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Mischief - Mischief take to the road. 1st September 2018



Kakadu National Park

Firstly, we need to welcome Unc to the group, known more formally as Nigel, who has thrown himself into the deep end, literally, to complete his first ocean crossing as a beginner to sailing. We wish him a pleasant crossing and hope he doesn't spend too much time over the rails feeding the wildlife. The lad from Wolverhampton couldn't live further from the sea. Mark and Unc have replaced Charlie but we're not sure it's enough.

Unc arrived in from the UK and we immediately despatched him on a road trip to the Kakadu National Park promising him a cocktail of mischievous adventure. It was decided by group agreement that the trip should start with a challenge for each person in the party. A serious discussion conducted last night, fueled with several of Australia's questionable fine ales decided the challenges were as follows:

Dave, Skipper - 69 with a porcupine
Mark - was to siphon the python
Maddi - had to meddle with marsupials
Wendy - wallop a wallaby
Neen - cuddle a cockatoo

The six of us left the marina {Tipperary, its a long way} with a car full of bacon sandwiches and coffee and of course the welcome beers for celebrations upon our arrival at Kakadu National Park. A cultural landscape shaped by the spiritual ancestors of Bunin/Mungguy people during the creation period.

Unc soon settled into the relentless banter and became surprisingly good at it and Maddi, Mark's daughter was the perfect tour guide. Not happy with seeing "salties" from the protection of a metal framed boat, we dared to seek them at Carhills Crossing, watching them in the wild catching barramundi and Spanish mackerel and of course humans if they dared go to close. Temperatures were reaching the high 30's when the caves of Aboriginal art lured us in. Dave provided a comprehensive history of the work and Wendy decided it probably wouldn't work in her lounge. Termite mounds provided salubrious, detached dwellings for the many species of termite, some reaching heights of over 2 meters. The little critters didn't take kindly to trespass and as a protest bit my toe to endorse their wrath. Sun setting on Ubir Rock lit the wetlands of the park as we sat upon the highest rock watching it disappear. Our huts in the park were comfortable and well shaded by the eucalyptus, after a lovely roast dinner in the local hotel we sat under the trees while the boys discussed the rights and wrongs of feeding wild animals. A bit too highbrow at that time for Wendy and I so we treated ourselves with a lovely bottle of red wine.

Kakadu is famous for its many Billabongs, delightful wetland areas where Australia's wildlife are able to roam undisturbed except for the odd aircraft that flies over them. From the sky we were overawed by the sheer size of this national park and by the thermals that caused the aircraft to pitch and dive, threatening the stability of our eggs on toast that morning. We wouldn't have missed this experience though because it was the perfect opportunity for Maddi to be co-pilot sitting with the handsome pilot despite Dave's was jealousy because he wanted to play with the pilots joy stick and Unc we hadn't realised was in fact the incredible "hulk" when noticed he'd turned the brightest shade of green. Also the scenery was quite pretty.

The drive home brought its own delights, we were warned by the car hire company we would not be covered by insurance if we hit a wallaby after dark. Not sure how we stood with the dingo that was caught in the headlights as the skipper swerved passed.

We arrived back in Tipperary marina(its a long way) and enjoyed a large plate of fish and chips with Emily Morgan, Odeline, Mike and Brita off Blue Pearl.



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