Kakadu and lots more crocs

Getting closer to being up to date again...

Firstly I am pleased that we didn't listen to those who tried to tell us this place was Kakadon't.  It was only about 2 hours drive from Mary River but in that time we saw a large crocodile sunning himself on the bank of a river we crossed over, a dingo sauntering along the side of the road, a wild pig scurrying off the road, plenty of kites (the birds I had initially thought were eagles), and a large reptile slithering off the road.  Whether he was a snake or large lizard we were undecided.

We made our way to the Merl Campground (close to Ubirr) where there were fortunately lots of fabulous roomy sites for us to choose from and the tent was set up yet again.  Full walls this time as the mosquitoes were supposedly dreadful around here and we were very grateful around dusk.

Haven't had the walls up for a while

After lunch we headed up to the Ubirr art site and were really amazed by the ancient rock art. The picture of the tassie tiger really surprised us, none of us realised they were initially on the mainland as well as in tassie.  Emma's favourite was the picture warning others not to steal (right) while Ben and I loved the food wall in the main gallery (below left) where fish after fish was depicted along with turtles, wallabies, crocodiles etc etc.  Some of these paintings are believed to be up to 40 000 years old.  Mind blowing.  There was also a painting from about 150 years ago of a white man with big boots and his hands in his pocket.  Another surprise was the painting incredibly high on the roof of this gallery which is believed to have been created by the mimi spirits who brought down the rock, drew themselves and placed the rock back. 

The Main Gallery - used to be a large living area

We also took a walk to the top of all the rocks to find the most amazing panoramic view of both Arnhem Land and Kakadu.

East Alligator River near Cahill's Crossing

The next day we rode our bikes to the Border Store for an ice-cream and then to Cahill's Crossing.  This is the only road into Arnhem Land in the area and when we arrived there was about 30 cm of water over the road and we watched a few cars cross comfortably.  There were a few fishermen standing in the water (our Ranger had labelled these 'temporary Australians') but we couldn't spot any crocs.  We did however see lots of kites, a shark (that got the fisherman out of the water for a bit), lots of archer fish and the East Alligator river flowing towards the sea.  After getting some lunch at our campsite we came back to the crossing at around 3 pm and spent a very entertaining hour watching the crossing at high tide.  The water was up to around 80cm and now going in the other direction and we saw only one car cross but we did see 2 freshwater crocs on the opposite bank (the second one pushing the first off his position on the bank) a fisherman catch a very large barramundi and later a large estuarine croc darting across the river (that got a couple of fishermen out).  We didn't get a great view of him so hopped on the bikes and rode a little way north to the boat ramp where we saw lots of large fish leaping out of the water, it then didn't take long before we saw the big croc and it certainly didn't long for us to get back on our bikes when we was coming towards us...

A bit close for comfort

That night we went back up to Ubirr to watch the sun set from the fabulous vantage point and then back to Merl where a ranger came to give an interesting talk/slide show about all the rock art.  After admiring the magnificent array of stars it was off to bed for all.

Sunset from the top of Ubirr, looking over Kakadu

In need of some powering up (our fridge battery doesn’t last long in the heat), we drove onto Jabiru to stay at the Aurora Kakadu Lodge.  A large lush grassy site just opposite the pool and lots of other kids Ben and Emmas’ age meant everybody was happy, even the mosquito population was much smaller here.  A drive around the town of Jabiru was an eye-opener and a little underwhelming as was the fact that it was a public holiday today so the only supermarket was closed.  Fortunately the BP service station had lots of supermarket items as well as pizzas, so it was pizza for tea.

Namarrgon

Tuesday we headed off to the Bowali visitor centre to learn some more about the area then to the Nourlangie Rock Art Sites.  Emma was very keen to see Namarrgon, the lightning man and wasn’t disappointed.  Namarrgon was supposedly married to the Rainbow serpent and he was responsible for the thunder and lightning at the end of the dry season and their children were the Leichart grasshoppers (brilliant red coloured).

Mardugal boat ramp - don't think I would be game

Wednesday was spent near Yellow Water, we had planned to camp at Mardugal campground near there but decided we couldn’t be bothered with the extra set-up and stayed at Kakadu Lodge and did the day trip.  After seeing the campground we were pleased with our decision as it wasn’t as nice as Merl.  We first visited the Warradjan Culture Centre which we were really impressed with.  It was made in collaboration with the local aboriginal elders and very tastefully gave a great insight into their culture.  After a bit of lunch we made our way to Mardugal campground where we tentatively walked around to Mardugal billabong.  We got very close to the water a number of times and never did feel too comfortable, we have seen too many crocs to relax around the waters’ edge. 

Mardugal billabong

Home Billabong

 After that we went to the Cooinda where we had a drink by the bar while the kids pretended they were guests and swam in the pool with friends they had made at Kakadu Lodge before we went on a ranger-guided walk to Home Billabong.  We were a little disappointed in the beginning because we thought we were walking about 1.8 km to Yellow Water but instead walked about 5 mins to the back of Cooinda resort to the Home Billabong.  However, Emily our guide was lovely and we saw yet another croc, lots of birds and the sun going down over the water.  We were still hopeful that the Yellow water boardwalk which has been closed since the wet season will open before we leave.  That night while we were having dinner a mangy looking dingo thought he might like to share our dinner and came right into our verandah area – one visitor I haven’t appreciated.  Paul flexed his muscles, the dingo realised he didn’t stand a chance and we didn’t see him again!!

Thursday was a mixed bag – we made the call not to go anywhere, the kids felt like a day in the pool and managed to make some new friends and I had some work to do.  It was one day that I regretted bringing my work with me, a frustrating morning spent using up all my energy, data allowance and phone calls only to make my software work less effectively than before!!!  After lunch I gave up and decided to enjoy the sunshine with the others, played pool, had a drink by the bar and felt like I was on holidays again. 

Friday we were leaving Kakadu, had a last look to see if the Yellow Water Boardwalk was open yet (it was due to open anytime) but no luck and it was off to Katherine Gorge.