Thursday, September 22, 2016

Way Outback Camping Aug 29 to Sept 1 - Day 1 a.m.

We booked this tour with Viator but it was a Way Outback Australian Safari tour. So, stumped by GF and the fact that I also cannot eat beef, Viator had me call Way Outback directly. The woman I spoke with there was very kind but could not quite get the no beef thing. Perhaps it was my Canadian accent because I also said that I needed GF or wheat-free food. I told her I could eat around any beef that was served. She told me to bring the GF items with me. But it turned out that Way Outback loaded our guide, Kim, with GF Weetbix, pasta, and vegetarian meat substitutes as I was down as GF and strict vegetarian. Good thing there were other vegetarians and folks willing to eat the veggie sausages and burgers, cause they had wheat in 'em! Anyway, with my GF bread, snack bars, and banana chips to go with everything I could eat that Kim served, I was absolutely well fed all four days.

We threw our duffles in the trailer, and climbed on board with our backpacks and water bottles, to greet our fellow campers. By the time everyone was collected, the little bus was full - Kim plus 17 passengers. It looked like an interesting mix of ages and genders, couples and singles, and a number of nationalities. Let's go!

Our first morning was a trip into Litchfield National Park, almost directly south of Darwin. We made two stops there.
I joined in for a lovely swim at the first gorge, which I think was Florence Falls. The waterhole was wide and quickly deep with a sandbar just far enough out for my skill and stamina. The trick was getting in as the last step down into the water was too much of a reach. The rail made a handy place to hold while I lowered my butt into the water and then pushed off onto my back. Easy-peasy, especially since the water was not cold at all. We were all but dry by the time we got back to the bus. However, at the second gorge I just waked to the lookout to see the beautiful Wangi Falls. It was a long way down and up and Kim warned of slippery rocks at the water. So I stayed at the top, got changed and waited in a shady spot until everyone returned to the bus. Perfectly happy to skip the short swim there.

Kim made up for my breakfast circus by stopping for lunch at the mango place. I can't remember the name of the place - Kim told us we could get the best mango smoothie in the world there, and she wasn't kidding. She drove through mango orchards to get there. They are produce that thrives in that part of the country. I added a bag of dried mango slices to my stash of snacks. For this one lunch we had to buy ourselves, the food and coffee was excellent!

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