So, dudes. . . . . It’s Feb. 26th, I am in Darwin and it raining! Well, it rains a lot here. . . . . Still 30 degrees plus though. . . .

Anyway, I have done my 6 days trip from Alice Springs and as ever, it’s been emotional. . . . . I still cannot stop smiling, life is so good. . . .

Still getting some great messages and emails from people, so please keep them up, they really bring a smile to my face. . . . And sorry if I don’t reply to everyone, it doesn’t mean I don’t like you. . . . Well Brian Carr’s a bit of a knob, but other than that. . . . . hehehe. . . . Only kidding mate, love ya really!

So, what has Bobby been up to now. . . . .

It’s all a bit boring really, beautiful long walks and hike, gorgeous waterfalls, far too much swimming. . . . hahaha. . . . !

So about a week ago I left the stinky place of Alice Springs! I met up with the new gang and the driver (Sauce). What a name. . . . Now then, the name is nothing, this dude was nuts! He was like something out of a failed 70’s / 80’s rock back. . . . He had an awesome mullet and all he said was sweeeeet! Seriously though, he was a really nice bloke, although his pants were clearly far too tight, he told it as it was. . . . Quote “Right guys, this part of your trip is what we call a ‘Road Trip’, there’s F*** all to see on the way up, but if I think of anything interesting I will let you know”.

Now, he wasn’t really lying, as we later found out. . . . See, we were heading up to Darwin and taking 3 days to do it, then, heading off again in another vehicle around Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks. . . . .

So, Day 1, like I said, met the group, the 2 German girls I shared a room with, Jenny and Mel, the 2 English lads I had already met, Ross and Mike. There was also another English guy, Tony. . . . French Ben, a couple of German guys, one of which (Marcus), words cannot describe how much of a dope this guy was. . . . . Great for comedy value though. . . . There was also Anita, from my last trip, Swiss Tony and I think that was it. . . . .

We headed off and basically stopped at lots of petrol stations. . . Wow, great fun. . . . We did stop and see some Aboriginal art at a place called Ti Tree and also hit a few pubs on the way. . . . It’s enough to turn you to drink!

We did see some more rocks however, a place called devils marbles. Tonnes of boulders, quite an awesome sight actually!

http://teachit.acreekps.vic.edu.au/cyberfair2002/devilsmarbles.htm

Check it out. . . . .

We got to camp, a bit more of a proper camp with semi permanent tents at a place called Bank Banka, a cattle station. . . . The guy who runs the station used to be a tour guide. . . . He has a girlfriend called Helen, really nice girl from Bakewell, Derbyshire. . . . . So me and her had a good chat about home! He dad runs a large dairy farm there, a little small fry compared to the 1000’s and 1000’s of acres here!

http://www.barklytourism.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=95

The guy did us an interesting slide show on how they manage the station and all that good stuff. . . . So, was pretty cool really, had a few beers and some food. . . . So was pretty happy really! Nice chilled out day!

Day 2, and loads more driving to do. . . . First stop was Daly Waters pub.

http://dalywaterspub.com/

Then off to Elsey National Park, where all the Bats live. . . . Yes, bats, millions and millions of them! I have never seen anything like it in all my life. . . . It was awesome! Risking the strong chance of getting sh*t on, we headed into the forest. . . . The noise was something else and then, typical me, I gave it a big airhorn sound. . . . And the badboys went mental. . . . It was crazy, the noise level was nuts. . . . . !

After all the excitement, we headed off to Katherine Gorge, where we camped for the night, again, in a purpose built place!

In the morning we were supposed to be canoeing up the Katherine Gorge, however due to it being the wet season and all the rain, the water levels were up, so the risk of salt water crocs was high, so it was cancelled. . . . Instead though, we took a boat up the river to one of the gorges and did a bit of a walk into a waterhole and had a great swim. . . . Could have stayed there longer. . . ! Still, we only paid $10 for the boat, were as others paid $43 to go a little further and they didn’t get to swim. . . Coolio! So after that we headed up to Darwin and got to the Hostel at around 4pm. . . .

Nice place called the Cavanagh, big pool. . . . Needless to say, we all checked in pretty quick, then dived into the pool. We chilled out for a bit, played a bit of volleyball til about 6.30, then got ready and went out as we were all meeting for a meal at the Vic pub. . . . .

Bit of a backpackers place, lots of games and stuff, but we won some beers. . . I got a little drunk. . . yeah baby! But we had a good laugh, so was good! We headed back to the hostel, quite late, as you can imagine and well, you know dived into the pool. . . . The only problem was I caught my nose on the bottom. . . Doh! Just a little scuff though, so I still managed to do some back flips and stuff!

Day 4, or day 1 of the next part of the trip. . . .

