Kakadu
Trip Start
Dec 23, 2007
1
26
47
Trip End
May 30, 2008
Where I stayed
Didn't stay at Kakadu - Day trip only
Kakadu National Park,
Australia
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
After the Adelaide River jumping crocodile cruise, I continued along the Arnhem Highway into the Kakadu National Park, which is listed as a World Heritage Area. As it was officially still the wet season, all of the 4WD tracks were closed which left me with just one option. A scenic flight over Kakadu! It was a typical hot day at Kakadu when I drove into the airport to see if they had any seats on flights available early in the afternoon. Lucky for me, within 10 minutes and $195 later, I was in an 8 seater, single engine plane flying Kakadu Air. The hour long flight took us right into the action, flying low past Lightning Dreaming, escarpments and plateaus, Twin Falls, Jim Jim Falls, tropical rainforest pockets, wetlands and other unnamed waterfalls.
Jim Jim Falls is 200 meters high and is the highest waterfall in the Northern Territory. It was an amazing sight, with thundering water running into a pool at the base over 20 meters in depth
Flying over Kakadu
. In the dry season, the waterfall dries up, however, the pool remains. Twin Falls is half the height of Jim Jim but just as spectacular. Water runs here all year round, although not as strong in the dry season. Lightning Dreaming is a very important sacred site of the traditional Aboriginal owners. Namargon is a spirit credited with the creation of thunder and lightning. Ok, so the scenery was beautiful and the photos I've included taken from the plane, don't do the place credit, however, I would have enjoyed it so much more if my breakfast wasn't trying its best to force its way out of my mouth! Far out I was feeling motion sick. After just 10 minutes of being in the air, I knew it was going to be one of the worst hours of my life! The small tin can they called a plane was hot as hell, very little air was flowing and the turbulence was unbearable. I thought the scenic flight was a great idea at the time I handed over the credit card, but now I wasn't so sure. Fortunately they had commentary of where we were going and what we were seeing so I tried my best to concentrate on that. I couldn't wait to touch down and was thankful when we did.
From the road it was wonderful to see the shallow floodplains spreading over the plains. Waterbirds and water grasses, including the beautiful water lily, were visible while driving the Arnhem Highway. I took the Kakadu Highway down to Pine Creek, then on to Katherine for the night. It was a huge day and certainly one to remember.
