Camping in Kakadu
Trip Start
Mar 10, 2005
1
14
24
Trip End
Aug 02, 2005
Darwin,
Australia
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
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After our long night of travelling we crashed at our hostel in Darwin and slept for most of the day, finally getting up to do some laundry and make our way around town on a short walking tour. It seems that most of the historical points of interest in Darwin were blown away by the cyclone in the 70s and have been restored. Darwin was also a primary staging area for the Australian military in WWII. The Japanese bombed the harbor due to its strategic location in the region. There is a lovely Esplanade that we walked along at sunset following the shoreline. It was here that we had our first sighting of Aboriginal people. Unfortunately they seemed to be living rough/homeless in the city and not traditionally on their land. The co-habitation of Aborigines alongside with white Australians seems to be a problem that has been slow in finding a solution
A scenic reward to a long, hot, dusty climb!
. However, in Kakadu National Park we began to see ways that they are working together for mutual benefit.May 7
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We have become relatively early risers on this trip. Today was especially early with our 6am pick-up by our guide from Wilderness 4WD Adventures for our 3-day trip to Kakadu National Park. There were 9 of us total - 2 Dutch guys, 2 Danish women, a Canadian, an Israeli, and 3 of us Americans. As it turned out our group was rather relaxed and mellow, which was great. The other American was a student from Minnesota having finished his study abroad in Sydney. We really enjoyed talking with Barak, the guy from Israel. He had a great sense of humor. It was a good group. Our guide was great too. He had just gotten back from 6 months of vacation camping around Australia and Fiji and we were his second trip back.
We traveled out to Kakadu in a 4WD Toyota Land Cruiser with a trailer attached. We sat in side facing seats so it did get a little close with 8 of us in the back but we managed just fine. Our first stop was to see some native fish, barramundi, and feed them. They had just been fed by another group so weren't that ravenous but Alex did manage to almost get his fingers taken off by a big chomp from one of the fish taking the bait
Aboriginal Long-Necked Turtle Rock Art
. After a long drive to the park itself, we had some lunch beside a billabong (a freshwater, natural body of water similar to a lagoon) in the shadow of what the first white settlers called Nourlangie Rock (though our guide said they misunderstood the Aborigines and got it mixed up with the neighboring rock, Nawurlandja, so the names should really be switched). Regardless, we walked around the base to see some great rock art at the Anbangbang Gallery. You could see kangaroos, fish, people, all clearly even though the paintings were thousands or hundreds of years old depending. Each of the paintings were a story used by the Aborigines to teach and record their traditions and stories for future generations. Fascinating.
After this cultural lesson, we hiked up to the Nawurlandja Lookout which provided sweeping views of the escarpment, Nourlangie and Anbangbang billabong where we had lunch. The escarpment is a ridge of rock running through Kakadu. It was a steep climb but worth the effort.
Having some exercise we all agreed it was time for a late afternoon swim. Our guide took us to Moline swimming hole in the southern part of the park
Greetings from Kakadu National Park, Australia
. Unfortunately, on the way there we hit a juvenile hawk and though our guide wrapped it in a dish towel and we tried to nurse it, the little guy didn't make it and our guide buried him in the dish towel on our way to the swimming hole. It was a cool, refreshing freshwater pool with a small waterfall. Swimming was our means of bathing over the next 3 days so we took advantage of this opportunity to cool down and wash off. That evening we stopped at a campground not far away and were treated to a huge meal of buffalo burgers, sausages and steaks on the barbie (aka grill) with pumpkin, potatoes and mixed veggies cooked in the coals to the side. As we got ready to retire, Amy was minding her own business brushing her teeth and spitting into some tall grass by the campsite when she heard some rustling in the grass - thinking maybe other campers. Finishing up she thought it might be something else and pointed it out to the guide. To everyone's surprise - even the guide's - a huge black wild pig with large tusks walked into the light of flashlight. The guide chased it away and came back amazed at its size. Leave it to Amy to almost spit on a wild pig when it is just under her nose while brushing her teeth. With the wild pig taken care of we hit the hay in our swags (canvas sleeping bag with mattress on the bottom) to go to sleep under a sky full of zillions of stars. We could see the Southern Cross and the beautiful Milky Way.May 8
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The second day was full of walking and swimming
Kakadu Sunset
. We walked to Motorcar Falls and had a nice swim and then walked on further to Kurrundie Falls which had a two-story waterfall. Both Falls were welcome refreshment after hot walks. The walk back from these pools was unfortunately 1.5 hours so we were ready for a mid-afternoon lunch. For lunch and sunset we stopped at Gunlom. This pool was not as secluded as the others and not as interesting but great for lunch and a quick nap. To end our day we hiked up to the top pools of the waterfall and watched a beautiful sunset.That night on the way back to camp and a dinner of burritos, our guide spotted an olive python soaking up the heat in the road. Our guide was quite comfortable with reptiles so he gently picked up the snake (about 8-9 ft. long) to show us. The snake was relaxed and didn't mind being handled though our guide was careful in how he initially picked him up. Then everyone got a chance to touch and hold the snake if they wanted to. It is an understatement to say that Amy is not at all fond of snakes so she only touched it in the slightest and got the shivers. Alex, on the other hand, seemed to have a bit of courage stored up so he not only touched it but posed with it around his neck for a picture (taken by our friend Barak as Amy was standing much farther away and was not getting any closer)!
