Day3
Dry day!Thank god! This was what I was expecting of the outback.. ridiculous heat and humidity, with billions of flies attacking your face. Get in!

We got a lie in today too.. up at 5am to meet the rest of the group. There was 22 of us, I wont go into nationalities but I was the only Englishman! Flying the flag.

The plan for the day was to start the 1,500km trek to Darwin with multiple stop offs, and that's what we did - just! Early on in the trek we had to pull over and join around 10 cars watching a river flood the road. It was half a meter deep, which according to our guide (Jane) wasn't a problem, the low clearance of the minibus, strong current and damage to the road was! A few road trains ploughed on through with no problems, but cars and minibuses didn't have the bottle.

After waiting for 30 mins we taped up the air filter underneath the minibus and went for it………..and………….we made it! I know I know, edge of the seat stuff.

We then ate up the boring outback road with stop offs (including lunch at the UFO capital of Australia - Wycliffe Well) before heading to the devils marbles, which was quality! Had the opportunity to climb them and create silly photos. Which we did.

We stopped off at Tenants Creek for some booze for the evening before arriving at Banka Banka cattle farm for the night, which concludes day 3!

Day4
A day of firsts! My first first was having vegemite for breakfast. Rank. After a tea, cup of water and a Gatorade the taste was finally gone and I could continue with my day. We headed up to Katherine (three quarters of the way to Darwin now) stopping off at lots of places.

First major stop off was at a place called Daly Walters. The pub there is fairly famous here for being the most remote in the country. Good to say ive had a few pints there! Stopped off further down the Bruce Highway at a pink panther themed pub. A really badly themed pink panther pub. Randomly they had a mini zoo there consisting of everything from baby crocs, wallabies, snakes and kookaburras. I held a snake there (not massive I will admit!) but my other first of the day was complete. Well chuffed.

Other stop offs included a look at some termite mounds and a bit of a lesson about them and a stop off at Bitter Springs for the thermal pools there. Really glad this happened as it was amazing scenery and the first time id got the swimming shorts out the bag. Sometimes the thermal pools flood because of the heavy rain allowing nasty saltwater crocs in. Snappy weren't there though so we all had a dip. Rock on.

Day5
A not so interesting breakfast before heading to Katherine Gorge for the morning. We had the option of a 2 hour cruise along the waters, or an 8km hike with the guide along the top of the gorge. Didn't want to pay the 56 dollars for the cruise yet at the same time didn't fancy getting drenched again and walking around for hours and hours in the hammering rain. Took the latter option in the hope it would hold off… winner!

Really enjoyed the walk in the end. Major struggle at times with the humidity. I was sweating more than a fatty in a chip shop but the views at the top made it all worthwhile. I invested in a fly net too for my sanity as the flies don't have a day off. Along with my Spanish football sticker book its right up there as one of my best buys abroad methinks. Top notch.

The walk also included a trip to an amazing waterfall. Forgot to pack my towel and swim shorts though. Donut. Anyways on returning to the minibus we found Team Cruise with the hump. Those that took the boating option said it was pants and they only saw 1 croc. We cheered them up and told them we saw it too from the top of the gorge, the views were absolutely cracking and the waterfall was amazing.

We then had a 4 hour drive to Darwin, before going out as a group at the end for a meal and beers before certain people went separate ways. The guide suggested a good place that does special pizza nights (any large pizza $10) So we went there. And what night was it?! You bloody bet it was! Good times.