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Crocodile!

May 25th 2008 06:51
My first experience with a crocodile has left a scar for life. No, not a real scar. I wasn’t mauled if that’s what you’re thinking. No. I was blind! You see I grew up in country Victoria where the most dangerous animals are snakes (and we hardly ever saw them it’s too cold most the time!). So, being the contentious traveller I am, I thought I’d go and see a crocodile in a cage before I go far enough north were they run wild. (Just the thought of wild, man eating animals being on the loose was so foreign to me, I mean, in Victoria you don’t have to worry about that kind of danger swimming in a river or pond, or walking near water).


Back to the story. I was in Bundaberg Queensland, doing fruit picking work to pay for my travels. While everyone else was doing the usual drinking and TV watching after a hard day on the farms, instead of joining them I went on my little adventure...

A short walk from the backpacker hostel was a kind of zoo. Not really a zoo because the only animals were one crocodile and a few birds in cages scattered around. It wasn’t a zoo at all actually. But it was all open to the public for free. I was nervous. I had nothing to be scared about, it was in a cage, why was I so nervous? I walked down the track along the Burnett River towards the ‘non-zoo’. I turned up the hill to where I was told the croc was. And I saw it... the cage. I walked further up and the whole enclosure was revealed. The cage was grey and black and dirty covered in rust and grime. There was a pool of green water in the middle surrounded by smooth, concrete edging and patchy grass. But... no Croc.

I was disappointed, I had hoped to see it but it was obviously resting in the water. There was no one else around to ask if the croc was even in the cage so I walked around the other enclosures to pass the time. Five minutes later I lost patience with the birds in their pens and went back to the old rickety cage. Still, no croc. I left, disappointed and walked the river track back to the hostel. I was almost back when I decided I’d turn around and have one more look.

Only about 10 minutes had past by now. I walked up path to the cage, not expecting anything, but hoping. I looked in and there, there it was! I held my breath; it was a shock to see it. It was huge! What’s more it’s grey, heavy, fat, three metre long, body was not wet! And I knew. I knew there was a reason I needed to see a croc in a cage before in the wild – they blend well with the environment!

To this day I CANNOT believe I was staring right at the big beast TWICE and I couldn’t see it! Talk about a shock. I felt pretty stupid. It’s one of those situations that you think is impossible. You know, you think you couldn’t be tricked by an animal camouflage, but, when it’s an animal you’re not used to seeing, well, what can I say, it got me. I’ll never forget it and thank goodness for the cage.

A great crocodile farm I highly recommend is in a town called Innisfail in far north Queensland on the way to Cairns. I definitely saw all the crocs when I went a few months later! Happy travels
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More about Darwin

May 25th 2008 06:49
We were lucky enough to have someone to stay with on our visit to Darwin. She took us to Kakadu and Leichhardt National Park and also out drinking. Drinking, what can I say. It seems everyone she introduced us to had a beer (well not just one) after work everyday. Beer or spirits depending on the person were consumed like water (but obviously the side effects were a bit more laughable). All the drinking brings to Darwin a real social vibe.

“It’s just so hot there’s nothing else to do”, our host tells us laughingly. It was pretty funny and we felt our tensions from city living melting away after a few days. It’s easy to relax when everyone’s including us is tipsy by noon and the heat is in the high 30s with 99% humidity, you just plonk loosely into a deck chair in the shade of the palm trees and don’t move because you can’t move, it’s too hot!

Of course it’s not just alcohol that is responsible for our relaxed visit, Darwin people are generally brilliant folks and the weather combined with it being a small town (small relative to other Australian capital cities that is) adds up to make it a great place to be.

We visited early November, in ‘the build up’. The build up is the time before the wet season - the water is building and building in the atmosphere, everyday is more humid than the next, the air is thicker, the bugs are in high numbers, the electrical storms are constantly firing above in big, looming clouds for weeks on end, then, one day, finally the sky bursts with torrential rain and the whole place floods. It’s brilliant! And yes, more reason to celebrate and drink some more

Darwin’s a party place because nature makes it so. It’s impossible to not be affected by the dramatic change in seasons and my guess is that for thousands upon thousands of years parties have been held to celebrate the rains. Seeing the dry, flat plains that seem to go for thousands of kilometres (and they do) transform into lakes full of new life is a wonder of nature.

So if you’ve got the winter blues go to Darwin. The time’s right for an easier climate than the one I just described (in other words don’t go in November if the above description of heat and humidity didn’t appeal to you). The people are fantastic, friendly and up for a chat. If you’re the type of person that likes to ride a bike around on your travels it’s heaven – there are no hills! Speaking of hills, our host told us a story about a friend of hers, born and raised in Darwin, who went to Brisbane for the first time. Driving up and down hills was terrifying for her! It was not only that she didn’t know if her car would make it, the mere experience of it really rattled her! Likening it to a rollercoaster ride! We laughed at the story but it was all true. Rest assured the car did make it and her friend has since adjusted fine.

It’s a fun reminder travelling is great! It opens your eyes and mind up to things you couldn’t (or wouldn’t) have done in your home town. Full of adventure and little things (or big things like those hills) that remind you you’re alive. The thrill of the unexpected and the insights you carry with you after the journey’s over stay with you for ever. Go travelling. Get out there if you’re not already. Go on. Then tell us a story
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Darwin Markets

May 25th 2008 06:46
Darwin Markets. The markets ooze sweat and spices. A sensual buffet. 100% humidity and a sunset like nothing I’d ever seen in my life. The red fireball sinking into the bay horizon has a humbling effect on all the hundreds of people gathered on the beach. A real quietening of the spirit is experienced when you see such a sight. How small we are. How insignificant our little life dramas are when you look at the size of the sun and the brilliance it produces as it leaves us at the close of another day.

Hundreds of people go to the beach to watch the sunset while they eat their dinner bought at one of the variety of food stands with tastes of many different lands to tantalise your senses. The smell of spices and fried delicacies hover in the windless, humid air. It is hot. Scantily clad people wander and sweat. There is a vibe of youthfulness here with all the backpackers wandering like I am, with their tanned, toned bodies greasy with the sweat of the tropics.

When the sun goes down completely dim yellow lights give the dark night and each market stall a soft, warm glow. There is the deep rumbling of a didgeridoo in the background and a woman singing an ancient eerie tune. Someone is beating a drum and the rumble is felt deep in your chest. This is another world. You have to experience it.

The markets are on now. They run all winter April to October Thursday night and Sunday. Thursday nights are the best. www.mindil.com.au
flights travel
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The Beautiful Whitsundays

May 24th 2008 06:26
The Whitsundays Islands.Have you heard of them? I thought everyone had but I’ve been realising they aren’t common knowledge to all tourists or even Aussies. They really should be though.

If you’re a backpacker looking for a party or looking for work you have to, no you need to know about them. They are a group of tropical islands in North Queensland that are the playground for holiday makers from all over the world and all walks of life (rich and famous included). Now, if you want to have a tropical island life but can’t afford the hotel all you need to do is work there


[ Click here to read more ]
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