Daniel's Big Australian Holiday!

Day 39 - Saturday - 27/6/2026 Today we went to Berry Springs. Being a Saturday in the NT school holidays there were hundreds of people swimming around in the room temperature water with pool noodles because it was super deep. Where we first got in there was a moderately strong current and we decided to walk up to the top and float downstream. Swimming in the water At the top of the river there was a small waterfall with very strong water; there were also a bunch of little fish biting me. We started to float down and at the start it was shallow and the river was not that wide. Just when it started to get deep, we found a good branch to swing on, so we did that for a while, then we entered the main part of the river were we first started where it was very deep.  Climbing up the branch Eventually we hit some shallow rocks and sand almost at the exact spot we got in. As we continued on the river was the least wide yet and the current was growing stronger and stronger until we reached a...

Florence Falls Day 37 - Thursday - 25/6/2026 Today we drove to Adelade River to pick up my grandma's sister who we call Auntie Kathy, who will travel with us for about 10 days, then we drove to Batchelor. At Batchelor we went for a swim and then looked at the owner feed about 50 very noisy corellas.  She also gave us some delicious dumplings, and we played mini golf and Seb won. Day 38 - Friday - 26/6/2026 Today we drove into Litchfield National Park where we went to Florence falls. On the way we stopped at the colossal magnetic termite mounds which were all aligned north to south to get the most shade possible. Magnetic Termite Mounds The waterfall was much taller than Edith Falls, and you could go under it.  it was very busy and there were lots of people swimming. Swimming with Auntie Kathy Swimming in the water The water was around the same temperature except everywhere was in the shade of the big, tall trees. There were also a bunch of these big black fish in the water cal...

Day 36 - Wednesday - 24/6/2026 This morning I woke up pretty early so Me, Dad, Suzie and Grandpa could go on a 9km walk. The walk was through the bush for half of it and along the river for the other half;  The river there were also a bunch of animal life throughout the walk, especially birds. The start of the walk mainly consisted of friarbirds but as we got close to the water there were more small birds like finches, pardalotes, rainbow bee-eaters, and azure kingfishers.  Striated Pardalope Double-barred Finch The walk was to Sweetwater Pool and on the way, we stopped at Long Hole Pool for a break. There was a rocky beach leading into the water where there was a small waterfall smashing into the rocks.  Long Hole Pool From here on the walk was along the river and there was a lot of trees and bushes surrounding us. Eventually we got to Sweetwater Pool where we stopped and had lunch, we were originally going to swim there but we decided that Long Hole Pool would be a bett...

Edith Falls Day 34 - Monday - 22/6/2026 Today we drove to Edith Falls. It was a short drive and when we got there, we went for a swim in the cold water near the waterfall. It was nothing like the hot springs, the water felt about 15 degrees colder and there was also a lot more space to swim. We saw a few fish big and small like the archer fish; it spits water at bugs when they land on leaves in the water and then eats them. Day 35 - Tuesday - 23/6/2026 Today we did a short walk to the upper pool of Edith Falls where we went for a swim. On the way we stopped at a lookout and viewed the spectacular falls. The water was a little bit cold but overall, a pretty good temperature. We swam pretty close to the waterfall, but the current was pretty strong, so it was hard to stay still. Swimming under the falls Eventually we floated down stream until we came across what we called the chute. When we floated down, it made us go super-fast and at the end we would have to swim to the side to get ...

Katherine Gorge   Day 32 - Saturday - 20/6/2026 This morning we did Parkrun and I came 74th out of 109 people with a time of 37 minuets and 53 seconds. Then we did schoolwork until 2PM when we got on a boat. As we travelled through the gorge, we saw at turtle and about 5 freshwater crocodiles, but they usually don't harm people.  Freshwater Crocodile The gorge was big and the cliffs were tall too. At the end of the first section of the gorge, we got off the boat and looked at some aboriginal rock art. There was a wallaroo, a person, some handprints, a turtle and the rainbow serpent. the guide told us a story about the snake and ow it formed the mountains and gorges.  Wallarroo and people Turtles Then we had to go back because the other 2 sections of the gorge that you would normally go to were closed because of flood damage. When we were headed back, we were very lucky and saw a bowerbird in its bower, it had collected lots of white and grey things. Northen Bowerbird Day ...

 Day 30 - Thursday - 18/6/2026 This morning I did more schoolwork and then went back to Bitter Springs. Then at 6:30 we went to see whip cracking world record holder Nathan Griggs. He holds five world records one of which being cracking a 100-metre whip and most cracks in a minute. He showed us some tricks and techniques on how to crack a whip; he also cracked his whip to some different songs like Thunderstruck.  Nathan also had a lot of different whips like a solar powered whip with lights on it, a glow in the dark whip, a metal chain whip and for the grand finale he light one of his whips on fire and cracked it. Day 31 - Friday - 19/6/2026 This morning I woke up pretty early and went birdwatching. There was a lot of wildlife, and we saw 4 birds I had never seen before, the Bar-shouldered Dove, Lemon-bellied Flyrobin, Shining Flycatcher and a Blue-faced Honeyeater. There has been loads of animals here, especially frogs and lizards.   A frog in the shower! Then we pa...

