We spent the next several days with Allan and his trusty sidekick, Tiger the dog, at Allan’s place just south of Darwin. It was a time of repair and resupply and our first Servas visit (see the previous episode for a discussion of Servas). Allan was in the process of remodeling his place, so we helped out where we could. We shared several wonderful meals and visits with Allan, his lady, Elizabeth and the across-the-street neighbors, Tom and Pam, including introducing them all to homemade Fajitas and Taco salad. While there, we experienced our first taste of "The Wet"when a couple of thunder storms rolled through. On Saturday, Alan and Elizabeth took us to tour the Parliament building, downtown shops, and the Saturday Market in the suburb of Parap. The market was kinda like those that we’d seen in Eumundi and Mindel Beach, but on a smaller scale. Still, the market food was great! Sunday morning we went into town to see the solar powered cars start off on their annual race from Darwin to Alice Springs, a distance of nearly 1500 km! There were about 40 entries from all over the world, including the US.
I think that the eventual winner was an Australian team from Western Australia. That morning, it was time to say goodbye to Allan and the camera shy Tiger and hit the road for Kakadu. Tiger’s head is just at the bottom of this photo taken in front of the US flag that Alan had set out for our welcome.
Allan had suggested that we stop at the "Windows on the Wetlands" display on the way into Kakadu. The architecture of the building was quite impressive and the displays in the building were very informative. This area, which is just west of the park, is a flood plain that becomes inundated during the wet and serves as habitat for lots of critters unique to the wetlands habitat. Well worth the stop.
We pushed on into the park and made camp at the caravan park in Jabiru, which is quite nice, if a bit expensive. Karen called to arrange for boat cruises on Yellow Waters and the East Alligator River. Now, as an aside, we’ve noticed a great many Alligator Creeks, Alligator Rivers, etc. when in fact there are no alligators in Australia, except in a few zoos - they’re all crocs!! Crocs and alligators are quite different species and our questions about this misidentification have been met with coy smiles and shrugs - close enough, mate! Those early explorers weren’t all that well educated ya know. Anyway, we got up early the next morning and headed off for the Yellow Waters cruise.
The tour boat was very comfy and the early start insured that we’d see lots of critters out collecting breakfast. As you can see, the water isn’t really yellow and it’s a portion of the South Alligator River which is chock jam full of crocs and waterfowl that are quite accustomed to the
tour boat’s presence. It was a quiet, relaxing, 2 hour tour where we got to see and photograph lots of crocs, Sea Eagles, Herons, ducks, geese, and all sorts of waterfowl. It was a very worthwhile excursion!
These water lilies were used extensively by the aboriginals who ate the seeds and roots and turned the leaves into waterproof hats!
After the cruise, we visited the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Center which is shaped like a turtle! The cultural center describes how the original inhabitants of this end of the park used the bountiful resources in the area to survive and provided insight into their religious beliefs. From there we went on nature walks through the nearby Mardugal billabong (waterhole) and Nourlangie art site. The aboriginal art in the park is considered to be some of the best in the country. It certainly was prolific and easy to spot!
The Nourlangie walk was also our first significant encounter with that scourge of the outback - scientific name, flyus annoyus. This aggravating pest, which we first described in our Cape York adventure, was present in staggering numbers in the park. The spring weather with it’s occasional rain and sticky, hot afternoons, brings them out in droves. They delight in landing on ears, nose, mouth and eyes, while pretty much ignoring the rest of you. They seem to be attracted more by sweat than water, as they’re just as bad even when you’re in the water. "The wave" will usually, but not always, induce them to flight, but only until your hand has passed by, and then they’re right back! Most of us were waving with both hands and were still unable to keep up. The only solution is a headnet that drapes over your hat and tucks into your shirt. Don’t go into the outback without one, as the flyus annoyus will diminish your enjoyment of the countryside considerably. Additionally, schedule walks for early in the day while it’s relatively cool, as the combination of heat and humidity can make walking a struggle.
We finished the day with a walk to the Ubirr rock art sites and this wonderful sunset view over the wetlands north of the escarpment.
On the next day, we met the East Alligator cruise boat near the Border Store where the road crosses over into Arnhem Land. This cruise was quite different from the Yellow Waters tour, but just as enjoyable. The boat was smaller with a handful of guests, and the description of the river by the aboriginal guides included a great deal of cultural information regarding sacred sites, uses for many of the trees and plants, and demonstrations on the use of tools and weapons. We got to get off of the boat on the Arnhem Land shore where entry is restricted and again saw lots of critters along the banks of the river, including a Goshawk - pure white and quite rare!
