Goodbye to Kakadu

Yesterday we got caught in a huge rainstorm, soaking both our clothes and backpacks. We laid out everything to dry, even putting fans on the stuff. However, because if the humidity, not only did nothing dry, but everything that was dry became damp. So we went swimming today (I don't quite understand the logic either, but it actually helped). I felt so waterlogged leaving the camp, with wet stuff strewn all over the seat next to me. While we were swimming, some of the clothes finally dried (though we had new wet clothes to replace them. But the cool water of the "watering hole" (which was actually the bottom of a waterfall), felt great. We went to two separate places (again, not sure why we didn't stay at one longer, but I liked the second one better...other than the risk of alligators. I guess the risk really existed at both sites, just the 2nd had a huge sign reminding you. As our guide says, with 7 of us in the river, we only have a 1 in 7 chance of being the one attacked, assuming there is one there (I tried telling him the probability calculation doesn't work exactly like that since any one of us getting bitten is an independent variable, of course, once one goes down, the rest will run, so, assuming we can run fast enough, I guess that 1 in 7 is not a bad estimate...you can imagine the look I got at that point. Ah, it's ingrained).

So, one thing I find interesting in Australia is the controlled burning they do, and the importance if it to the ecosystem here. The idea of burning forest land started with the aborigine. For a while the Europeans stopped the practice, but that actually hurt the ecosystem, so now it is done regularly. One benefit is that it allows old grasses to be burned away so that new grasses can take their place (within 2-3 months the grass will be fully recovered). In addition, there are some trees that rely on the burning to survive. We saw a tree that has a seed pod that is hard, and will only open naturally under extreme heat. I've seen some limited control burns in remote areas if the states, but this is on a bigger scale and not limited to national parks. In Kakadu, 50% of the grasslands are burned each year. I remember our guide in Brisbane talking about burning as well, but I did not understand that it was intentional (I have seen some controlled burning of parks in the states, but I thought it was rare, and not an annual event).

Unfortunately, an unplanned fire is all over the news here. The state of Victoria (I'm not going there) has had a fire blazing and doing extensive damage - 120 people so far, 700 homes, and it's still blazing. Jordan, our guide is from there. He has heard his dad's okay, bit is calling friends to make sure their alright.

So, the trip is over. It amazes me how we can start out as strangers, yet after three days of hiking, eating, and playing together, you become "friends", even though in the real world you would never have interacted and you know you'll never see them again. I always start thinking we are so different, but in the end, a shared experience and the mutual love of travel creates a bond, despite age, culture, language, etc.

Oh, by the way, I have a new card game for when the Busic clan gets together for games. It is easy to learn and can be played with a larger group of people (I just have to come up with a G rated name for it).

On to Cairns early tomorrow (5 am; the airport transportation is picking me up at 2:45...good thing time has lost all meaning over here).

Interesting fact day 20: there is a species of ant here that is orange in the front and green on the end. They bite if they get on you, but according to the locals, the green part tastes like lime. Several tried it - I'll try new things on vacation, but I draw the line at eating an ant.