Thursday 3rd June

Sunny

Today leaving the industrial estate and went to the lagoon for a shower but the showers were closed for referb, so no shower for the next 2 days, Markus and I drove up to Cape Tribulation to meet the other 2 Germans girls and Swiss guy, On the way I stopped off on a beach and made a sign to put in my Nanna's 80th birthday card, when we got there we drove up to a beach which was covered in mangroves which is where the croc's live but were confident there were none! By the time we got back to camp it was sunset so we just quickly cooked dinner and went to bed.

Friday 4th June

Hot but not too hot

We all woke up early to go and have a dip in the water whole, there was a swing and lots of fish in the water, the water was fresh and clear we played around there for a while then went back to the cars to say goodbye's Markus and the girls had been travelling together since mid coast and today was a goodbye, Tim the Swiss guy chucked all his stuff from the girls camper to the 4x4 as we decided last night that we were going to take the trip to the tip of OZ, it was going to take around 2 weeks there and back, with no showers, decent food and out back camping, the drive would be on old roads and through rivers but that was all part of the adventure! We first drove to the next own which was sooooo small it was called Cook Town there we bought a whole lot of food and filled the car up with fuel, we stayed in a camp site in the town and went off early the next morning!

Saturday 5th June

Crazy hot

An early start to our trip to the most northern point of OZ, we drove the scenic route out and around cook town up through Old Laura and on the peninsula devil road, the roads seemed to be dead straight and looked like they went on for hours- which in the end I realised they did! they were dirt tracks which were well maintained with a few rivers here and there to drive through, around in the miles of distance were a few trees and a lot of dust, we stopped in Hann River Roadhouse for petrol then carried on driving on up to Port Stewart, driving in to the Mouth of the river there was a few aboriginals living there but they didn't talk to us, we weren't too sure where the camp ground was so we just settled in next to 6 frenchies, they seemed a bit crazy with all 6 of them and their luggage in4x4car, they had no water left and where running out of food, so there dinner depended on the catch. We arrived just before sunset so we went fishing on the boat ramp, the frenchies seemed to have good luck there but we didn't. So after tuna pasta we went to bed.

Sunday 6th June

We got up early to try fishing again, but not luck with fish but Markus managed to reel a huge mud crab in, it was playing with the 'fake fish' on his line and when it was out of the river shore we jumped in with a stick to stabilise it! We tapped his hug claws up and eventually ate him for breakfast, A lot of driving again , unfortunately we had a flat tyre on the way to Chilli beach and stopped in Coen to get it fixed luckily even though it was a Sunday the mechanic quickly fixed the tyre only for $15, Coen was a aboriginal town with not a lot going on, just 2 shops and that about it! We payed for the camping just encase we got caught, there wasn't much coverage from the beach and was unusually windy so cooking was hard and ended up being done in the car!

Monday 7th June

Hot and very windy

Not getting checked on if we payed we didn't pay for another night and moved from the wind! Already tired of driving we just stayed at chilli beach to clean the car out of the dust and sand, the water looked beautiful but was too dangerous with crocs, jelly fish and everything else that can kill you so I stayed well away. That evening we built a fire and sat around to keep the flies and mossy's away.

Tuesday 8th June

Hot

On the way up to Captain Billy's landing we had puncture number 2¬ so we swapped it for the spare tyre and would have to drive until we got to another small town, we had a wash in the croc infested river and got more expensive fuel in Bramwell Jnct, the campsite at Captain Billy's landing was pleasant and a great sunset but still windy, we met there 2 Australian guys who went away with each other ones a year, they seemed to b pro fishers, and campers with all the best equipment, luckily stored away in their top of the rang equipment they had a puncture kit which thankfully saved our flat tyre, they invited us to join them on a drive up to Vrily point, they wanted the company and needed the help driving through the dangerous tracks.

Wednesday 9th June

Hot

We set off early with Peter and Chris and the drive olong the dirt tracks were fine but when we turned off the main road to Vrily point the road became so different! There was a bridge made of logs, huge dips and holes in the road and rivers in the way! We got to the beach safe and sound, we drove for about 10 mins down the beach and on the way were millions of tiny craps running for the sea, they were the size of 50p and ran in bundles, was quite an amazing view! After finding a nice spot to set up camp we tried fishing on the beach and the guys let us use there tinny boat to go out to the mangroves were the fish were ment to be, but no luck!