While it was cool, we walked the trails around the Manngarre and Bardedjilidji portions of the river and then retreated to the main visitor’s center near Jabiru during the heat of the day. The Bowali visitor’s center has numerous displays relating to management/features of the park, video and slide show presentations, and cultural information relating to the early inhabitants of the northern portion of the park. It’s definitely a "must see".
We reserved our last full day in the park to see Jim Jim and Twin Falls in the southern portion of the park because it requires a two hour drive each way down a 4 WD track to get to them. Except for a few sandy spots and the crossing of Jim Jim Creek the drive didn’t test our 4WD skills, but the corrugations along the 50 km "easy" portion of the road were as bad as anything that we encountered along the brutal by-pass road to the tip of Cape York! The walk into Jim Jim Falls was more a clamber over a boulder field which was well marked until the last 200 meters and then dissolved into a "pick your own trail" over the worst of the rocks. Droves of tourists from at least two different groups were coming out as we were walking in, so we had the place to ourselves! We opted to jump into the creek and swim our way up into the plunge pool, but that meant leaving the cameras behind, so we didn’t get any photos of the pool itself. This was taken where we entered the water - note there is no water coming over the falls at this dry time of year.
Not that a photo could have adequately captured the grandeur of the place! The plunge pool was deep, clear, still and black with no direct opening to the stream below, so we had to scramble the last 50 meters over the rocks at the edge. Only the faint tinkle of a spring fed seep broke the silence of the three sided stone chimney that towered above us. Even though it was mid-day, the sun didn’t penetrate into the shaft so that a shadowy coolness lay everywhere. It was echo-ey in the extreme, and even the sound of our breathing was thrown back at us, greatly amplified. The walls of the fall were jet black and it was apparent where the torrents of water flooded over the rim and pounded down into the plunge pool in wetter times, but now all was silence. Very eerie. We swam around the edge of the plunge pool for a while, but neither of us seemed inclined to go out into the middle, and we caught ourselves whispering for no good reason. When we finally scrambled back over the rocks into the stream below and the bright sunlight, it was almost a relief. Someday, when I’ve become more proficient in playing the didjeridu, I’d like to come back to this, or a similar place to play - it’d be awesome to hear the bass of that traditional instrument reverberating in that vault!!
From Jim Jim Falls, we backtracked a bit up the track and crossed the creek to Twin Falls. Now this one cannot be approached on foot - only by swimming about 900 meters. So we inflated our double size sleeping mattress and, after a bit of experimentation, figured out how to paddle it up to the falls while we both laid on top of it. It was a very easy and comfortable paddle along the presumably saltie free creek to the falls. By the time we arrived, as at Jim Jim, the other tourists had left and we had the plunge pool to ourselves. Twin Falls still had just a little water coming quietly down the walls, and, in stark contrast with Jim Jim, it was bright and airy - filled with bird sounds, a white sandy beach and curious fish. We rolled over on our backs and floated around in the pool staring up at the cliff walls and sky as the raft spun slowly in the pool like a leaf on a pond. This was without a doubt the highlight of our trip into Kakadu! After what seemed like both an eternity and not long enough, we reluctantly began our paddle back to the Troopy as the sun started to set. Because we didn’t have a waterproof camera with us, we weren’t able to collect any images of this magical place to share with you - you’ll just have to come and see it for yourself!!
During our trip around Australia we had been advised by several people to not bother visiting Kakadu - that it was over rated and not worth the effort. They referred to it as "Kakadon’t". Well, of course, after coming nearly 9,000 miles there was no way that we weren’t going to see an internationally recognized World Heritage site. Additionally, these comments came exclusively from Australian residents - the mostly European tourists that we talked to gave glowing reports of the place. I think that what has happened is that many Australians are turned off by the admission charge of $15 just to get in (one of the few parks in Oz to charge such a fee) and are subsequently reluctant to spend any more money within the park to do things like take the cruises. Most Australians can get to the park comparatively cheaply as an incidental part of another trip or a two week tour of the NT, so the additional expenses are a more significant portion of the overall trip cost. Additionally, the parks best features are not easily accessed. Long walks through hot, sticky bushland infested with bush flies or long 4 WD trips along corrugated roads are required to see the best sites like Jim Jim/Twin Falls and Nourlangie Rock. Without going for this additional expense and effort I can see where a visitor might be disappointed with what can be easily seen from the road or along the easier walking tracks, especially given the build up that the park’s advertizing provides.
Overseas visitors, on the other hand, already have a considerable investment in just getting there, so the additional expense and effort associated with getting as much out of the park as possible are incidental. As a result, they more often get to appreciate the most spectacular parts of the park and come away with a better feeling about the experience. By our reckoning, Kakadu was well worth the visit and even another!!