Kakadu

Saturday was a day to explore Kakadu, with our start being at Yellow Water. This is part of the South Alligator River floodplain.   It is full of wildlife, not just crocodiles. Some beautiful birds, water buffalo too.  Prior to our River cruise, we had planned to do a walk from the Resort to the Home Billabong boardwalk,  it it was closed, due to crocodile activity.  We did another walk, just for some exercise   Irene, we haven’t been able to purchase those “Kakadu vouchers” for you. Try Kathmandu instead. (Sorry, family joke). 

Most of the crocs were inactive, just soaking up the sun.  If they get too hot, 34oC is when their brain cooks, they slide back in to cool down.   The birds are mostly safe.  Crocs don’t digest feathers very well, so prefer not to eat them. Only when desperate. 

The water buffalo can kill crocs, and vice versa.  Most crocs tolerate the boats, but water buffalo can be quite aggressive, so the driver was always wary of its movement. 

The croc below was quite interested in the boat. It made a beeline for us and got quite close. 

Big Maxie. He is one of the dominant males here. About 60yo. Our guide informed us this is about when they have a midlife crisis and start to spread out.  Also start riding Harley’s. Ha ha.

A beautiful Jabiru.

The guide/driver was a young woman, perhaps 27,  very knowledgeable, very capable, drives snow buses in Tasmania in the off season, has worked on an outback cattle station, grew up in Sydney!  She had the usual banter, “lifejackets - have to tell you how to use them. Waste of time. Crocs love them!  Another was about NT. We thought it meant Northern Territory. But with their lay back way up here, she thought it could mean - Not today, Not tomorrow  Not Tuesday. Not Thursday, Next time, Next truck).

A well known media person and his crew got on the boat next to us. Ray Martin, doing a story. We saw him later on too at Ubirr. He was looking a little worn out by then. The heat!

After the cruise, we treated ourselves to lunch at Cooinda Resort. This is the where the cruises leave from. A very nice garden, camping, cabins, bistro etc. Friendly birds too.  One s#@t on Russell whilst we had our morning cuppa. A sign of good luck? 

The AAT tour group, who were cruising at the same time as us, on another boat (not Ray’s), rocked up for lunch. A couple who had been sitting behind us, not with AAT, grabbed plates and followed the crowd in. Me thinks they got a free feed!

A drive later to see Nourlangie Rock Art.  Here and Ubirr, both had great examples of Rock art. 

These plants with their yellow flowers are quite common. But this is the first one we have seen bearing fruit. Will have to investigate. I’m sure the fruit would be edible. 

After Rock art, it was off to Cahill’s Crossing.  Now if you YouTube “Cahill’s Crossing”, there are all sorts of videos of some crazy people. Entertainment  in the outback. There were several cars that crossed whilst we were there, with crocs clearly visible, laying in wait. Or perhaps gorging on the abundance of fish available in this part of the river (East Alligator River which divides Kakadu from Arnhem Land).

Notice the croc just right of the fishing rod. Just on the edge of the road. Also, the fishing boat on the other side.

As the car crosses, the croc has drifted back a little.

Several further downstream.

Notice the fisherman on the other side.  Mad.  For every croc you can see, there are 10 others lurking underwater. 

It was amazing,  that’s for sure.  There have been many fatalities here, with carelessness, bravado or stupidity. 

Off to Ubirr, to watch over the escarpment of Kakadu as the sun gets lower for the day. More great rock art, more great rock formations, a variety of landscapes that make up Kakadu.

The smoke in the background. Quite common at this time of year. Undergrowth is allowed to burn freely, unless it is endangering infrastructure. We have passed many smouldering stumps along our journey. 

We left before the crowds and sunset. 40km drive on dusk was a cautious one. A small roo jumped in front of us. Fortunately, he was quick!

Home to watch the mighty Cats steal a win from nowhere. Bad luck Dees fans. Tom Hawkins, great game.  Zac Tuohey, great goal after the siren. 

This morning, it was pack up and head 40km down the road. We are booked into Darwin from tomorrow for 5 nights, and we were only able to get 2 nights at Jabiru. ( Jabiru, out of interest, is where the Ranger Uranium mine is. It has provided quite a bit of infrastructure and employment, so the region doesn’t just rely on tourism. The mine site is located on what the Indigenous call ”the sickness lands”. Interesting!

This place, Aurora Kakadu Resort, may have once been the “jewel in the crown” before Jabiru was developed, but it is a bit tired. Still, plenty of room for vans, camping, or cabins (about 170). It is accommodation overflow for AAT (as Heather and Dan found out recently). We will try the bistro tonight. About to try the pool too. We have done the 3.6km walk to the billabong, then the loop back to camp.  Warnings of crocs in the billabong, hence a high fenced floating walkway on the billabong. 

Farewell from Kakadu. Chat from Darwin. xx