Sydney to Buenos Aires

Australia seems to have been our base for such a big part of this trip that we couldn’t quite believe that this was the last time we would fly here.  Cheap flights from Sydney to Buenos Aires were the reason for coming back and we thought we’d take this opportunity to come and harass Skanky for one last time.  As hospitable as ever she let us crash at hers for a few days and even got me my favourite and much missed pasta and pesto for our first night’s dinner.  The weather was great and we visited our old haunts and even ventured up onto the roof of Skank’s building for great views over Bondi.

The flight to BA was luxurious with extra leg room seats and telling anyone who’d listen that it was our honeymoon scored us several servings of champagne.  Despite watching 5 movies and many documentaries I hadn’t exhausted the choice of in-flight entertainment and the 13 hours went far too quickly for my liking.

BA is a beautiful city with great historical architecture and a strong sense of culture.  We explored the Sunday flea markets in the oldest part of town which were fantastic with local crafts, food, drink and street performers.  We walked what felt like the entire city trying to suss out the neighbourhoods we fancied living in for the next month while Mark does a bit more work to earn the money for this last leg of the trip. Staying in a homestay for a few days was really useful to pick the brains of the other english guys that had been here for several months.  We are now however happily installed in our lovely little 1 bed apartment in the Palermo Soho area of town.

Kuta Lombok to Tuban

We could have stayed on Gilli Air for longer than our 6 day stint but time was running out and there was more of Lombok to discover.  We were heading to another Kuta, this time hoping it would be nothing like it’s namesake in Bali.  The drive there was spectacular with lush green hills and a succession of hidden idyllic beaches with rolling surf.  This was promising as our destination was supposed to be ideal for learning to become gnarly surf dudes. We shared our hotel with a lovely bunch of Aussie surfers who adopted us into their group and showed us the ropes.  They also set us up with an instructor who after a 30 second demonstration put us on a boat and sent us out to a rather large reef break.  It was scary and knackering but we both managed to get to our feet a couple of times,  Mark rather more stylish than me. As usual my sea legs failed me and I had to stop surfing every now and again to puke…thanks for those inherited genes mum!

After surfing we chilled out in the hotel pool and wandered along the beach watching to locals collect their dinner from the rock-pools.  I finally ignored my dad’s voice of caution in my head and let Mark get a motorbike and we had a great time razzing all over the place visiting some of the most stunning beaches of our trip.

In the evening we joined some of the ausssies and local surfers and sang song and drank rice wine in the village.  The day we left was market day and we had a mooch around the stalls selling everything from raw tobacco to machetes. Our 5 hour ferry ride back to Bali was thankfully calm and went by quicker than expected, assisted by guessing games of what odd food combinations would be in the wrapped banana leaves we had bought prior to leaving.

A chilled out night in Padangbai was necessary to recover from the journey and then we were on our way to our final destination of Tuban.  Recommended by the aussies as the less shitty neighbour to Kuta.  Here we stocked up on dodgy DVDs and made good use of the flash pool in our neighbouring hotel.  we found a fantastic restaurant who served excellent Nasi Campur and played great music. We bugged them so much about what the music was they presented us with a copied CD on our last night. We have loved coming back to Indonesia and can’t believe this our last stop in Asia.

Gili Islands

Paradise again! The standard for idyllic beach destinations had been set pretty high after visiting Fiji but we are pleased to report the Gili islands, just off Lombok, didn’t disappoint. Taking the high speed boat from Bali over to Gili Trawangen we were lazing by the side of the turquoise sea in no time. Trawangen is the largest of the three islands and though it has a small local population it is the most developed for tourists. This is good when you want to use free wifi, eat western junk food and watch latest cinema releases in private beach-side cinemas, but no so good when you want to pretend you are Robinson Crusoe. Cycling around the island we found a few quiet spots to chill out in with a steady supply of Bintang beer but after a few nights we were ready to head over to Gili Air for a more relaxed pace.

On Gili Air we checked into a smart new Italian owned placed right on the sea front and spent the next five days chilling in our own luxury beach hut and taking on their all-you-can-eat breakfasts. With so few tourists and a cystal clear sea we decided to put our recent scuba diving training into action; I signed up for an advanced dive course and Helen a fun dive. Despite having a very ropey time in Thailand, Helen now dives like a mermaid. The flat sea, wonderful visibility and giant turtles must have helped with the transformation. Since I was taking a course it was back to the books for an hour or so each day to learn about navigation, buoyancy, deep and night dives. Each skill was then put into practice under the guidance of my private instructor and diver-extraordinare Tony. Our time spent hanging out with the Blue Marlin guys was great and the diving was amazing, especially the night dive into the pitch black sea!

Kuta and Ubud

Temporarily leaving Australia behind we set off back to Indonesia for some serious relaxation in Bali and Lombok. Arriving late in the hustle of Kuta we quickly settled into our old Asian routine of hotels, cheap beer and eating out three times a day. So long to camping and self catering!

