And this concludes the record of my wanderings in the Northern Territory of Australia for two months, Aug. and Sept 2010. What a ride this has been. I think its our biggest adventure and we didn't even have PeeWee with us. Tomorrow night I say goodbye to oppressive heat and humidity happily but very unhappy to leave Grandpa behind to continue his work at the hospital. I hope you have enjoyed a short show of my wanderings with Grandpa in this very large country across the pond and so its time to say gooday, mate. See you in a couple of days my lovelies.

...and isn't it worth the wait to see this at sundown. I climbed to the top of this big red rock, all 865 meters almost straight up and have the very sore legs to prove it. It took over 1 1/2 hours to make it to the plaque at the top and back down again. So if I ever mention that I climbed the rock you'll know which one I mean. There's still a 5 hr. bus ride back to Alice Springs that gets us back to the motel by midnight. What a great big day!

there's room for more than the two of us, so the more the merrier. Many tour buses stop here at sunset and set out wine and champagne for everyone to sip as they watch the sun go down reflected against the big red rock and we all enjoy the view.

This is the way it should be, just the two of us and the Rock, but...

This could be a lovely photo taken in our very own red rock country somewhere between Moab and St. George. But its actually the red rock country in the middle of Australia near Alice Springs.

This is the start of our very long journey to see Uluru (or Ayers Rock). We are on our way before sunrise so what you see here is the fading moon in the early morning sky.

I was a missionary for two days while transfers were taking place. I became Sister Tui's companion until her new companion could arrive from Adelaide. She stayed overnight with us on Monday and we went out proseliting all day on Tuesday. It was a very interesting day and I had such a wonderful time. I even went to their district meeting and bore my testimony and role played with them to help hone their skills and I got to meet her new companion. Sister Rau is from Calgary, Canada and I think that together they will be a fantastic duo. The sister missionaries have many more people to teach than the elders and they work so hard. Sister Tui planned our whole day on Tues. and it didn't include time out for lunch or dinner. I think Sister Rau will change that.

This is another of the babies Barbara is taking care of. Its a possum. I mentioned to her that if she were doing this in NZ she would be hanged by her thumbs because they are considered pests and there is a bounty for their fur. Possum merino is very expensive stuff. I don't think she liked hearing that. Here in Australia they are welcomed to the animal kingdom with open arms which makes me wonder at the thinking capabilities of Australians. They also thought rabbits would be a good thing to bring here.

We are making friends here and now are BFF. She is a boa constrictor that is a breed that grows only this big and I'm so grateful.

I don't know...I was thinking maybe I should join the next circus coming to town as the snake lady. What do you think? This is the "pet" of the same lady who was taking care of the baby bat. She came to dinner and brought some more of her charges with her because they were on a special feeding schedule. This snake is on a very special feeding schedule but luckily didn't need to eat while at my house. She gets fed a fat rat every 3 months. She wrapped around my neck with her body and with her head she crept up my face, all the while giving me kisses with her forked tongue. Thats my next photo and you will see how much I enjoyed being kissed by a snake.

Who doesn't love a photo of a baby monkey with its mother? I'm sure these gals are trading potty training tips and discussing naughty things their babies have done and hoping the little ones will take a nap soon so the moms can have a rest too.

This one's for all you nursing mothers, past and present. I think the photo says a thousand words.

Where there aren't people there are rice paddies and the engineering of them is exquisite. Some areas aren't wider than three feet before terracing down to the next level.....and they flood each little area so it has to be level so the water isn't lost. This was really beautiful to behold.

See those bottles that look like they have pee in them? Well, this is the neighborhood gas station. There are so many motorbikes here that they stop at these little roadside stands and buy a couple of liters of gas, use the funnel to put it in their bikes and away they go. The funny thing is that the bottles they use are empty whiskey bottles. Clever people! Waste not, want not.

Sorry this is sideways. I turned it several times but must have not gotten it right. Just gives you some idea about how serious these people are about bringing drugs into Bali. But I am told that you can buy all sorts of drugs at bars and other secret places and you could be buying from plain clothes cops that then arrest you and you pay big bucks for your freedom. Welcome to Bali.
Isn't this eery. There was a brush fire just as the sun was going down and it makes it look as if the world is ending and we all went up in the smoke, but we have these kind of sunsets all the time(usually minus the smoke).

I visited the Tiwi Islands last week. To get there you must take a ferry (no, not a fairy) and travel for 2 hours. The island is home to the Tiwi people, an Aboriginal clan that speak their own language and keep to their own ways. They are quite famous for their art. You can see in this photo how much they like to paint things. This is a huge boat shed next to where we landed and the whole outside is painted. Puts a whole new twist on "honey, I think the shed needs painting". They even paint the outside of garbage cans. Now thats dedication (although I still have a garbage can that Meg painted with puff paints).

Yeah, me and my pet crocodile. I call him squeezer. Notice though that there is tape around his mouth. I think its because he likes to dominate the conversation......yakity, yakity, yakity. You can't shut him up. If he behaves himself and doesn't tangle with other crocs who would mar his beautiful hide he will be sent to France to start a new life as someone's purse or belt or wallet. He has no idea how valuable a little creature he is. A medium sized purse made from him costs around 3-4000$ and doesn't look any different from a plastic version. I think I'll stick to the look alike. I plan on eating some crocodile before leaving here just so I can say I did.