Thursday 10th June

Hot and sunny

It was a full fishing day and everyone caught a fish, Markus caught 2 fish called butterfly cod and Tim caught a sergeant fish, i caught a sucker fish which couldn't be eaten and a small cod, both rubbish, but i was happy I got something, the Ozzy's had filleted the fish and kept it in their fridge so we could eat them for lunch the next day, as tonight i was cooking dinner for everyone.

Friday 11th June

Hot

We left Peter and Chris in Vrily point and attacked the dangerous road back by our self, on the way we had a dip in the clear blue creek shower number 2! Getting very high up the coast, there was a river which cut the top off, it was only 10 metres wide but a bit too deep to drive through so there was a tiny ferry coasting $88 per car!!!!!! No other way to get past the river you had no choice but to pay. We drove up to the most northern point in Australia and then walked on the beach to the sign which proved we had made it, after a few pictures and beer we hiked back up and over the hill and drove down to Cable bay, we were meant to pay of course but snuck in and camped on the beach, Tim put his tent fairly close to the sea and then we built a fire for the potatoes, whilst Tim was getting something from his tent he looked around paranoid to turn his back to the sea and there was 2 red eyes, the disappeared then we back - initiating a blink from a crock, a very scared voice called over to ask Markus for the big torch to have a real look, it was about 2/3 metres long and we watched and waited for the croc to go back in the water, after this happening we were quite aware and checked around us every 5 mins, Tim ended up not sleeping gin his tent tonight and instead slept on top of the car!

Saturday 12th June

In the morning we got up early not to get caught and before we left we watched the sunrise, on the walk we saw huge croc feet leading from the trees and bushes to the water, you could even see his tail trailing in between the feet! Happily to leave the croc we head back down south. We were running out of food very fast and had to go back to Cairns asap. Plus i really wanted a shower ect! So we got some more expensive fuel at Jardin river and crossed the most expensive river in the world! We drove into the night and slept at a place called Musgrave.

Sunday 13th June

Woke up at 6am and headed straight to Cairns, stopping twice for petrol and the third time for the last tin of pineapple and when we stopped I could hear something from the ground and came to realise that it was a huge hole in the tyre! The tyre we had previously fixed had come loose again so we switched it back over. We made it too hard, real, road with other cars and humans just before noon and on the way to a camp site just got some snacks that we were craving - crisps for me! When we got to the camp site the first thing we did was clean the car inside and out as the dust had got into every nook and cranny, taking a couple of hours, I jumped in the shower which was soooooo good it had been about 2 weeks since I had one! After I was done I called mum and dad as I had forgotten to tell them I would be out of signal, we went out for dinner but it wasn't so great and wished we didn't bother.

Monday 14th June

Sunny

Waking up nice and clean to the sun, I couldn't wait to read my book again; I'm officially a book geek! We had a lazy day just went and did a food shop and caught up with pictures and diary's. Today when we went for a food shop I wanted everything I hadn't had for the last 2 weeks and there was a special on kangaroo meet, it was so tasty.

Next couple of days weren't so much fun jsut waiting and thinking what to do next.

Sunday 20th June

Hot

After a few days of lazing around, figuring out what to do with ourselves we ended up deciding to travel to alice springs then Darwin then down to Perth where Markus heard it was good to sell his car. We put some notice's up around hostels and put an add on Gumtree for 3 more people to join us to share fuel, we had a few phone calls and meet up with 3 people, one German girl called Annie and 2 French Canadians, brothers called Simon and Geom, they were keen on our idea of the trip and so we all decided to leave on Tuesday.

Monday 21st June

Warm

Today we had to sort everything out with the car and to make sure we had enough room in and on the car for everyone's stuff,

Tuesday 22nd June

Rainy and humid

We woke up early and packed the car and went to pick the 3 other traverlers up, luckily there was enough space for all our bags ect, we first went to the supermarket to get food for the next couple of days as we weren't sure how lon git would be fore we got to another food town, we also then filled up the tank and the jerry cans we had found and then we were off, we stopped in Gordanvale for lunch and we were happy to leave cairns as it was a misserale day, which is always nice to leave on, that night after driving for ages we stopped in George townto eat dinner and sleep on the side of the road!

