Today we slept longer. After all we didn’t have to start “until” 8:00 a.m. Four of us took another trip to Ormiston Gorge to look for black wallabies (rock-wallabies). The other 10 took a helicopter sightseeing tour. Two people at a time flew with the pilot and the seven-minute sightseeing tour was incredible. This way we got a good overview of the region and discovered destinations we hadn’t reached by foot.
Matthias noticed on his flight at 700 m height that he had smartphone reception. This was immediately used for Facebook posts and WhatsApp messages. How wonderful that we don’t need these media at all (irony). Since the 5 flights were over so quickly Ludwig and Michael seized the opportunity to make a deal with the pilot. They wanted to fly again for the last hour. The pilot flew his plane like a fighter jet very low above the ground. Thus they were able to observe wild cattle herds and to discover a path crazy hikers wander along for several days at 40-50 °C to find inner peace. This was nature at its best.
At 11:00 a.m. we met up in the camp and drove to Ellery Creek. The water was clearer than in Ormiston Gorge. A magnificent backdrop. Unfortunately we didn’t find many lizards in the surroundings of Ellery Creek.
At this point the trip in the outback came to an end and we drove the last 100 km to Alice Springs. From there we took a short 2 ½ hour trip via plane further to Darwin. This was the 8th flight within 12 days. Arriving in Darwin we noticed that here it was even warmer than in the outback and really humid at the same time. Despite jet lags, climate change and not enough sleep, the group’s good mood remained unabashed and we continued to look forward to upcoming events.
Arriving at the hotel, we were glad of the chance to have a real shower again. Although the camps always had good sanitary facilities, they were all quite sandy. But it was worth it for us. Now the last days in the wilderness of the Kakadu and Litchfield National Park are about to begin.
