bar. It's extremely long hours. Sometimes I work from 12pm until 3am. The pay is good though and it's much needed experience for the rest of my travels in Australia. The first week was tough. I'm used to sitting on my ass in the bank all day. My feet started to swell and were so sore the first while. I'm used to it now and don't mind the long hours on my feet. I work with some really cool people too so that helps the hours go in. 

Since we're on the subject of swelling, after about three weeks here in Melbourne I spent a day at the beach in St. Kilda. For some reason I still don't understand, I didn't wear sun cream that day. My legs swelled up to about one and a half times their size and turned purple. I had to stay in bed for a whole week. It was depressing. I read a few books and tried to master the game Hearts. I learned a hard lesson. The man in that song was right. Wear Sunscreen! I didn't take a photo of the sunburn but on the left I have done a little doodle of what it looked like from the back. I didn't actually lose my feet during the whole ordeal but I just don't know how to draw them on paint.