After this excitement we headed back to camp for another night of good food and star-gazing
Our home away from home in Kakadu
. Unfortunately, no wild pigs this evening, but during the night we were serenaded by one or more dingoes and the constant buzz of mosquitos, which was comforting.May 9
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Third day without a shower was leaving us a little antsy for our return to Darwin, but first wandered through the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Center. It was an informative museum on the life of Aborigines. We then had lunch at Cahill's Crossing that is just across the East Alligator River from Arnhem Land. Arnhem Land is the exclusive territory of Aboriginal tribes and you need a permit to enter. At Cahill's we were able (barely) to see our first crocodile. There are two kinds of crocs in Kakadu - freshwater and estuarine (can live in salt or fresh water). The estuarine are the aggressive ones that will attack and kill people though at the time of year we were in Kakadu (end of the wet season/start of the dry) they were still quite spread out over the park and had not been forced into smaller areas like the plunge pools and gorges. Each year at the start of the dry season the pools and gorges are surveyed for estuarine crocs prior to opening them to the public. If ones are found they are removed to other areas. Swimming was at our own risk due to park liability so there were signs warning of crocs at most pools but the pools we swam in were all very clear water and crocs were not likely to be there - we always made our guide go in first
Overcoming a fear of snakes with an olive python
!The last leg of our trip was a boat cruise on a billabong on the Mary River. We got an up close and personal view of an estuarine croc here. It was about 8-9 ft. long and didn't look aggressive but the skipper said it had been exhibiting strange behavior in the past couple of times he had seen it so he wasn't trusting of it - obviously! Unfortunately 3/4 of the way through our cruise something snapped on the boat and it wouldn't start so we had to be towed back to the landing by a group of men fishing. At the landing we saw a freshwater croc that was only about 3 ft. long as well as a large group of wallabies (looks like small kangaroo).
On our way back to Darwin, our guide screeched to a halt, jumped out and went chasing after a frill-neck lizard. He caught it on a tree trunk and pried it off for us to see it flare its frill collar. It was a colorful and interesting creature. While we were standing there the sun was setting (most colorful one yet) and Alex got a picture. Wow!
After all our wildlife sightings we were all ready for showers and food when we got back to Darwin. Most of us met up later at a pub for a complimentary dinner and spent the rest of the evening trying to win a AUS$100 bar tab in a pub quiz contest
Proof that we are in Australia
. Our guide even showed up later for a drink or two. It was a great way to end a fun trip with a good group of people.May 10
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Alex made the sensible suggestion to fly to Alice Springs instead of taking the more expensive 23-hour bus ride. Before our flight though Alex wanted to hit the Indo-Pacific Marine aquarium in Darwin. It was quite a walk from town, but an interesting little exhibition. Our short flight left in the early afternoon and we arrived in Alice Springs in time to walk around town a little bit before dinner.
Our next "roughing it" adventure will be a 3-day tour to Uluru (aka Ayers Rock).
