Boulder Creek Falls

This is the Boulder Creek Falls found on the Yurmikmik Walk in the Mary River region of Kakadu National Park. It was the first stop that Matt and I had during our several hour trek on the Yurmikmik Walk. 

Motor Car Falls

This is the pristine Motor Car Falls found at the end of the Yurmikmik Walk in the Mary River region of Kakadu National Park. It took Matt and I several hours to reach the falls. Along the way, we encountered the most challenging heat of our lives and would have given anything to swim in these pools. On this trek there was likely no one within at least 50 kilometers, which made it feel as if God cut out this piece of earth just for us as our Christmas present.

This trek had a different feel than any I had gone on previously in my life. I was on edge/nervous the majority of the hike because I had never been anywhere with the amount of lethal wildlife that exists in this park: poisonous spiders, poisonous snakes, poisonous reptiles, dingos, crocodiles, and an infinite amount of insects that torment you relentlessly during your hikes. I was throughout the hike mindful of my surroundings especially when we were anywhere near water... I had no desire to be croc food!

Kakadu National Park (December 23 - 25)

Giant termite mound. These are found throughout Kakadu National Park, the largest that we came across was likely 5 meters (16 feet) tall. Usually you find groups of them loosely bunched together in a field.

Boulder Creek Falls found off the Yurmikmik Walk in the Mary River region of the park. Beware giant spiders, poisonous lizards, crocodiles.... Just pay attention.

Yurmikmik Lookout. At this point, Matt and I were covered in sweat. The temperature was in the mid 90s Fahrenheit (35 Celsius), the humidity palpable, and no wind to speak of. Likely the most difficult heat I've ever experienced.

 Motor Car Falls found off of the Yurmikmik Walk in the Mary River region of the park. It took Matt and I several hours to reach this point, we were a little nervous getting too close to any open body of water given it was the wet season and crocodiles are at their most active during this time of year. Check out the video...

Aboriginal Rock Art at Nourlangie. The oldest rock art in Kakadu is 20,000 to 50,000 years old.

Aboriginal Rock Art at Nourlangie 

Nourlangie Rock. The contrasting colors are breathtaking. White, orange, red, black, and shades of each color in-between.

Ancient Aboriginal Rock Art at Ubirr in the East Alligator region. These handprints are estimated to be 20,000 years old. 

Aboriginal Rock Art at Ubirr in the East Alligator region.

Aboriginal Rock Art at Ubirr in the East Alligator region. 

Ubirr Lookout. Enter Simba and "The Circle of Life". 

Ubirr Lookout. The contrast in landscape from one side of Ubirr to the other is incredible. As shown above, you see an open floodplain that doesn't seem to end for miles. On the other side there is an endless array of mountainous rock and trees.

 Matt and I at Ubirr Lookout

My most successful attempt at a panoramic view of Ubirr Lookout.

Crocosaurus Cove (Darwin, Northern Territory)

Saltwater Crocodile at Crocosaurus Cove that came out of the water during feeding time. This is the second largest crocodile in the world in captivity. Male crocodiles will grow their entire lives, this gentleman is in his 80's and is 6 meters long (20 feet). He is missing a limb on his front left side from a fight when he was younger.

Saltwater Crocodile Underwater View

Baby saltwater crocodiles immediately after I fed them using a fishing pole. They are able to propel their entire bodies out of the water to catch their prey. In this instance, leftover beef scraps. These guys are only 1.5 meters and a few years old.

I'm holding a 13 month old saltwater crocodile that will someday be a killing machine. Saltwater crocodiles are capable of living to 150 given the proper living conditions. They are able to live for a long time because they are able to slow their heart rate to 3 bpm and only have the blood flow to essential areas such as the brain.

Padang

A padang restaurant serves traditional Indonesian food. The server will bring a portion of each of the padang's dishes to the table for you to choose what you would like to eat. Typical dishes include rendang (spicy beef), ayam curry (chicken curry), nasi (rice), homemade sambal (Indonesian chili sauce), ayam goreng (fried chicken), sapi (beef) tendon, seasoned green beans, seasoned kale, ikan (fish) in red curry usually with the brain, and many other dishes. You only pay for what you eat, which means that the leftovers are recycled. Those of you who don't like to share may wish to stay away. Everyone else, prepare for a fantastic meal of spicy exotic flavors!

Note: I incorrectly categorize this as a warung in the video. A warung is a street-side restaurant. There are many padang warungs in Jakarta, however this is not one of them.

My friends Matt (Left) & Aaron (Right) before we dug into the food.

A Jakartan Halloween

My roommate and I at our Halloween bash!

No Skirt Grabbing Allowed!

This is found on the TransJakarta, which is Jakarta's public busing transportation system. The front of the bus is women only and there is a strict no grabbing of women's skirts policy.