Litchfield National Park II

Lichtfield National Park is just very lovely!

Another "Lost City" seen in rock formations.

This spot is magical even if the photo probably does not reflect it in it's full beauty.

Litchfield National Park III

At the end of our trip we see some totally different types of termite mounds. Looks like a graveyard doesn't it?

Hm could be art crated out of concrete. But then - what is concrete but filtered dirt?!

This one reminds me of the castles we used to build on the beach when we where children. You would take a hand full sand with water and would let them drip down creating magical castles filled with sparkling dreams depending on the power of your imagination.

After returning to Darwin I checked in with the Youth Shack and went for a walk around town.

What kind of fluffy tree is that???

Wow - Palm trees with red trunks!

Ah these Frangipani - I can't get enough of them. they are just so special.

Wahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah! Sniff! :)

From here they rule the Northern Territory. Called "Wedding cake" by the locals.

Oh if I only could grasp the moment and hold it forever and ever and ever.

Later I had diner with pool view and decided to do my laundry. Realising I would need my mobil phone the next morning to get up I asked at reception for my stored backpack. My hart just droped when I got it back and it felt to light. I double checked and laptop, MP3 Player and mobile phone charger where gone. Just gone – out of a backpack I stored behind the bloody reception desk in a bloody closet which guest are only able to access with a bloody ID. I had some really dark moments so we leave it with that.

Nitmiluk National Park

Sunrise - seen from the train. Oh how golden and promising!

OZ - what a strange world.

Katherine Gorge, a deep gorge carved through ancient sandstone by the Katherine River, is the central attraction of the park. Katherine Gorge is made up of thirteen gorges, with rapids and falls, and follow the Katherine River, which begins in Kakadu.
During the Dry, roughly from April to October, the Katherine Gorge waters are placid in most spots and ideal for swimming and canoeing. There may be freshwater crocodiles in parts of the river. Cruises of various lengths go as far as the fifth gorge.

As high as this came the river during the last flood!!!

The gorge is just really really beautiful. Not much you can say about that!
A bus brought us from the train station to the Gorge where we entered two boats and went upstream.
During the tour I met a old lady. She went to school in Europe when she finished school with 18 she went to visit her parents in South America. There she met a German mechanic and after knowing her for 8 hours he proposed to her. Her father check him out and told her afterwards: "He is no angel but he will make you a good husband." So she was married 6 month later. And happy still happy 65 years later...

Katherine Gorge

The very next day I cought the Gahn again continuing my travels heading north.

We stopped close to the little town of Katherine. Who wanted was able to take part in a couple of activitys like exploring Katherine Gorge!

What a stunning beauty. Just the perfect day to enjoy it!

Here we habe to change boots because the river is to shallow.

A crocodile trap!!!

Finally we arrive in Darwin. After taking the shuttle from the station to town I checked in with the local YHA [with 71% it had the lowes rating of all YHA’s] I have to say it looks like it. Run down with jumble sale furniture. After a short stroll along the park I searched for alternative accommodation. Even so it seemed that all places are pretty much alike. I made a booking with the Youth Shack. They have security storage and I planed to leave my valuables with thwm whil being on tour.

Photos taken durring the walk through the park.

Sunset in Darwin.

Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park

In Alice Springs awaited me a three day tour covering the Outback Icons. Departing from Alice Springs the next morning around 6 am in the dark (- _- zzz), we headed south, stopping for a short visit at an Outback Camel Farm (where one could try a camelride).

A so called Desertship. looks moody to me even so I learned that Camels are told to be more gentle than horses. Might be but they do not look like it!

Ok it is sooo cute!

Wow - our Outback vehicle! Compfy and cool inside!

After an Airport Stop to pick up additional guests we headed to a permanent campsite for lunch. The the afternoon was spent exploring Kata-Tjuta (The Olgas). We went for a walk to admire the beauty of the 36 magical domes (of which we ca saw 6 ;) and learn about unique fauna, flora explained by our guide.

Later we went on to Ayer’s Rock. At sunset we hoped to see the spectacular colour changes of Uluru. Unfortunately the sun was hidden behind clouds so there wasn’t much of a sunset. Our group contained of two French girls, 2 Danish couples, a Canadian girl, an Italian couple (he speakes german, she speakes English and both Italian ;) and 2 german couples with an additional geramn tourguide.

The next day we had to get up at 5:30am to make it for views of sunrise at Uluru. We went for a base tour of Uluru walking 10km in 2 hours, exploring ancient caves where Aboriginal paintings can be seen (To be honest I haven’t seen much ;).

Uluru, also referred to as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; 450 km (280 mi) by road. Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park. Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area. It has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. Uluru is listed as a World Heritage Site.

And the stone does changes it's color! From dull brown to gleaming red.

Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural icons. The world-renowned sandstone formation stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high (863 m/2,831 ft above sea level) with most of its bulk below the ground, and measures 9.4 km (5.8 mi) in circumference.

Uluru is an inselberg, literally "island mountain", an isolated remnant left after the slow erosion of an original mountain range. Uluru is also often referred to as a monolith, although this is a somewhat ambiguous term because of its multiple meanings, and thus a word generally avoided by geologists. The remarkable feature of Uluru is its homogeneity and lack of jointing and parting at bedding surfaces, leading to the lack of development of scree slopes and soil. These characteristics led to its survival, while the surrounding rocks were eroded. Uluru is dominantly composed of coarse-grained arkose, a type of sandstone characterized by an abundance of feldspar, and some conglomerate.[4][6] Average composition is 50% feldspar, 25–35% quartz and up to 25% rock fragments; most feldspar is K-feldspar with only minor plagioclase as subrounded grains and highly altered inclusions within K-feldspar.

Remindes me of icecream but my follows could not share that impression of mine they said. :)

Between Uluru and Kings Canyon

"Kuniya, the woman python, lived in the rocks at Uluru where she fought the Liru, the poisonous snake." - Black marks on the Rock are supposed to represent Kuniya...

The afternoon was spent the in our well climatised vehicle (scarf!), traveling through red sand dune & desert oak country to Kings Creek Cattle Station. Stopping only to collect some firewood. (I collected some scares on the way ;).

Cavemen - our Guide and the boys stocking firewood for tonight....

Someone leaft their teeth behinde... ^^*

Do not ask me what they are doing! *^^*;

Departing from Kings Creek Station you can go on a Helicopter ride for 15min. 25min. etc. Quite cloudy so I declined.

Our save haven for the night. Even so the guide mentioned that he spotted quite some scorpion around here - but surring summer of course far to cold for them now.
Yo enjoy the Outback in tentstyle!

Hmmm chickecurry, rice and homemade bread - on the last evening our guide spoils us with his cooking. yum!

On the third day another early rise but it was worth it! We visited breathtaking Kings Canyon for a three hours hike.

Starting at the base at 7 am we hiked around the canyon rim viewing sites like the “Lost City” and the “Garden of Eden”, as well as striking North and South Walls.