I know what you're thinking...."mom's got the whole world on her shoulders". No, just a very big rock. They grow them here like that. We drove thru a large area with rocks like this one balanced one on top of the other. You can see how big these rock are. It looked like something you'd expect to see at Disneyland.

You might think this is a drawing by a naughty child putting it where it shouldn't be, but you would be wrong. The Aborigines like to draw pictures and they decorate huge rock walls with their art. You can guess what this is a picture of......yes, its a kangaroo. I bet you kids could draw just as good. The children actually liked chewing pigment (color) in their mouths and then spitting it against their hands that were held against the rock. That way you see the outline of their tiny hands on the rocks. Charming huh.

This goana was crossing the road in front of the bus we were on when we spent the day at Kakadu Park. He was about a yard long from nose to tail tip. He was such a big guy that the bus driver actually stopped the bus because he wanted a photo of the goana. But wait, there's more.....

This is a much better photo of Miss Bat of the month. She just came out of her bat cave which doubles as a child's stocking cap. Her ears are still crinkled. But wait, there's more......

The winner of this week's jackpot is Laura Lewis with the answer Kookaburra. Congratulations to Laura.......and what has Laura won?! A package from Darwin Australia full of local merchandise! Would you like to see whats behind door number 2? Guess what kind of creature this little guy (girl?) is. You want a hint you say? Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, eat gargantuous portions of mosquitos at night and fly blind without running into things. YES my friends it is the tiny only in size fruit bat. This one is a girl, three weeks old, will fly at six weeks and help rid Northern Territories of the hated mosquito hoards

Anybody know what kind of bird this is? Its a famous one here in Australia and there is a song about it. This one is a little different because of its blue wings. I will wait for any guesses posted before I tell you what it is called. But it was very naughty. A man had a plateful of food that he was taking to a table outside of the visitor center of Katherine Gorge where we went last Sat. and he was minding his own business when this bird had the very bad manners to swoop down and land on the man's plate and scatter the food and steal as much as he could carry off. Cheeky bird! I got a photo of him eating his stolen fries. I think it scared the bejeebees out of the man and now I wish I had taken a photo of his face. The look was priceless

There I was minding my own business having breakfast out on the deck when I look up and see this submarine coming into port. As it got closer to the wharf where the navy ships are docked, two patrol boats went screaming out to meet the sub. If you magnify this photo you can see the people standing on the patrol boat and the sub. It moored next to the navy ship and then was gone the next day. I don't know if it was Australian or American or Russian or something else. My eyes are upon them!

This is a water buffalo. Its hornspan must be more than 3 feet across. Buffaloes are unpredictable and have gored people to death that have gotten too close and spooked them. This one was happy to have his photo taken because a lady was feeding him bread and watermelon rinds. Notice what side of the fence I am on. Safety first.

See how tall these termite homes get. They must be the equivalent to our 100 story highrise apt. building.

This looks like a graveyard full of headstones doesn't it. Well, its not. Each headstonelike monument is really the home of a group of magnetic termites. You might be wondering why they are called magnetic and I'm going to tell you my children. These termites like climate control and achieve a nice balance between hot and cold by situating their hills in a north to south position so as to create a home that picks up the heat during the day and slowly releases it at night. They also have to deal with living on a floodplane so they get covered with water during the rainy season. If you get up close it looks like a mud sculpture, but you never see the little creatures that live inside it.

This little fellow is called the death adder and is one of the most poisonous snakes in Australia. He was sleeping all curled up in the rocks and dirt next to the pathway we had just walked to look at the waterfalls. This one's for Max and Wally......not a good pet, children.

These are the most beautiful sunsets because of the grass fires that are lit in the dry season. When the smoke enters the atmosphere this is what happens.

Here is one of the first crocodiles we saw on the Yellow River cruise. We encountered 8 more in a very short distance and one who was the whopper called Waters and he was huge. One croc swam under our boat and came up on the other side. Scary! Those ducks should be afraid but maybe they know he just ate.

This photo is for Max and Wally, the snake lovers, only this one isn't the kind to snuggle up to or let wrap around your neck or crawl up your arm. He's called the "Death Viper" which should give you a heads up about
This is the view from my 25th floor deck overlooking the harbor. Food tastes better when eaten on the deck with a slight breeze blowing by. How can I even think about complaining about spending a few months here.

Look who's in the swimming hole. He looked around first to make sure there were no crocs swimming with him. This is Litchfield Park, just outside of Darwin. It features waterfalls and swimming holes like this one. During the rainy season saltwater crocs make their way into this fresh water area and the croc patrol checks everyday to make sure people aren't swimming with crocs.

This is the view from my deck on the 25th floor of the hotel Mantra Pandanas. I see lovely sunsets and we eat out on the deck because the weather is so temperate and mild right now. I'm told it will get unbearably hot come Dec so am glad we won't be here then.

Where in the world is Grandma Honey today?

Saying goodbye is hard to do over and over again but I miss Grandpa and must find him. Its ok though because its only two months and I'll be back just like the terminator.