We woke up at 5:30am AGAIN! There were 5 tour groups all going to the same water fall today so our guide thought it would be a good idea to get up super early so we could get there before everyone else and get the spot all to ourselves. This sounded like a good idea until about 1 am when we were still awake because it was too hot and too humid to sleep.
We woke up and went immediately to the bath house to get ready for the day. We forgot one crucial step… mosquito spray. We were eaten alive on the way to, in, and from the bath houses. We learned that the Aussies call them mossies.
We packed up and took off. We arrived about an 1 ½ hours later. Our guide stopped by some “dunnies” (out houses) so we could go to the bathroom before we headed down on our 45 minute hike to the water fall.
The hike was about 3 km. It was actually pretty descent weather, mostly because it was overcast. We arrived at the beautiful Motorcar falls. Here are some pictures.
Matt and I have pics of us under the waterfall on the disposable camera. It was safe to swim here, no crocodiles. We were bummed because we forgot to bring out goggles. We found a few spots where we could rock climb a little bit. Between the algae and the wet/ smoothness of the rocks we could only climb about 2 feet out of the water. We packed up and took off on our hike back to the bus. This time it was sunny out. But neither of us wanted to stop and put on sunscreen because it seals the skin and makes you sweat three times as much.
Once back at the bus we traveled to Moline Falls. Very gorgeous. There were a lot of spiders that had made nice webs on the 30 yard walk to this water fall. They were about the size of the palms of our hands. We were a bit more successful at rock climbing this time. We were even able to get behind the water fall.
There were 4 of us who were the last ones out of the water. The guide said that we were going straight back after this. So we decided to change out of our wet bathing suits into dry clothes so we would not have to sit in wet suits for the next few hours. This made us about 5 minutes late. The guide freaked out! She was back at the bus and drove closer to us and started honking her horn. We really were only 5 minutes late. I think she was just eager to get back.
During the entire 2 days everyone had their specific seat where they had sat and stored all of their stuff. Most people fell asleep, including the person beside me. Both of us were awake. Since I was in the first row and Matt was up front with the guide we couldn’t really talk. So we played hangman on a piece of paper and passed it back and forth. This lasted for about 4 minutes of entertainment and the guide yelled at us because we were distracting her. I understand she was driving and needed to focus but we were the only vehicle on the road. So we humored her and stopped and sat there bored out of our minds. At one point Matt was biting his nails and she yelled at him to stop. I understand this is a bad habit and Matt did stop immediately. At another point in time she yelled at him for moving his hands. He would touch is face, his ears, rub his eyes, fidget around in the uncomfortable seat. She looked at him and said “Do you realize you move every 15 seconds?” this was followed by and stern glare. We realize that she was in a bad mood and wanted to get home. But we paid $450 each for this 2 day excursion. It is not her job to treat us like annoying children and it is most certainly is her job to at least fake a good attitude until she gets home. Otherwise it spoils the trip. Don’t worry we got to fill out evaluation card. We felt a little better after filling those out.
We got back around 4 pm. We immediately checked the Internet for my results on the dietetic internship match. I was placed at Texas State- San Marcos! This was my number 2 choice! My number 1 was National Institute of Health. NIH is the ivy league version of internships. It is completely free and only takes 4 people. So I knew it was a long shot. But I am SUPER excited that I got into Texas State. This was my #1 realistic choice.
Then we took showers to get the 2 days worth of sunscreen, sweat, dirt, and lake water off. We got dressed and took off for dinner. Matt had been wanting a burger since he arrived on Monday March 29th. So we went on a hunt for the best burger in Darwin. Well on the main strip of restaurants anyways. We went to a place called Monsoons. The security guy out front told us to go to Shenanigans. Went there and they only have burgers on their lunch menu. So the Shenanigans security guy told us to go to Outback Jack’s. Same situation, only at lunch. So we walked across the street to where there was a giant Guinness sign. This is Matt’s favorite beer. It is hard to find in Australia. The place crossed the street was called Kitty’s Irish Pub. We each ordered a super burger! The menu said it came with “the whole lot” we had no idea what that meant.
There were a handful of gambling machines. So while we waited for food we decided to play. We each took a dollar coin and put it in a slot machine. Turns out there were no handles to pull, only buttons to push. We had no idea what we were doing so we just kept pushing random buttons. At one point a made 60 cents and then lost it. Neither of us were successful. A group of Alaskans came in and started playing pool right beside us. They were very drink, very comical, and very friendly. They asked where we were from and when we said Indiana one of them had eyes that lit up. Turns out his dad was from Richmond, IN.
Our food arrived and Matt was in the restroom. The Alaskans couldn’t believe that I didn’t order a salad and that I was going to eat the giant burger in front of Matt. I told them that they had better believe I was going to eat it. (these pictures were taken on Matt's cell phone because I left my camera in the room. Sorry about the poor quality).
From the bottom up it was; bottom bun, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickled sugar beets, meat, egg, pineapple, ham, bacon, caramelized onions, ketchup, and top bun. We think the bun was a sourdough Kaiser roll. These burgers were HUGE and DELICIOUS!!!
I was able to eat all of mine plus my fries. Matt ate about ¾ of his and hardly any of his fries. I gave him quite a hard time about it.
We then decided to go to Baskin Robins for dessert. It is $7 for 2 scoops. So we went to the grocery store across the street and bought small individual tubs for $2 each. We then went back to the hostel and passed out.
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