Wednesday 23rd June

An early night from a rubbish night sleep as we all didn't realise when we put the tents up in the dark that they were all on Sprinklers!But never mind the car got a wash! Driving a lot again we stopped in Normanton for brunch and filled up the car as all 120litres had all gone we then carried on driving for Cloncurry were we again slept on the side of the road

Thursday 24th June

More driving today again, not a lot of fun stuff done just a lot of driving, we stopped in mount ISA for lunch and petrol and then slept in Barkly homestead this time is was in a camp site but we only said there were 2 of us and only paid $19 for all of us, so we could all shower and us a real flushing toilet! This also allowed us to have a lay in J

Friday 25th June

Hot hot hot

More driving through tenant creek for more fuel then through the 'Devil marbles' which was just a load of round rocks, i personally didn't find great fun as i had seen better ones in south NZ! We then drove more to Ailron to sleep.

Saturday 26th June

Freezing all day

With going more south of OZ the weather suddenly went really cold! We drove through the biggest town so far called Alice Springs only stopping for a food shop and lunch and of course more fuel! That evening we got to Kings canyon and watched the sunset and the moon rise, whilst watching the moon we noticed that half of it was gradually disappearing, it was meant to be a full moon! At about 1am the moon had gone full again, no one knowing what was covering it for a few hours!

Sunday 27th June

Freezing all day

Still really really cold we got up early and we snuck into a campsite and left early to watch the sunrise over the kings canyon, it wasn't so great as it was so cloudy! We did a walk in the canyon then drove to Yuluru nation park! At the entree of this park we all had to pay $25 each to allowed to be in there for 3 days, not sure what we were paying for as there was strictly no camping or many facilities, i think its because the land was given back to the aboriginals in 1985 so they want us to pay! We did the 3.5 hour walk around the Uluru rock (which was just a big rock) it wasn't a fun walk but we could make up faces with the holes on the rock and look at aboriginal art work, by the time we had done the walk it was dark so we had dinner in the park using the BBQ and then snuck into the closest camp ground!

Monday 28th June

Cold in the morning and warm in afternoon

Early wake up and a quick exit out of the campsite we didn't pay for and headed to the Uluru we were hoping that the Uluru climb was open so that we could all hike up to the top but it was closed due to bad winds at the summit so instead we drove over to the Kata-tjuta mountain and walked around the top and across was such a beautiful view, the kind that remind you your life is perfect with health and happiness! After the 3 hour walk we drove to the culture centre to learn a bit more about the aboriginals and the land we were on, we were hoping that the Uluru climb had opened by then but was still closed so we had to wait for 3 hours to watch the sunset so in the mean time we just had a snooze and then drove over the the 'sunset viewing' but it was so cloudy it wasn't worth the wait, we drove to the campsite again and snuck in again.

Tuesday 29th June

Cold

Sneaking out of the camp site we woke up relay early wanting to see the whole sunrise we thought we would be at the place at 6.15am but when we arrived at the gates the national park didn't open until 6.30am once through the gates we wiz zed to the view area and managed to watch most of the sunrise, there were still loads of clouds but it was better than yesterday. The Uluru climb would open 30 mins after sunrise so we hurried to the Uluru rock and just around the corner we say people climbing so we ran to the opening and hurried up! 10 mins after they had shut the gate and declared it to windy, we were so happy that we just got in, I had Markus stay with me and help me up the steepest hill, there was just a metal rope in the middle and that was it for safety once at the top of the metal rope there was still half way to go, this wasn't so steep as the first part or as dangerous! But it was still hard work even when the wind had died down. As it was our last day in Yuluru park we drove back up to Alice springs, it didn't take as long going back as we were on the road and not the dirt track this time. When we got there we did another food shop and petrol fill up, we also stayed in a camp site (ovi not payed) and watched a film.

