Mary River, Termite Mounds and Australian food!
Trip Start
Jul 10, 2008
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12
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Trip End
Jul 10, 2011
Loading Map
Mary River National Park,
Northern Territory,
Australia
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Croc Sign
When we arrived in Darwin the $US-$AUS was about 1 to 1. We did bring about $10,000 with us, in the next few months it proceeded to change by 40% meaning out $10,000 AUD would have been $14,000 - hindsight would be a wonderful thing to posses! Interest rates over here were also in the 9s for mortgages and 20s for credit card, we didn't check what a car load would have charged us! With the financial meltdown the Aussie Fed has dropped the rate a few percentage, but with interest rates this high we certainly stayed away from finance with our new car purchase!Now we're all ready to go and head out into the outback and do some exploring. In the two weekends we've had so far we've done a few little trips.
We did a trip down to Litchfield National Park again - it cost us a cool $100 to fill her up, glad she's a diesel and it seems we can get about 600km for that much fuel. This time the camera batteries did not run out so I managed to get some pictures of Tolmer Falls and Wangi Falls! There was an excellent little short walking trail close to Tolmer Falls that takes you up above the top of the falls. We did a little side trip down a 4WD track to Sandy Creek. The first thing we noticed, besides the clearance of the truck, going off road meant a lot less people! The car gives you 'added muppet protection'! We took a dirt road back from Litchfield that bought us up to the Cox Peninsula Road. It was a bit of a boneshaker as much of the road was very corrugated. It was worth it though as the back road took us to a great magnetic termite field that was far more accessible than the one in the park and was apparently where David Attenborogh did his termite mound filming when he came to the Top end.
Last weekend we headed to Mary River and took our new baby out on the little more challenging Hardies 4WD Track.
Jon and the new Navara
We figured it was time to head back once Erica closed her eyes and screamed no! We didn't make it through the big mud quagmire that provoked the screams, but luckily threw her quickly into reverse and she got us out safe and sound. I think I have a lot to learn and we decided that was a good point to end our adventure for the day and head back out the way we came! Maybe we'll look at buying a winch and shovel in the future just in case! Erica did remind me on numerous occasions that perhaps I should have read the instruction book before we came, I promised to do so once we got home, but where is her sense of adventure! We did learn a lot though about what the truck was capable of and did a couple of wet and dry stream crossings and some steep hill inclines and declines, that unless I'd know people had managed beforehand I wouldn't have been so confident doing!We did spot plenty of wildlife, Brolgas, Jabiru, croc at Hardies river crossing, juvenile white bellied sea eagle, but the highlight was a 5ft monitor lizard - Erica remarked is that a tree stump as it was stood up on its hind legs, I quickly assembled the camera and rushed off into the woods after it, but those things are quick and it was off into the woods before we even had a chance to snap a few pics - spoil sport! We do see a few of these around where we live although not as big as this guy. Erica spots them on a regular basis on her way to work and I spotted one once while out on a bike ride up the coast. We have both also seen a few frill necked lizards down on the Nightcliff foreshore.
Jon by Magnetic Termite Mound
This is the route Erica tales to work, but the bike path here goes through some nice parkland for a few kilometres with the sea to the west. It's a popular place for cyclist, gawkers, kids playing or people picnicking. I didn't let my lizard get away without getting off my bike and approaching him just enough to make him uncomfortable enough to frill up his collar, I was surprised though that he did not run, I just wish I had my camera!We stopped at Corroboree Billabong on the way home, but there is not too much to see there unless you have a boat! We drove a bit closer to Darwin along the Arnhem Highway an stopped at the Leaning Tree Lagoon. It was a pleasant area with lots of birds not a sole in sight. Like a true 'bogan' we sat in the truck looking over the lagoon sipping on a couple of Cooper's Pale Ale! Just in case you're wondering a bogan is the Aussie work for hillbilly - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogan !
We are finally starting to feel settled. We got our driving licenses and it can be reported that the RMV here is as slow and bureaucratic and the DMV in Massachusetts. Mmm, let's see 1 hour for a driver's license! Erica has yoga twice a week and I play soccer with some local guys and go to circuit training on a Monday lunchtime, which I feel is really kicking my butt! We were both surprised at how long it does take to get your life back to what feels like normal after a relocation to a new country.
