I have been a member of auszookers.com (Australian Suzuki) for a few years now. My personal Suzuki is a bit too new to do some of the hardcore tracks that the boys like to get up to, but that didn’t stop me tagging along on a recent trip in Darwin.
Kakadu and Litchfield – in the wet
A lot of people say that Kakadu is great in the wet season, as long as you know where to go. We had heard that Motorcar falls was a good walk and a great spot to swim. I met the rest of the gang at the Cooinda on the Saturday and we headed down to Motorcar falls. The walk is amazing, it is was really great to see Kakadu like that. Can you say green? The rain was on and off but it was so warm that you didn’t mind. It was the greenest place I had ever seen.
We didn’t camp, partly due to the random storms that hit during the wet, partly due to us taking a lot of randoms in cars. Paid accommodation was just easier.
The walk brought us to the swimming home. It was a “okay to swim but be careful of crocs” type of swimming hole, but that combined with the insane currents from all the water made us all very cautious. It was a great spot. The walk back was worse… no cool refreshing swim on the end of that! We headed over to a house we rented in Litchfield at a caravan park, for the night, before going to Florence Falls the next day. I had been to Florence falls a few times but it was good to see it with the water belting over. It was crowded, even though it was a Monday, it always is. We tried to head over to Wangi after that but a storm came over and suddenly it was thundering down, so we headed home.
It was very green on the Motorcar walks
The waterfall
The skies can really open up at this time of year
Katherine Birthday Trip
Claire surprised me with a trip to Katherine staying at the new Cicada Lodge (or as she pronounces it, kick-arda). It was in January so we couldn’t swim anywhere there, but we took a boat trip down and got to see some of the Gorge itself.
I’m hardly used to staying in fancy resorts instead of a tent, but I really liked the place, and the food was really good. Here I am on the balcony… note actually the Melbourne is mine 😉
On the way back home we thought we stop at Edith. It was open, the second pool was available to swim in, and no one was there! It is usually a really popular spot, given it was open for swimming on a weekend, I was amazed that we were the only ones there.
Highpants Festival in Dargo
I was down in Victoria for New Years Eve and I was invited along to a camping festival to celebrate the new year. It is run by some friends on mine from high school. It is pretty difficult to describe to people who haven’t been there, it is camping, loud music and partying, very bright colours, silly costumes (just for the sake of it). I won’t post anything too detailed as I suppose some people may not want their ridiculous attire on the internet, so just a few snaps: the campsite; and a group of us playing in the river:
Took the old man’s Pajero complete with car fridge. Definitely a step up from my rig, but a bit out of price range at the moment!
These festivals have been running for a few years, usually on private property and invite only (like this year). This is the second one that I have managed to get to – but hopefully that will change when I move to Victoria!
Hydeaway Bay for a wedding
Spent the week in Hydeaway Bay for a wedding, was a great trip. A few boats hanging around, including a cat, plenty of fishing and crabbing.
No fish were caught but we got heaps of mudcrabs, and tons of oysters. There was a small island that had basically been untouched, and we could pop over there and get our bag limit, and bring them back for everyone.
Some highlights include getting stuck on the sandbanks and getting to push a boat, some captain (who was also getting married) allowing his crew to through out 10 crab pots completely collapsed, and a bonfire on the beach ‘let’s try to run as far as we can up a palm before we fall off’ contest.
Good times!
Fishing in Queensland, love it!
Swimming off the catamaran
Fishing at sunset