 Day 28 - Tuesday - 16/6/2026 Today we left Daly Waters and drove to Bitter Springs. Now we are out of the desert and in tropical areas it is a lot more humid and hot. At Bitter Springs we walked to the hot springs. Even though it was in the shade of the sensational huge paper bark tree forest that made no difference to the warm hot spring's temperature. At the springs we floated down the river on pool noodles util we weren't allowed to swim any further so then we walked back up the stream and hopped back in.  Swimming at Bitter Springs We also luckily spotted two turtles and two Azure Kingfishers. Azure Kingfisher Day 29 - Wednesday - 17/6/2026 This morning we drove to Elsey National Park and had a look at the Roper River. Then we drove to Mataranka Hot Springs where we swam around in the warm water (34 degrees) playing games and splashing each other.  Swimming at Mataranka This time the hot spring was more like a pool than a river, but it also felt a little bit deeper, ...

Devils Marbles Day 26 - Sunday - 14/6/2026 Today we got pancakes for breakfast again and then we packed up the caravan and left Alice Springs for the 4th and final time. We  drove 400km to Devils Marbles where we did a walk around the gigantic boulders until we got the huge  split rock Devils Marbles is known for. We all climbed into it and it kind of looked like we were pushing it apart.  Colossal boulders Pushing the rock apart Then we did a walk to a lookout where we looked at the spectacular sunset. All the precariously placed rocks looked like they were about to fall but they didn’t. Waiting for the sunset Day 27 - Monday - 15/6/2026 Today we drove a long, painful, boring and uneventful 500km to Daly Waters where we did schoolwork, went for a swim and had dinner at the pub with live music.

Day 24 - Friday - 12/6/2026 This morning we went to the town centre where we walked to the cinema and watched the movie The Sheep Detectives. It was a pretty good movie about some talking sheep trying to solve a murder mystery with some funny jokes and a well set out plot. Then we went back to the caravan park and did schoolwork went for a swim and then watched another movie at the caravan park called Kangaroo while we ate dinner. The movie was about a guy who rescues kangaroos because of her friend Charlie. Day 25 - Saturday - 13/6/2026 Today we woke up at 6AM to go to the Alice Springs Parkrun. Everyone ran the full 5km except for grandma and grandpa for obvious reasons but at the end we were all pretty tired, I came 61st out of the 99 people that raced. After Parkrun Then we had breakfast at Maccas and then came back to where we did Parkrun to check out the overland telegraph station. Charles Todd designed and oversaw the overland telegraph line and named Alice Springs after his wif...

  Rainbow Valley Day 22 - Wednesday - 10/6/2026 Today we packed up at Kings Canyon and my family and grandma, and grampa drove to Rainbow Valley while our cousins drove back to Alice Springs. When there was around 20km left we hit a dirt road and it was super bumpy because of all the corrugations on the road, that was why when we arrived a bunch of stuff was on the floor of the caravan and some of the stove came off so we had to fix it. At about 6PM we walked to a lookout where we looked at Rainbow Valley and the sunset. Then we went back to the caravan and had dinner around the fire. Day 23 - Thursday - 11/6/3036 Today we packed up our caravan and went for a walk around Rainbow Valley. The rocks were pretty big and jagged and there was also a claypan next to it which sometimes fills up with water but currently it was dry. The walk was actually to a rock called Mushroom rock and it was supposed to look like a big mushroom, but I didn't really see the resemblance.  Mushroom Roc...

Kings Canyon Day 20 - Monday - 8/6/2026 Today we drove from Uluru to Kings Canyon. It was a pretty long drive that took about 3 hours. When we arrived at Kings Canyon, we set up camp and then we walked over to the nearby sunset bar where we looked at the magnificent sunset views. Day 21 - Tuesday - 9/6/2026 Today we went on a 6km walk on the top of Kings Canyon, we drove over to Kings Canyon and then started our walk. Everyone except for grandma and grandpa did an extra 1.6km walk through Kings Canyon. The walk was pretty cool because you could see the tall sheer cliffs and lots of rocks and domes. Inside the canyon Then we started heading up the 450 stairs to get to the top of Kings Canyon which made me pretty tired, but we had to keep going. Eventually we caught up to grandma and grandpa so we had a rest at a spot where we could see the huge cliffs and the beehives which is just a nickname for the domes because they look like beehives. Climbing in between the behives  Then we con...