I overslept. . . . Doh, not sure if my alarm went off, but good job I didn’t lock my door, 2 of the girls came and woke me up. . . So after 5 mins of panic and throwing everything into my bag, I was on the truck and ready to go. . . . Think I was still drunk. . . . This was around 6am by the way!

So, on this trip it was most of the same people. . . . We got rid of a few and gained a few. . . Margaret from Melbourne, and Paddy (bet you can’t guess where he was from – to be sure!). the new driver was Stuart. . . . What a great bloke. . . Very clever and very funny. . . . If not a little crazy!

So, day 4. What a great day. . . . Loads of swimming. . . . First stop was coffee and some bacon and eggs, which went down a treat with me as I was still drunk. . . . Then off for the first swim of the day. Jumping and diving in off rocks certainly cures the hangover (however I don’t get hangovers – my dads philosophy on this is that he reckons, its cus I am always drunk, so never sober up and / or get hangovers. . . . Coolio concept dad!).

So, Litchfield National Park was the area we were in

http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/parks/find/litchfield.html

The next stop, surprisingly enough was a swim in some great rock pools. . . . My diving technique was really beginning to improve. . . Check out the pics! After there we headed off to a pub and had some hotdogs (or Dingo d*** as Stuart would call them).

After lunch we drove up to the Mary River to see some crocs. . . . Criky! We went on a boat up the river and fed some of the crazy cretins. . . It was awesome. . . ! Got some great pics and video! There were also some big eagles around, so they got fed too. . . .

That night we camped at Point Stuart Wilderness lodge.

http://www.pointstuart.com.au/

However, our tents were somewhat waterlogged after the rain, so we got upgraded to some nicer tents. . . . yippee! They had single beds in there. . . . We chilled out here for the night, cooking a BBQ and then jumping in the pool while there was a huge storm.

Later on that evening, I continued with my computer support service and completely wiped Jenny’s iPod and put all new music on it for her, as she didn’t like what she had got. . . . Needless to say that she very a very happy bunny after that. . . Satisfied customer!

All around the camp there were loads of green frog and huge toads, loads of wallabies and just tons of bugs and cretins! It’s cool. . . . I did however get bitten quite bad by Mozi’s for the first time really! Doh!

Day 5, we had brekky then headed off to a information centre for a walk round, then did a nice trek up a mountain and had 360 degree views over the whole range! Pretty awesome! Next we headed to the camp we would be staying at and had lunch, a swim and chill in the Jacuzzi.

After that we did a 6km trek through a kind of rainforest up a river to some rock pools and waterfalls. . . . Supposedly fresh water crocs around the area, but they don’t bite, well not unless you annoy them. . . . We didn’t see any though! We had a swim there, did some dives and jumps and then me, Stuart, Ross and Ben decided to go exploring further and climbed up the waterfalls. . . . I cannot explain how much fun this was. . . . It was quite dangerous in spots, very slippy, but great fun. . . The adrenaline was pumping. . . We got up the falls and then did a right up some rocks and through some thick foliage up to the top of the rocks and saw a great view down the valley. . . . .We also noticed a big storm coming in, so headed back on a different route and got to the top of the first waterfall with all the other at the bottom. . . . . . We climbed down some more then did an awesome huge dive. . . . . Full 10 pointer!

The storm hit and it was a big one with potential for flash flooding, so we headed back. . . . An amazing experience, torrential rain through the forest, thunder and lightening. . . . . Awesome! We got back to the truck and headed back to camp, had some food and a few beers and shared some stories with Stuart. . . . Funny evening!

Day 6, last day. . . . Didn’t make any notes and I am tired now, I also still need to pack and sort myself out as I am leaving for Cairns at 4.30 in the morning. . . . It’s now 10.30pm, so better get my skates on. . . . Day 6 was much like the rest, lots of swimming and a big drive back to Darwin. . . . I played DJ and plugged my laptop into the stereo, which was fun! Got back to Darwin, had a quick swim in the pool and got ready to go out. . . . ! Another night was calling at the Vic. . . .  Well, what can I say. . . . It was Mel birthday, so didn’t want to let her down. . . . . We all had a top night. . . . I was chief entertainer, not sure if they were laughing with me or at me. . . . . ?!?!?! Still don’t care. . . . . I got very drunk and danced like a demon til the early hours. . . . Happy days. . . . Mel actually left for Cairns about 5am this morning, don’t think she actually went to sleep! She did actually text me though this afternoon to thanks me for the best birthday party she has ever had. . . . I was touched. . . Still, I always have a top night! Hey guys?!?!?!?!?!

Yeah baby. . . . Will be in touch soon people. . . See ya on the East coast!

Ciao x x x