Hi Everyone,

I have now made it through the Outback and can say that I have travelled from Darwin to Melbourne, overland. The trip was really great but made better by the fellow travellers I had with me. We had a really good bunch and we all had a great laugh for most of the way.

We all met in Darwin which, for anyone who has not been there, is a tropical town in the Northern territories. As with most of these trips it was an early start and we were met by our wonderful little bushman, Justin, or J as we called him. Dressed in baggy khaki shorts, a felt hat which had seen 100's of like trips, boots and walking socks, J stands about 5'2" and is best described as a little Rock Hopper, very fit and stealthy!

We quickly became associated with one another and went through the now usual introductions over the vehicles P.A. and then had to get to know one another. We had a great mix and all from various Countries. We spent the next three days going through Kakadu, and Litchfield National Parks which were very interesting and remote, sleeping in tented villages but with a differnece. The tents they provide are permenant fixtures with beds, luxury. Hardly roughing it but there you are.

We visited several waterfalls in various states of flow, this is the tail end of the dry season so I didn't expect to find much water, but we did okay. We ventured to the Jim Jim Falls which is a most beautiful area, access to which was by boat which takes you along Crocodile infested waters. These are Saltys, man eating crocs which will have you as a little treat, you know, "the snack you can eat between meals" mmmmm! Milky Man. They will leave the water and take people or animals who are upto three meters away on the bank.

So it is always a bit surprising when you see people doing the most stupid things. There are signs everywhere warning you not to get too close to the water, not to swim - Dow!!, etc etc, and then just to make sure, all the guides and boat men tell you time and time again, you get the message? Well on our return walk from falls to boat, there was an English couple sat by the waters edge and the guy was just putting his socks back on having been for a paddle! I ask you, I know we were on an Adventure Tour but really how much more Adventurous do you need to be. They were not part of our goup so we climbed back on board the boat and left them to it, or at least the Crocs to it.

We did do a lot over the next few days but one of the highlights for most of us was Barramundi Falls. This is one of J's favourite places and I'm not sure whether or not it was on the itinerary but we went there anyway. It is a high watering hole, or Billabong, so Crocs do not live there, they can not climb you see. The 'hole' is actually a series of interconnecting holes which then plunge by way of a waterfall into the main Billabong. We swam for some time in the top holes which were about 17meters deep but small in length and width, cool, refreshing clear water runs into the holes and then to the waterfall. Now rock jumping is strictly prohibited and J told us repeatedly not to do it. So we didnt. But it is amazing how far down the water is when you are just walking along the top of the rocks and then find that they abruptly end and all of a sudden you are wet! Well we just kept walking and walking and walking. It was great fun. We eventualy had enough and J's patience was probably a bit frayed so we all walking down to the main Billabong and had another swim in there, fabulous. There is a lot more to this little episode but Libel laws restrict me from writing about them!

On the third day we headed back to Darwin and stayed overnight before picking up some more people to do the next stag to Alice Springs via Katherine Gorge. The next morning we assembled and were very pleased to see that J was to be our Guide again, poor boy really needed a day off but the lure of staying with us must have been just a bit too much for him to resist. Those of you who have looked at the photos will have seen the pictures of the Frill Necked Lizard. Well that little beastie was captured as a result of us driving along quite merrily when J slammed on the brakes,jumped from the cab and started running down the road. We were all a bit bemused until we saw him wrestle this thing and nearly get bitten. He had to let it go but as it headed for a tree he caught it again and managed to hold it for all of us to see. It wasn't very happy as you will no doubt realise from the photos. However having been put back on the tree it then headed out of the way and acted much the same as a woodpecker would by hiding until we disappeared.

We ventured on again and reached Katherine Gorge, now on this journey we had been joined by a young lad who had his birthday whilst on the trip. The first evening upon arrival at our camp he approached me and said, 'Kris. You vill sleep with me!' I pointed out the small error in his English and hoped all would be well! I needn't have worried because within a few days he had proved himself to a complete and utter vouyer and would not stop sneaking up on the girls and snapping photos of them. It would have been fun but I kid you not, the poor girls could not 'go' or do anything without having a camera thrust at them. To make matters worse he didn't stop even when bluntly told not to. We'll be kind and put it down to youthful exhuberance not the fact that he is a filthy git in the making. It reminded me of an incident that happened to Michael and I in France where we witnessed a'Toff' man handling a female, not funny and absolutley not clever.

We arrived at Katherine Gorge in company with my little germanic pervert and Staphane (definatley NOT a pervert) to take kayaks out onto the water. Now this does not sound terribly interesting I grant you. Not that is until you understand that the river is populated with nesting fresh water crocs and there are currently several, actually I counted four, beaches where they have layed thier eggs. Now call me old fashioned but I reckoned that a fully grown Mummy crocodile would not be too happy if any old Tom d*** or Chris, was to walk amongst her brood and crushing any chances of life out of them before they'd had a chance. The Wardens had placed signs up, nice touch, warning of nesting sites. I did manage to get a photo of one such beach where you can see the footprints of a croc on the sand. Now again I know this does not sound too interesting, but the sting in the tail, as it were, was at the end of the Gorge. There are rock paintings on the opposite side of the water to where you land the kayaks, which means that the only method of actually seeing the paintings is to swim across the gorge to the other side. Uh Huh!!

Having pulled the kayaks up onto the sand I can tell you that it took me a minute or two to decide whether this was a wise thing to do or not. I can only say that credit where it is due. My little 'P' friend got in the water and started swimming. I left him in there for a good five minutes or so before I decided that if they were hungry they would have fed by now, on him, so asumed it was quite safe! Even then I swam as quickly as I could and scrambled out the other side with not much dignity. The return trip was performed with equally as much speed however, when I reached the beach I found two French guys with a French girl just lolling in the water, of course I made out that I wasn't at all worried and jumped from the water into the kayak all in one movement - for safety!

On the paddle back I did actually see one croc in the water, albeit briefly. Its nostrils were poking out of the water in front of me but it quickly slid below the surface and that was that, it probably recognised that my littel 'P' friend was behind me and went after him instead, come to think of it, there was an extra seat on the bus that evening, ooh err!

See you soon,

Chris