Wednesday 30th June

A long drive up in the direction of Tenant creek again but this time we stopped in a pub which was full of backpackers gifts from all over the world, ID cards, credit cards loads of things stuck on the wall, we drove into the dark and slept in a rest area just above barrow creek which was allowed to camp

Thursday 1st July

We got up early as we had a long drive again, we got to Tenant creek and filled up all the jerry cans as it was cheapest fuel here, we had lunch at Renner springs and slept in a campsite called daily waters, there was another pub here which had loads of traveller's gifts. There was evening entertainment which we sat and watched.

Friday 2nd July

We got up early to sneak out again and then drove the whole day to Darwin, we got there late and it was so hard to find somewhere to sleep but managed to find a campsite which had no gates on

Saturday 3rd July

Having a rest day after all the driving in the last 3 days we went to McDonalds to use the internet then to buy a new spare tyre which had broke on the way to kings canyon and then to Coles to buy kangaroo for a bbq on the beach, it was a pleasant day not so hot and sunny so we spent the afternoon there and it was that afternoon we told Annie the German girl we couldn't travel with here anymore it was just too much. So we dropped her off at a hostel and we went back to the beach had showers and went out to watch the Germany game in town!

Sunday 4th July

Hot hot hot!

Leaving Darwin to go to the Kakadu Nation Park just south west from Darwin, we snuck out from the high school car park very early and had breakfast on the beach again a quick trip to the supermarket to fill up with rice and pasta and lots of cans, then to the petrol station and we arrived in Kakadu at around 1, we stopped at the first camp site to have lunch and to buy our $25 per person ticket for the park!! But we did sneak in the camp site so we didn't pay for that!

Slept in Malabanjbanjdju

Monday 5th July

Baking hot and shower

An early start out of the camp site and we head back up north to Ubirr where we did a 1km walk to see Aboriginal art work on rocks and up to an amazing view of part of the park, it reminded me of the lion king! After the walk we drove down to Jim Jim falls, it had cooled down a lot so we went for a 1km rock climbing walk, to the huge falls with pool at the bottom, it had started to rain when we got there so had a swim as we were going to get wet anyway, the water was so refreshing and it was so deep! When it had stopped raining and the boys had swan to the waterfall we climbed back, but the rocks were wet and shimmering golden so we didn't run so fast. The drive to a main road was a 50km dirt track for 4x4, on the way there we got a huge metal nail stuck in the back tyre so we camped near the Jim Jim falls in Garnamarr but had to pay $10 each! But at least we could have a lie in the next day!

Tuesday 6th July

Very hot

We drove to Nourlangie where there was a 12km hike, on the way we had another flat tyre but this time with glass! As much as I wanted to do this, it was just too hot! Whilst the boys bard the heat and carried on I just took the 1 km walk around the look outs and Aboriginal art on the rocks, the Aboriginals, before white man entered Australia there were traditional tribes which drew on the rocks in animal blood and clay, explain - well not a lot! They drew fish and people with spears. Whilst I waited 4 hours in the stupidly hot heat for the boys, some Germans we had met back in Alice springs arrived so the time flew by with their stories of spending time in the prison cell as lookalike want to bee's. That evening we drove to Gagudju lodge cooinda to repair the tyres luckily a camper had a quick repair kit so we could fix the 2 tyres! That night we drove down to Jim Jim billabong, were we didn't pay again yay!

Wednesday 7th July

Very hot and sunny

A 38km drive down to Magak and a 10 km dirt track we did a short walk and went to go fishing but whilst walking to the river we were told there was no water in the river! We knew it was dry season but we didn't think the whole river would dry up! We walked further to another lake but there was hardly any water there which meant no fish! So back to the main road and 25km down the road, to Kambolgiethere was another 12 km walk but it was to hot and not enough water to keep us all going so the boys went for the 5 km walk and I stayed and read my book, it was just to hot move! We camped at a $5 but didn't pay again and left early the next morning.

Thursday 8th July

So so hot and sunny

Left Kakadu National park today it took about 3 hours to get back to Darwin and when we got there we went straight to a campsite to do laundry, wash the car, go fix the car and figure out what we were all doing whether it be a boat, a car or a plane to each of our desitinations!

Nothing for the next few days - Just figuring out next travelling part!

Friday 16th July fly to Melbourne 2.30am