For this term break, I planned a 6 day trip to Australia’s “Top End”, the region full of diverse flora, fauna and geologic features in the northern portion of the Northern Territory. I booked a 5 day/4 night tour that covered 1500+ km throughout the Kakadu, Nitmiluk, and Litchfield National Parks, and Arnhem Land. My plane ticket included 7 kg across two items for baggage, which I was determined to make work for this trip. How did I manage that? Carefully!
Here’s what I packed/wore on my flight:
Clothes
- Rain coat (only wore this on the plane *facepalm*)
- Beach towel
- Outdoor running shoes
- Sunhat
In a packing cube:
- 4 athletic shirts – two tanks, a short sleeve, and a long sleeve rash guard
- 3 bottoms – leggings (poor judgement call!), capris, and shorts
- 2 sports bras
- 1 swim suit
In a small garment bag:
- Undergarments – 1 set per day + 1 spare set
Toiletries
- Glasses + case
- Sunglasses + case
- Toothbrush
- Sunscreen (shipped to my hostel because I was worried about bringing a 200 mL on the plane)
- Scrunchies (one in my hair, the other holding my rain coat bundled)
In a ziplock bag:
- Daily contacts
- Toothpaste/cover
- Insect repellent (Bushman’s 80% DEET ointment – it didn’t even smell!)
- Face lotion
- Face wash
- Travel sized deodorant (although I’m sure I sweated it off by 10 am each day)
- Single serving soap sheets (from Nic Nac’s in Arborg, of all places! One of my better impulse buys)
- Shampoo/Conditioner (didn’t end up using because it was provided at the accommodation I washed my hair at)
- Hand sanitizer
- Travel laundry detergent pack
- Glasses cleaning wipe
- Hair elastics
Electronics (chargers + power bank in a ziplock)
- iPhone + charger
- Apple Watch (for the stats!) + charger
- AirPods
- Small power bank + charger
- Flashlight + charger
- Multi-USB port wall adapter (a lifesaver!)
My “Mini medical kit” (in a ziplock)
- Lip balm with SPF
- Bandages
- Hydralyte electrolyte tablets (apple-currant flavour > orange, in my opinion! I brought two tubes of 10 tabs, and ended up purchasing and using a third one on our third day of the tour)
- Tylenol
Et Cetera:
- Backpack
- Reusable zippered shopping bag (ultra light luggage to the next level)
- Sleeping bag (I was told I needed it, and have since determined that was a lie, I never even opened it! I used the velcro strap that my mattress came rolled in to hold it compact rather than having to fight with to get it in the bag every morning)
- 2x 1L disposable water bottles that I reused through the week
- Drawstring bag for dirty laundry
- Journal + pen
- Ear plugs (didn’t end up using, but light enough)
- Some granola bars and instant coffee (for the hostel the morning I departed on the tour)
- Having my belongings compartmentalized with ziplocks/packing cubes/pockets/garment bags really helped me stay organized, as I didn’t have to unpack my entire bag if I needed to fish something out.
In a ziplock:
- Credit card
- Debit card
- Cash
- Passport
- Myki card
Lessons Learned
Now that I’ve finished my trip, there are some things I would do differently if I were to go back, but I have no regrets about what I brought knowing what I did at the time. A few additions/swaps I would make:
- Pack something to use as a clothesline! The person I shared accommodation with had packed one and was generous enough to share with me, and boy was it handy!
- Buy dry laundry detergent strips instead of the liquid – less weight and no chance of spills!
- Maybe a pair of sandals? I made do just fine with only the one pair of shoes but they would have been a ‘nice to have’ item.
When I was all packed, I came in at 6 kg of belongings in my bags. Not too shabby! Off I went to fly the 3700 km from Melbourne to Darwin. I arrived at 1:30 am, with my tour pick up being at 6:30 am, so I high tailed it to my hostel accommodation for the few hours I had for some rest, then we were off and running!
Myself and two other guys were picked up on Mitchell Street by our bus. I thought it was overkill at first, but I was proven wrong by 3 pm when we crossed the East Alligator River at Cahill’s Crossing to enter Arnhem Land. The bus in question:
But, before that, we had a tour of Corrobbee Billabong, and got to see the largest wetland in Australia up close and personally. I’ll cover that, and the rest of day one in my next post, because we saw a LOT in the first twelve hours of our tour.
See you soon!
Kate
The laundry detergent strips sound interesting, I’ll have to look for those. I am wondering how the Bushman’s 80% Deet ointment worked. Did it prevent the bugs from biting?? Sounds like you had a busy week!
It worked! I hardly even had to use much. But, honestly, Manitoba mosquitoes put Australia’s to shame!
Kate: I just heard about these laundry strips this week and then I read that you are using them. I will have to look for them in the stores or get your Mum to buy some in Arborg of all places.