Kakadu

So I'm back here in Darwin after five amazing, exhausting days in Kakadu National Park. I'm at an Internet cafe right now so I don't really feel like writing a lot, plus it's almost impossible to really sum up how Kakadu has changed me, but let's try anyway (briefly).

After flying up from Melbourne, we had two days in Darwin by ourselves. At first, we were very excited because we never get free time, but we soon found out that Darwin is really, really boring. This "city" is about four blocks by six blocks with a couple stores, two Woolworths (Australia's Safeway), and a bunch of bars and restaurants. The Mirambeena Resort was quite nice though, and we had a good time swimming in the pool. However, Darwin turned out to be a real bummer.

On the third day, we drove up to Kakadu (a four hour bus ride that was lengthened by numerous stops). We visited several wildlife areas on the way, such as a marshland with magpie geese and other areas. I was really tired so I didn't really care a lot. We got into the Gagudju Cooinda Resort at around 5:30 exhausted and found that the resort in fact was not camping style as it was advertised, but actually offered real hotel rooms (towels, a shower, a maid service, etc) and a real restaurant. We were pretty excited.

The first full day in Kakadu was the most hellish. We got on the bus and went around nonstop to so many places that I can't remember. I was still pretty grumpy but we did end up seeing some amazing sights. We climbed a big mountain (big for Australia) and got a 360 degree uninterrupted view of outback Australia. We also saw countless Aboriginal works of rock art, which was really amazing.

The second day in Kakadu was the best. We went to this place called Gunlom which had a really nice waterfall. However, as we climbed to the top of the waterfall, we found that there were pools up in the mountain! It was the most amazing place I've ever been. We swam out to the edge and could be in the pool and still look for miles around in uninterrupted forest. It was truly amazing. We also found a huge canyon and swam the whole length of it until we were soaked by yet another waterfall. It was indescribably beautiful (and we have no pictures of it because no one could get a camera in there).

The third day in Kakadu was spent looking at a lot of different Aboriginal works of art, as well as visiting an Aboriginal school in Oen Pelli, an Aboriginal-owned property that doesn't allow tourists in. We also visited an Aboriginal craft center where I bought an authentic Aboriginal painting for $55. It was so awesome.

Yesterday we had our final and then were free for the rest of the day, so a bunch of us went swimming in the resort's pool and generally had a blast in the 90 degree weather. In the evening, we went on a sunset cruise through Yellow Waters, where we saw some huge saltwater crocodiles and a myriad of birdlife.

And now I'm here, waiting to go on my 1 am flight to Sydney with a bunch of new Australia friends. Alright, gotta go, Internet here is not cheap. :)