The cruise was OK, although I think there might be better ones around. The bloke that ran the show had a serious case of ‘high hair’ and wore his pants up around his belly button so he didn’t touch any of my better buttons…. but we did see a number of crocs and got some great pics. Interestingly 80% of salt water crocs live in freshwater, and ‘salties’ as they are commonly referred to is not their real name, rather an inherited name, they are in fact estuarine crocs hence the fresh water habitat. In the Adelaide River they think there is one every 75m so definitely a couple in there - yet that is not the most populated, the Mary River region is which is the most dense anywhere in the world and about 60klm’s down the road….
From there we travelled into Kakadu proper and stopped at the Bowali Visitor centre which was great and quite interactive for the boys. We also stopped at Mamukala Wetlands lookout which was what we expected in terms of the real Kakadu habitat that we have seen on TV and in pictures. The boys had a fight over the binoculars and don’t really understand that this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity, but they did see it and I am sure they will remember at some stage.
We found a camping spot beside a billabong just outside Jabiru called Malabanjbanjdju (pronounced fuk-tif-eye-no) because we wanted to have a free camp…it was certainly free but also home to a gizzilion mozzies which tore everybody apart. Not sure of the reason, but they don’t seem to like me and I came out unscathed…I tell Nat it’s because of my sweet blood and she reckons it’s because of my cold reptilian blood….either way I don’t care, they look like red hundreds and thousands on white bread and I am still beautiful…….
The ranger showed up at 7am to check passes (you can’t enter the park without paying $25 per person) which we had, and we then took off to a place called Ubirr (pronounced oo-bur) which was rich in indigenous artwork on rocks. This was cool and the boys dug it, until it was too hot to walk and they needed to be carried…….I am sure they milk it and Mum is a sucker for a sooky kid….The rangers do numerous talks about the land, culture and history so they are quite good, and the boys got to play with croc skeletons and fossils, again which is great for them. A nice lookout at the top awaited us with some more special shots for the library. We then took off to the southern end of Kakadu to a couple of locations we had in mind. We passed through Jabiru which is a nice little town and had lunch. There is a holiday Inn there shaped like a croc which is different and there is the basic essentials there in terms of supermarket, bakery etc. I think most people base themselves there and travel around. Just north of there we went for a drive to have a look at the Ranger Uranium Mine which disappointingly is placed in the middle of what seems beautiful country. Uranium is very expensive and I guess we get top dollar for it but obviously at the expense of some great land.
Jim Jim and Twin falls were closed, (lucky we flew and spewed over them in Katherine [(Nat and Mav!!)] - as was Yellow Water Billabong so we pressed on to a place called Gunlom (pronounced Goon-lom) which was about 40klms of unsealed road off the highway, but well worth the drive. I make it the pick of the spots for me so far, just brilliant. The first time we have really relaxed. I think it is much easier to relax when you are somewhere where there is nothing to do and is quiet without a thousand people, that’s why we are in a camper trailer and the real reason we wanted to get away.
I much prefer seclusion than caravan parks and the people that inhabit them (selfish I know) and I blame my parents for this given the numerous trips we had growing up on Fraser Island, Teewah & Rainbow Beaches when everyone waved to you as they went by - and out bush where we were all alone and had to fend for ourselves – that is real camping……The unfortunate part of this exercise is that at some stage you need power and washing machines to re-balance the ship. I look forward to the remote areas in the Kimberley….
Here in Gunlom was a beautiful waterfall and at the base was a massive plunge pool which the boys and I tested out. Mum is a bit of a princess when it comes to croc infested water but this one was OK, bloody nice in fact. I said to Mum, “let’s stay another night, it’s nice here,” I didn’t have to twist her arm, she loved it too.
In the morning I convinced Nat to do the lookout walk, it was 1klm straight up the side of a rock face wall just about, so not for the boys. We each took turns and watched the boys while we scaled the track. At the top was a great lookout - but 200m further on were these magnificent rock pools where the water gathered before it went over the cliff making the falls. The water was crystal clear and cold, free from crocs and very swimmable…so we did (singularly). We both ended up having them all to ourselves while we were there which was just brilliant. After that I thought Z Mann was old enough to tackle the climb so I went up again with him in the afternoon - swimming together also, he had a blast after finally getting the courage to get in. As you can see from the pics, the water is amazingly clear - another must do thing in Kakadu and highly recommended in our opinion.
Jase
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