Northern Territory

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

We spent the first 2 days in Australia in Darwin. Actually not sooo interesting, but if you consider that in 1974 a cyclone reduced the whole city to rubble and ashes, it becomes quite exciting. All residents were evacuated at that time when "Debby" (I think that's what the storm was called) swept across the country at over 200 miles per hour.

A weekly market was the highlight of our visit to Darwin. With a sensational burger, of course pizza, and roasted almonds, life somehow becomes better.

Oh, and when a large flock of parrots flies over your head, you realize that you are indeed living on a completely different continent 😀!

But actually, we were just waiting for the long-awaited day to come..

And the big day came!! And how!! We finally picked up our BMW camper! "Unfortunately" and to Gianna's delight, it turned out to be a Toyota Landcruiser instead 🙂.

But before we could embrace our darling, we had to take care of a lot of paperwork and deposit issues. We would have had to pay a $8,000 deposit for the car since we didn't want to take out insurance through the rental agency. Since my credit card is blocked and Gianna's card logically doesn't have such a high limit, we had the choice between insurance for $900 or no car at all 😱🤬.

Yes, Indonesia turned out to be much more affordable, as we had to realize 😅.

During the subsequent shopping spree, I got a little dizzy after 3 hours, since I couldn't buy anything without Frau Berger giving her approval!! When it comes to cooking or meal planning, I hardly have a say...

However, I have rarely seen Tschanna happier than when she gets to explore the shelves of the supermarkets in foreign countries for unknown delicacies (mostly sweets & desserts) ☺️!

We spent the first night in our luxury camper at a campground on the Mary River. The caution-crocodile signs everywhere did not contribute much to Gianna's well-being, and the whole thing with all the critters is a love-hate relationship for her. After all, a crocodile could climb up the ladder into our rooftop tent!!

Luckily, there were only a couple of kangaroos blocking the road to the restroom 😅.

Currently, we are in Kakadu National Park in search of crocodiles. At least I am...Gianna's annoying habit of constantly searching every corner of the campground for crocodiles, snakes, and spiders is starting to get on my nerves 😱.

The driving is going well, but the heat (averaging 35 degrees) is really taking its toll on us and is quite exhausting! Everywhere, we are warned about the heat, and accordingly, we strapped 40 liters of water to the roof! 💦

The heat was also the reason why we booked our river cruise on the East Alligator River in the early morning. Besides, you're supposed to see a lot more animals in the early hours of the morning.

The early bird catches the crocodile!!🐊🦖🦕

With our fellow passengers, all armed with cameras and bird enthusiasts over 50, we were able to admire the huge diversity of Australian animals and plants for the first time!

Huge sea eagles, wild boars, fish, and all sorts of birds were visible. It's incredible how much life gathers at such a small piece of water.🙂

We quickly saw the boring birds, now it was finally time for the king of the rivers to show up 🐊🐊!

In Kakadu National Park, by the way, the largest park of its kind in Australia, there are about 80 crocodiles per kilometer. This means we should see a crocodile every 13 meters 😀.

And that's exactly what happened! While the whole ship screeched and cackled because some baby bird was flying its rounds in the distance again, I kept an eye out for our leathery friends. Lurking, a piece of snout and eyes suddenly emerged from the water and gracefully slid through the water...

Very impressive!

In Australia, there are 2 types of crocs: the Freshwater Crocodile, also known as Freshie, and the Saltwater Crocodile. But be careful: the much larger and more aggressive Saltwater Crocodile (Salties) also lives in freshwater 😉!

NEVER swim in a murky river in Australia, because when the crocodile dives just 15 cm deep, it becomes completely invisible - no matter how large the crocodile may be 😱!!

Unfortunately, all sorts of crocodile parts are offered at market stalls in Australia. From whole heads to keychains made of skin or feet to back scratchers with crocodile feet! Fluffy kangaroo testicles or a wallet made of a real (!) giant toad are apparently popular souvenirs...

Our journey will take us further to Katherine, where hopefully we can do some shopping for 2-3 things. Among other things, we need a proper lamp to hang on the tent. At 6:30 pm, it gets dark, and within 20 minutes, you can't see much unless the moon provides a little light.

We also need an air compressor to adjust the tire pressure when driving through sand, for example. If the tire pressure is lower, the tire has more contact area with the ground and thus more grip!

And one last thing! As you can imagine, there won't be much internet in the wilderness, so we may not reply or upload blogs for a few days ;-)!.

We have been given an emergency beacon for life-threatening emergencies in the Outback, such as snake bites, car accidents, or cuddling sessions with crocodiles, to alert the rescue teams. So, we are somewhat safe! 😃.

(Sorry for the many crocodile photos, I just find them extremely fascinating 😉!)