20th – 22nd June

We have made it!!  We are in Kakadu!!

From the time we started to plan this holiday the first real point of interest we were looking forward to was Kakadu.  But we have come to realise that the word “Plan” was never meant to be a part of this holiday.  So instead of reaching this point in week 2-3 of our holiday we have finally arrived in week 10.

Our first stop has been Mardugal Camp Ground near Cooinda Resort.  Cooinda is the base for Yellow Waters, a wonderful billabong on the South Alligator River.  We moved into camp on Monday and to our surprise there were many spare spaces to choose from. All the caravans we shared the Stuart Highway with appeared to have moved right past Kakadu. 

Well known wildlife photgrapher Paul Arnold at work

First day and we headed off to see the lagoon.  We were lucky to score seats on the sunset cruise of the billabong and how wonderful was that experience.  As the day was coming to an end the birds and animals were coming out from their rest and starting to feed.  The crocs also were waking up from the sun basking and starting to move.  We have seen many photos on documentaries and in magazines but it is still amazing to see it for real.  The cruise lasted two hours and hardly moved more than one or two knots as the guide just set about ensuring that we got to see everything that he could find for us.  We took so many photos and we would love to show them all here but that is not realistic.  It all seemed so surreal. And as we headed for the dock at end of the tour the dominant male croc for the billabong actually swam alongside the boat about 2 metres away for some 60 metres.  You will recognise him as the big Budda sleeping on the bank in the photos.

The dominant male in the pond - avery tired one!

And she looks tired too.

 

And when Dad & Mum get together the result is .......

It is not all about mates.  Here is the Lord of the Manor - The Jabiru

 

Hang on, -isn't that him with his mate in their new home?

Oh its OK.  There is a watchman.

And this guy can walk on water

And at the end of the day ....

It was so great that we actually booked to do a sunrise cruise on Wednesday as we had been told the birds were even better at that time of the day.  Well it was just as good the second time around and we did get to see new birds that we had not seen the first time.

And in the morning...

And new faces

Some are sneakier than others

Might be small but what an impact.

And there are some old faces too

On Tuesday we set off to see the Jim Jim Falls.  As you will see the falls were great.  At a guess they would have stood some 150 metres high and a fair run of water for this time of year. But the falls were not the only highlight of the day. 

 This trip was a real extreme adventure.  The road to Jim Jim is 50 klms of corrugated dirt road.  Then there is 10 klms of 4WD track which is very interesting.  This track really has never had any improvements or maintenance on it ever it appears.  It includes sand patchs, creek crossings, mud holes & speed bumps every 50 metres to ensure slow movement.  It was all first or second gear driving.  I can only think that they were trying to limit the number of people coming here or promote the Extreme Tours industry.

4WD track for 10 klm

Then we climbed up a rocky gorge

To see this.

And this

Then once at the end of the road there was a 1 klm climb over rocks along the side of the gorge to get to the falls.  This was a real test of physical fitness but we were surprised at how many made it to the top.  All in all the combination of the drive, the climb and viewing the falls made up for a big day. 

There is a lot to see here although it is fairly spaced out over a large area.  Most feature areas seem to be 40 – 60 klms apart and once off the main roads there is a lot of dirt road to traverse.  There is also a lot of opportunity to learn and understand the indigenous background and history.  Many of the businesses are owned or partly owned by the local Aborigine peoples. 

Back here in camp it is a very leisurely pace.  There is plenty of space for camping and while we have phone contact there is no TV reception so we really do get away from it all.  We have been able to have a short break here too.  This is a tough life and we have to be prepared for the unknown called tomorrow.