Return To The Alice: Day 2

Douglas River is the kind of place that makes me insanely jealous of the people of Darwin because they have this on their doorstep. Its basically a hot river, so hot in parts it can burn you, you have to be careful where you get in. There's a bit where cooler water flows in to meet the hot water and there's a little dip in the sand so you can sit with your back in the hot water and your feet in the cold while the fish nibble on your dead skin. They're the fish that don't hurt, like the ones at Dalhousie. Not the vicious little bleeders that try and clean your mozzy bites by removing portions of flesh like at Florence Falls. Ok, I exaggerate, they're only about 10cm long, not quite big enough to tear your limbs off but I bet if they were they wouldn't think twice about it. Cunts.

Steaming

Douglas At Dawn

David; My New Fave Person

Aaanyway, I was just sat in the river for a couple of hours because sitting in hot water is one of my favourite things surpassed only by vodka, chatting to a few people including a bloke called David, he's from Darwin but he'd been working away in Utopia, a desert town near Alice Springs. He was just on his way back and thought he'd chill at the river the previous night, just to relax before he went back to work.
I like David. He invited me for breakfast. Anyone who cooks bacon and eggs for me instantly wins my heart. He also gave me a stack of food he said he'd bought for when he was working away and wouldn't use it now he was going back home. I never need to shop again, especially for cereal, either David makes a habit of feeding backpackers and small armies or he was expecting to be involved in a minor siege in Utopia. I am now the proud owner of all kinds of expensive breakfast products as well as packets and tins of food that don't have Home Brand (like Tescos Value) written on them and a tub of marge which I intend to put on top of on of my food bags at a slight angle so that when the car heats up it liquefies and covers as much stuff as possible because thats what I do with all my marge.

After a quick stop at Edith Falls for a swim and to be chewed on by them nasty little cleaning fish again I headed to Katherine to rent a canoe and go paddling up the gorge. I actually enjoy canoeing providing shoulder movement isn't neccessary the next day but I'm lazy, I never get far before I start wishing for an engine or maybe a slave to paddle for me. Katherine Gorge is pretty though and it was a good way to kill an afternoon. The camp site there is $9.50 a night for an unpowered site but that includes hot showers.

Katherine Gorge

Gotta Love Canoeing

See, travelling in luxury, me.

And a big shout out to Kat and Dave who, while I was freshie spotting up the gorge, were busy being all grown up like and getting wed. Let me know when you start breeding, guys, I'll make sure I'm out of the country in order to avoid baby sitting duties.

written by

Koala Bear on August 25, 2007 from Katherine, Australia

from the travel blog: Sod Off Great Big Mission Round Oz

tagged RoadTrip and LovinIt

Send a Compliment

comment on this...