We have had a few problems with the natives since we arrives - animals that is! We knew the ants were going to be a problem the first day we bought Crunchy Nut cornflakes - those ants know a good cereal and you can leave a weetabix or oatmeal out all day and they won't touch it, Crunchy Nut cornflakes though are a different story! After finding a trail of them coming down the wall and heading into the cornflakes box we knew it was time for airtight containers! Now Erica has pretty severe allergic reactions to ants and can swell up like a balloon! She now has to carry and EpiPen around with her at all times.
Magpie Goose taking to flight
Getting bit in the night by frenzied ants was definitely not something we wanted. We tried borax mixtures; mint tea leaves and considered lining the bedroom with Paprika until we decided the colouring in Paprika might put our security deposit at risk! Despite not wanting to use chemicals we ended up buying a bomb kit that you set off in your house, seal all the doors, turn off all gas and electric (some sort of explosion risk) and leave the house for at least 2 hours! Now we may both have picked up cancer from these fumes, but we haven't seen an ant in the house since. You've seen some pictures of the tree frogs we get around here, well one evening right around bedtime we spotted one in the downstairs karzi, we think he came up from the back side. Well can you imagine my surprise when right about midnight I wake up to this guy landing on my head after he must have climbed the stairs! After a few wild swings in the dark and a landing on Erica we popped the lights on and did what we should have probably done originally, caught the little bugger and dumped him outside on the street! Talking about toilets, the ones over here all have 2 setting a low water flush for a number one and a big, wash it all down flush for a number two. Makes sense in a country that needs to conserve water! Erica, being the scientist, tells me the Coriolis effect is in place here also, although she says she has not determined this from watching the toilet flush, but rather the shower water going town the plughole.
The DVD player we ordered from the USA came and it nearly ended in disaster.
Painted Grasshawk Dragonfly
In big letters on the box it said 'Region one only'. I think Erica was about to cry. Frustrated I went back to Amazon to check my reading abilities were still ok and it turns out the specification does not detail that it is multi region, but some reviewer details an obscure sequence of events followed by entering a secret code will get it working in any region for either PAL or NTSC! It was not in the instructions but amazingly it worked. How the hell do people find out these things! Again though this must be a huge scam by the electronics manufactures to make extra money. The DVD player would work with all formats, it just wasn't advertised or detail how to get it to do this!Now may be a good time to talk about some of the interesting food differences between the USA and Australia
1) Coming from the UK we use a spread for toast, sandwiches, potatoes called marmite. Over here they have and equivalent called Vegemite. Nowhere near as tasty obviously (a bit of bias here). What is interesting is these spreads are yeast extracts, now if you look where the marmite factory is in the UK it's right next to the brewery, so guess what the yeast extract is? Its the left over yeast of the brewed beer!
2) Talking about beer, sorry Aussies out there but your beers is crap, no two ways about it! It's all much the same. I can't say much more for the US or UK mass-produced beers, but both countries luckily have a host of great small breweries and microbreweries. Unfortunately Australia seems to be lacking them! In a part of Australia that we are they have one of the highest alcohol consumption rates in the world, I think there is a golden opportunity here for me to follow one of my dreams and open my own microbrewery!
3) We're back into the world where a biscuit is not something you put in a casserole, but is something the Americans like to call a cookie, apart from most of the ones over here are hard and crunchy and not soft an gooey! The local favourite over here is a Tim Tam and a mighty fine biscuit it is too.
Sandy Creek trail
One could argue it's merits compared to a Penguin (a biscuit from the UK) but one has to give Arnott's merit for a culinary masterpiece.4) Someone asked me this weekend what made good fish and chips and I had to reply, 'why a Yorkshireman of course', followed by well the fish shouldn't be raw and the batter should not be soggy and under cooked like some I got from The Pickled Octopus in Nightcliff. Funny thing was the first time I went there they were decent, but I guess you need the crusty old guy who has owned the shop for years cooking your fish and not some 18 year old who changes from day to day! I only wish I could remember the girl who cooked my fish on my first visit there! I've heard the secret to good fish and chips though is beef dripping or lard, eaten in newspaper and a good batter.
5) In the USA we were use to Sharp or Extra Sharp cheddar, here it is Tasty or Extra Tasty cheddar!
