Kakadu National Park 17th June
We purchased our Kakadu pass from the tourist centre in Katherine. 80 bucks get access for two for a week.
Kakadu is 5 million acres , has 280 bird species , gets 1.5Metres of rain in a wet season and is home to 10,000 crocs. Indigenous tribes have lived here for over 50,000 years and it has some of the finest rock art in Austrlia .
Gunlam Falls
Following a steep climb you are rewarded with a set of amazing infinity pools dropping from escarpment .
We had walked up the kilometre ascent with out swimming gear so all others were privileged to see Gary in boxers and Kate in bra and knickers (with modesty T shirt).
Unfortunately Kate was enjoying herself so much she forgot that her phone was tucked in her bra . Despite following the tactics that saved a similar phone drop previously the phone was frazzled . The iPhone grief cycle was felt in full ! These two fighting centipedes brought all the swag memories back too !
Yellow Water Wetland This is a gorgeous wetland that was showing off bright sparkly water, emerald green lilies and an azure sky.
There is a metal walkway that runs for a few hundred metres out past where the tour boats are moored. We walked along in the strong sun (Temperatures have jumped 5 degrees in the last few days .) to the end of the platform. We stood resting our arms on the sides and a 3m croc slowly rose from the depths within a metre of where we were with a 60cm barramundi in its mouth. It sauntered about 50m away and had a little sticky snack snoo in the reeds.
Jim Jim Billabong. We camped near a couple of elderly men in a little blue car. They were soon quaffing VB and sleeping in the midday sun. I chatted with one of them down near the waters edge. He was sat on a tree bough at water hight with open water in front of him and knee deep murky water behind him (this is in the most croc infested area in Australia ) . I asked if he was ok due to crocs and he said yes no worries. When it got to dusk they ramped up their cowboy music and sat by their fire. They looked like twins but it was easy to tell them apart as one wore no more than budgie smugglers in all the time we saw them. When it got dark they turned their music up yet again but this time it was long eerie didjeridoo dirges which was actually very fitting of the setting. So 75 year old twins that love midnight dijeridoos , oh and as they drove out i noticed the P plates on the car !
Jim Jim Falls. A 7k walk 6.9 of it seemed a vertical scramble over rocks. However the view from the top of the fall and the swim in the pools above the 150m drop was worth it.
We met Amy from Adelaide who was travelling around Oz in her car named Bear. She came and shared our fire and unfortunately the worst Damper i have ever made (sorry). She was great fun ,a real free spirit and seemed to be on a personal and reflective journey .
Cahills Crossing- Jabiru
This is the border of Kakadu Park and Arnhem land . The East Alligator river (clue is in the name ) has a ford here. It is the most dangerous river crossing in Australia and has caused more “wash offs” of vehicles than any other due to the tidal impact where it goes from being 6 inches deep to over 6 foot.
People attempt the crossing and fail. To make matters worse (or better) the ford provides a natural break in the flow of fish up and down the river. So the clever crocs of the region sit on both sides of the crossing as the tide rises feeding on mainly barramundi that wait for the river level to reach a height that takes them over the ford. They have been known to take fisherman who weren’t paying attention too.
There are crocs everywhere and it is a popular sport to come and croc watch at high tide. I caught 2 little barra here on low tide but both were undersized and the “rats” as they are know due to their bright red eyes were released. The local lads fished with cast nets , landlines and lures and kept all the undersized fish they caught.
On the rising tide the next day however the river was transformed with a big tidal swing. I fished off the rocks into the rising rapids near a car that had been washed off the road some time before. I caught 12 barramundi in total between 40 and 53cm all great fun and good sized fish but just under the “keepers” length of 55cm. Please sir can I have more ?
Ubiir Home of amazingly intricate aboriginal art on rock shelters on the escarpment above the east alligator flood plains. Also where an ancient tribe first came up with the disruptive and innovative idea that would sound the death knell for the taxi cartels.
On the top of the Nardab lookout above the escarpment i met a bloke who was working 4 hours north of cahills crossing at a place called Maningrida as an AFL coach to indigenous teams . Previously he had coached in Donvale our home town. As the local communities are crazy about afl he had been accepted into the community as a sort of hero and as such got invitations to all the best fishing and hunting places and had experienced genuine village life. I asked him about the alcohol prohibition and how it worked. His village allowed alcohol on a permit . It arrived on a barge and would be placed in the wharf with your name on it and you would be called out to pick it up and there was a “name and shame “ element to it as locals did not get permits.
He reckoned that his contacts felt disenfranchised and singled out by the alcohol ban . He was teetotal and was trying to use AFL to show the virtues of not requiring alcohol but said it was a very uphill battle. He was heading to Jabiru to have for a meeting and also to have his photo taken as he had caught a huge tuna the week before. His journey times had been influenced by crossing times at Cahills.
The view was my favourite from the trip so far the usual star of the show the bright blue sky was knocked into second place by the electric green of the wetland and swamp . This was punctuated by the lagoons and rock structures in the middle and far distance. My AFL coach commented that this was a little better than waiting for a meeting in Ringwood !You can understand why local people revered this place and used it for rock art.
The rock art was very intricate and often relayed complex stories. We enjoyed greatly the walk round the several sites. These places were also used to relay what bush tucker was to be found locally. There were hundreds of pictures of barramundi and apparently hunters used the paintings to brag and tell all about their catch. Very much a Facebook/travel blog ahead of its time !
I waited here for three hours with my homemade banner pledging support but i guess they must have already have paid the ransom
At the tourist centre we found out that Olivia Newton John and ELO considered both Kakadu and Jabiru before she settle with Xanadu for her 1980 hit single .