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Day 39 - 40 SingaporeWe stopped over for just one night in Singapore which reminded us of Hong Kong but on a much smaller and cleaner scale, where the favourite past time of the locals is shopping.Having arrived late afternoon, we checked into the Goodwood Park Hotel which is one of Singapore's oldest hotels having been forcibly converted from a German country club during WWI.Here we made good use of the gym and pool and enjoyed a 4 course breakfast.We managed to make it up to the top of Mount Faber for a nice sunset but it did not compare to Victoria Peak in HK.Wandering around the quayside afterwards, we watched the inverse bungee rides where people were catapulted into the sky with lots of screaming from both the guys and girls.We opted for a curry for our dinner that evening, something that we had not eaten for a while!After dinner we wandered around the old colonial centre which includes a cricket pitch and pavilion, and the famous Raffles hotel. The next day we walked down Orchard Road, browsing at some of the expensive stores without buying anything (our shopping can wait until we get to LA!) and then we hailed a cab to take us to Little India where we did a little walking tour.We then jumped onto the MRT metro system (very similar to HK's MTR) towards Chinatown where we spent a couple of hours wandering around and sampling the yummy street food.Our flight to Darwin that evening was delayed by several hours - however, I can't think of a better airport than Changi to get stuck in as the facilities there were great and before we knew it, it was time to get on the Jetstar flight to take us onto the second leg of our big trip.Asia has been great but six weeks of eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner we can't wait to be in our campervan cooking our own meals under the stars!!Day 41 - 44 Darwin/ Kakadu National Park, AustraliaDarwin was voted the least likely Australian state capital for a tourist to visit and based on one day I guess this is because it is tropical, hot and a bit of a one horse town and I think that horse was at the Melbourne Cup when we were visiting.Darwin's claim to fame is that it was bombed by the Japanese on their way home from Pearl Island and that it was totally destroyed in 1974 by cyclone Tracy.So other than the WWII oil pipe lines there is not much to see.We had breakfast at the Marina and then attempted the thirty minute walk back to the hotel and quickly realised that in this 40C heat we were probably boiling our brains and running the risk of developing skin cancer there and then.Our plan over the next two and half weeks is to drive a 4WD campervan from Darwin to Alice Spings via Kakadu National Park and then onto Ayers Rock which we reckon is about 2800 km or around 2000 miles.Our campervan looks pretty rugged and has a snorkel exhaust which means we can ford flooded rivers although it is the end of the dry season and this is therefore a very unlikely requirement.However, we are hoping to do some off-roading and from the stories of recently overturned campervans and evidenced by the vehicles around the back of the rental depot we feel justified in paying extra to reduce our damage waiver to zero.The camper is pretty basic with an outside stove and a roof that pushes up to allow you to stand up inside but most importantly we have air conditioning.This is a necessity in this heat which is strong at this time of year both day and night.Although only 2-3 years old our van has already done almost 200,000 km.So after watching a DVD on the skills of driving a 4WD and setting the van up for a good nights sleep we are off.We stop off at Woolworths for victualing and my first real aussie meat pie before driving the 300 km to Ubirr in the Kakadu National Park where we watch a brilliant sunset over the wetlands and see some 2000 year old indigenous rock art.We arrive at our campsite in the dark and realise there is no powered sites so our first night is pretty hot with no air conditioning.We also get a fright when the van will not start again but it turns out to be a loose battery connector which is easily fixed.Over the next couple of days we see a number of broken down vehicles - we give one couple a lift to the nearest town, while a couple of surf dudes (not sure where they were going to surf round here) in their VW campervan had lost their front windscreen.After the night with no a/c we decide that a powered sight is a must have and we find a great campsite with a large pool which is perfectly positioned for the early morning boat trip the next morning out along Alligator River.We also spot our first dingo which is wandering around the campsite.The Kakadu is a wetland/ savannah area which is subject to torrential rain half the year when the rivers flood and the whole area becomes difficult to access.The boat trip is an opportunity to get up close to the wildlife which includes a lot of birds and crocs.We would have been happy if we had seen one croc but this is croc central and within minutes we see them swimming around and we are warned to keep our arms in the boat.We come across the dominant male who seems to be in a bad mood this morning as he is intent on attacking every other croc in sight which makes for excellent if a little frightening entertainment.At one stage a helicopter flies over and we start to here gun shots as they shoot ferial pigs which probably explain why one of the crocs has a pig's head in its mouth.
The afternoon is our first chance to engage 4WD as we start on a 120 km round trip to Jim Jim Falls. Although there are few vehicles we are happy to be travelling behind another camper especially when after 15 minutes they get stuck in the sand.I was particularly pleased when I was able to explain to the Frenchie driving that he needed to engage 4WD!!!At the end of the track it is a further 45 minute climb to the pools at the bottom of the 200 metre fall where the waterfall would be if it was not the end of the dry season.A dip in the pools is a refreshing welcome as the sun is so strong.In fact even though we brought water and hats we are both really dehydrated by the time we get back to the camper.People talk about drinking a litre of water a day back home, here they talk about 4 litres a day which is a really big effort especially if you do not like drinking water like me.
We are already getting into a bit of a routine each evening usually using the pool at the campsites to cool down before planning the next day and cooking some tucker.We have our ipod itrip working so we have a few tunes (I am still waiting for Lil to fall asleep while we are driving so I can live my dream and drive in the outback to ACDC Back in Black) and I have my VB stubbies (with Aborigine stubbie holder) and a 4 litre Australian wine handbag so it is not too hard to fall asleep at the end of the day.Day 45 - 46 Katherine Gorge
Katherine is our first stop once we leave Kakadu.We are back on the Stuart Highway which is known locally as the Track joining Darwin with Adelaide in the south - some 3000 km.Over the next couple of days we will be putting the miles between us and Darwin.On the Stuart Highway the meters are marked by 2 metre high termite hills, the miles by road kill and 100 km by burnt out cars.A bit like the crocs we thought we would see one or two road trains but they are actually a regular occurrence - about the length of 3 of our articulated trucks at home and travelling at 100 km/h you need 1 km of clear road to even think about overtaking.The other vehicles are other campers and a variety of Joe Mangle utes (with dogs tied in the back).The form on the SHW is to give vehicles passing the one finger salute (or variation depending on boredom levels).
Katherine is the only significant town between Darwin and Alice Springs and with a population of 11,000, significant is probably an overstatement.The town museum which seems to be somewhere where the locals take stuff when it becomes old is really interesting and gives a really good insight into frontier life.The following morning we take a kayak down the first of the thirteen Katherine gorges.The fish seem to like nibbling my feet.
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