6) Many American don't realise that sausages can be a wonderful food. My experience of sausages in the USA was those Italian and bratwurst sausage from the ball games. Certainly nothing to write home about, those big lumps of gristle put me off slightly! Aussies have better class of sausage; made my local butchers you can get some with decent meat and nice added herbs.
7) Lamb is back on the menu big time - I love lamb, for some reason it was not too popular in the USA, something about it being too gamey!
8) For a Brit being able to get HP sauce, Patak's curry paste, chapattis, naan and chuckneys off the shelf at all supermarkets is a big bonus.
9) Ginger beer is big in Australia.
Spider at Wangi Falls
Probably the best pop on the market, never really sure why Coke made it to number one! It reminds me of when I was young and my mum used to make it by the gallon!10) We've back to British style bacon, you know the stuff that actually has some meat on it and isn't all fat! No more frying pan swimming in fat when it's cooked, in fact the best way to cook is under the grill! I have to admit I did grow to like US bacon after a year or two living there!
11) Besides HP sauce, nothing is better in a bacon butty than a few slices of avocado at $1 each here there is no better way to make you feel like you're getting some greens with your greasy bacon J
12) Just an interesting point but you can buy your rotisserie chicken with stuffing!
13) Erica has big issues with the ice cream and the crisps over here, potato chips to you Americas. I don't mind too much as these are similar to what I was brought up on, but I have to admit Trader Joes potato chips and Ben and Jerry's ice cream come out the winners in this little contest.
14) Custard and sticky toffee pudding are staples on the grocery shelves again, not just something they charge you a fortune for in the international section of the supermarket! In my book, this more than makes up for any ice cream disappointment!
15) I'm partial to a bit of radish in my sandwich/salad. The radish they sell at the farmers markets here are over 2 feet long, a bit bigger than the one inch ones my dad grew in his garden! There is more than enough in one radish to last for lunches for the whole week!
16) Beetroot is something there is a whole section for in the supermarkets! Another staple for lunchtime sandwiches.
The new Navara
In fact the Aussies have found that a bacon cheeseburger can be improved upon by slipping in a nice few slices of beetroot! Very nice!17) Living in the tropics means lots of great fruit, spending 6 months of my life in India got me addicted to mangoes, when your local farmers market sells you a 10kg box for $10 you know you have taken one step closer to heaven!
18) Melons are grown locally, honeydews, watermelon and rock melon. For those of you not in the know a rock melon is what most people call a Cantaloupe.
19) Plum pudding, Christmas Puddings, Mince Pies, as I mentioned before these were in the supermarkets by mid October, but the fact that have these great British inventions makes me realise I've come to a truly great country!
20) I have to mention going out to bars, people here often drink Champagne instead of beer, you often see a guy stood at the bar with his champers! Funny thing is they come in these small single serving bottle sizes!
That's about it that I can remember at present, but I have to mention a few other things - Kangaroo meat is in the supermarkets over here. Before you start feeling sorry for little Joey they are overrun with them over here and have a cull every year. You can get kangaroo bangers or buy some cuts to make up a tasty kangaroo vindaloo! It turns out kangaroo is very good in a lot of ways, it turns out it's fat content is about 2% compared to beef that can easily have over 10%. It does have a strong taste though that some people will not like! Funny thing is kangaroos don't produce methane like cows, for those who didn't know this is actually one of the main environmental issues with cows! So want to reduce your environmental footprint? Eat a kangaroo today!
Next local delicacy on the menu was croc meat! This experiment didn't go too well and I haven't had the nerve to ask Erica when we can get the two left over tail segment out of the freezer. Despite looking as tough as old boots, they say the best way to cook a croc is like fish! The meat is tender and dry and easy to overcook! Well I think my big mistake was buying un-boned tail from some guy's picnic cooler at the farmers market who did not speak English and therefore was not able to give me any cooking tips! I did try to filet the meat off the bone but it didn't got too well, it got marinated and then got cooked till it had a rubber like texture. I don't think the leftover meat will be coming out of the freezer anytime soon!
Well I though these blogs would be getting shorter, but they seem to be getting longer! Hope you're still reading and if so hopefully I'll get another one in before we leave for Vietnam! We've booked a 3 week trip to Vietnam leaving mid December after my dad's visit - I can't wait I've always wanted to go!
