Wow, what a great night sleep. No mozzies, no noises, no sweating, no rocks under my thermarest, no wrestling with the sleeping bag, a flushing toilet…heaven! Kev called the front desk, negotiated another night, and a better deal, so now we are ahead! Score! Today we rode out to Ubirr, right on the edge of Arnhem Land. It is a luxury to dress down for riding, meaning less clothing, specially in the heat. You do sacrifice protection and safety for carefree comfort, but, in 38 degrees Celsius heat, it is worth it! We dress down… me in my only pair of pants converted to capris, sun top and my havis, Kev in shorts, teeshirt and havis also. Our tank bags and most of our gear are off the bikes…and the bikes feel nimble, smooth and quick! Ahh, it is such a pleasure to ride like this. The air is warm, smokey, thick and sticky. The faster we move, the cooler we feel. We do not have far to travel and enjoy every sweeping bend in carefree gear free comfort. As I pulled into the parking area of Ubirr a Ranger popped out of a bush…ha ha ha, and allowed us to park in an unauthorized shady area. Thanks mate, we'll take that! Kev and I hiked into the rock art area and were completely blown away. This amazing Aboriginal artwork dates back 25,000 years! It is really quite hard to fathom! The rock art depicts traditional foods and tells stories about Aboriginal law and creation. We climbed up the rocks as far as we could go an gazed out over the lush flood plains towards Arnhem Land. The sweaty, lip chapping, headache forming trek was worth every step. What an absolutely beautiful view! The land was a buzz, even in this stifling heat. I saw flying foxes, hanging from surrounding trees, flapping their black leathery webbed wings to cool themselves. Crocs were stealthy zig zagging their way along the muddy waterways and flocks of cheeky playful chattery squawky Correllas flying a muck! Awesome!
Cat's pointing to Arnhem land.
See the rock wallaby in the photo?
Aboriginal artwork.
That's not a logodile that's a crocodile!
Flying foxes hanging in the trees.