Kuta isn’t particularly great unless mountains of counterfeit goods and a dirty beach are your idea of a good time. The only part of town not drowning in tack is the sobering memorial to victims of the 2002 terrorist attacks here. This is why all the smart kids head straight to the unfortunately titled Waterbom waterpark; Kuta’s saving grace.  With loads of rides, no queues and endless sunshine we were in our element. After six weeks of driving around all day we got some much needed exercise climbing steps up to the rides, again and again and again.

Unfortunately all good things must end as we bade farewell to Waterbom and headed north to Ubud, the cultural centre of Bali. With temples, artists and musicians galore we spent a couple of days nosing around town and took a long and sweaty walk into the surrounding countryside. As Bali is a predominately Hindu island the many familiar deities and puja offerings bought memories of our trip to India flooding back.

Kakadu to Darwin

Our next stop was a relatively short drive to the Aboriginal owned Kakadu National Park. It was here that we met  the ‘Prostrate Posse’, a bunch of bikers that were part of a huge group riding in convoy up through the Northern Territory fund-raising and promoting awareness of prostrate cancer. The guys sort of adopted us and forced us to drink beer with  them, swear a lot and sleep in their spare Air Conditioned room.  The tent was already pitched but the offer was too good to refuse so we had our best nights sleep since Coober Pedy. God knows we needed it as we were up at the crack of dawn  for a sunrise Yellow River Crocodile cruise. It was jam-packed with wildlife especially in the form of crocs and birds.  We apologise to any twitchers reading but we can’t remember any of the names.  All I know is that my favourite was the  tiny bird with the huge feet, look closely on the lily pad.

From one National park to another this time Litchfield. Here we trekked to amazing aboriginal rock art sites and swam in  some beautiful swimming holes beneath waterfalls . We drove past several areas of bush that were being burnt in line  with aboriginal traditions of regeneration for the land. We also came across a great deal of wildlife; the fury wallabies were most welcome, the spiders, particularly the yellowish one on our tent, were not.

It felt quite monumentous to finally arrive in Darwin - our final destination on this epic drive. As a treat for  slumming it in the tent we got a cheapy deal at a posh hotel and lived it up for a few nights. The Australia version  of Travelodge was quite different to the one hidden behind the petrol station on the A444. Here we had a swanky room,  cable and two different swimming pools to chose between. Our camping gear had served us well, however would not be needed in Indonesia; our next destination and the land of dirt-cheap accommodation. Fear not though the gear went to a good  home, as we donated it to charity mate, for the next larrikins that plan to tackle the explorer’s way!

Wycliffe Well to Katherine

From Alice Springs we had another massive drive to Katherine so decided to break things up with an overnight stop in Wycliffe Well, UFO sighting capital of Australia. We didn’t see any flying saucers, but we got a glimpse of the Devil’s Marbles. Arriving at sunset these giant balls of rock glowed orange and felt like a prop from the Flintstones. At night we kept an eye open for E.T but he was probably scared away by the near-riot between rival Aboriginal groups outside the camp site.

Further on at Mataranka we took a dip in Bitter Springs, so call because of the water’s taste. Floating downstream along with the strong current we couldn’t stop thinking that a huge crocodile was about to slide into the water with us despite being advised it was perfectly safe. Every time we heard some reeds twitch we’d speed up a bit and you can imagine our relief to reach the end and climb out.

Finally arriving at Katherine we were a bit disappointed/alarmed to find out that all kayaking along the gorge was suspended due to a ‘croc survey’. Since the wet season was approaching its end, it’s possible for crocodiles to get trapped there as the water recedes, leaving them to dine exclusively on tourists ;) . Our disappointment was short lived however upon hearing that we’d arrived in time to catch a horse-hustlin’, bronko-bashing, rootin-tootin rodeo! We can assure you that despite appearances the cowboys were full-size and not midgets.

As we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn we were pleased to find the swarms of moisture hungry flies were starting to ease off. Unfortunately, we now had the plague of 24 hour oppressive heat to endure. At Uluru we were sleeping in thermals, silk liners and sleeping bags, now we were butt-naked and still sweating buckets. With some inspired thinking from the Mataranka camp’s groundsman we purchased a big pedestal fan and created the ‘Air-con tent’ envy of all other campers across the Northern Territory!

Although we were driving far too close to the camper van in the last photo, it was necessary to capture the motto that we thought our parents especially would appreciate.

Alice Springs

Leaving Uluru behind us we continued on the road north to Alice Springs, passing endless desert and the occasional roadhouse for pit stops. After spending a few days camping in the outback, Alice Springs seemed like the height of sophisticated civilisation, the perfect place to restock our dwindling supplies. With fast-food joints and typical Aussie brand shops it felt like any other Australian town, just thousands of kilometres from anything like it in every direction.

Surrounded by cattle farms and isolated communities, Alice Springs pioneered some now famous public services to help people living in remote areas. We paid visits to both the ‘School of the Air’ and the ‘Flying Doctors’. The school used to broadcast lessons by radio to students who’d communicate back using their own pedal-powered radios. P.E and Maths at the same time! But in the 21st century they only use live video streams over the internet. Check out the Rolf-a-roo on the wall, classic Harris.

We saw a lot more Aborigines in Alice Springs, probably half of the population. Quite a contrast to virtually every other place we’d visited in Australia so far and a refreshing sight.