Kakadu 31 May - 5 June

Up the road to Kakadu. First stop Mary River Roadhouse and caravan park. Not bad digs for a roadhouse stop. We planned to have a fire but a van pulled up right next to the fireplace while we were out and Stephen thought they mightn’t like it if we set fire to their van. Some people can be so fussy!!

We arrived early in the day and after an early lunch drove to Gunlom Falls. The drive in was on 37 kms of dirt track but not too bad. There is a very nice picnic ground at the falls and we were surprised to find lots of people there. We found the track leading up to the plunge pools at the top of the falls. The usual trip – up, up, up, rocks, rocks, rocks but the sight at the top took our breath away. The pools were crystal clear and overlooking southern Kakadu. There were three separate pools, none very deep but the water was so clear the sand was visible. The third pool ran over the edge – the falls – with a magnificent vista behind them. It really was breathtaking. After a swim with the German tourists drinking VB (not only is half of Queensland here, so is half of Germany) we climbed back down and had a swim at the bottom of the falls. A lot cooler than the plunge pools at the top. Back at the picnic ground we were entertained by one of the Germans who had his tightrope strung up between trees and was walking up and down it. Not a bad afternoon’s entertainment if you have nothing to do!!

Monday we packed up early and drove to Gagudju Lodge in Cooinda – the home of the mossie. We had been forewarned by other campers that the mosquitoes were really bad so we made sure we had lots of Bushmans on board. As this year’s wet season was short, the waters have receded much quicker and the mossies are around a lot earlier – lucky us. On arrival we find that we cannot set up the van because they do not allow new bookings until midday so we booked into the 11.30am Yellow Waters Wetland Cruise. These wetlands are part of the South Alligator River floodplain. The many and varied birdlife on these wetlands was fantastic to see. I would normally not know one bird from another but Emma, our guide, showed us your cormorant, your little egret, your jabiru, your comb-crested jacana “and over here we have your saltwater crocodile”. I am sure she is a lovely girl but I wish someone would tell her how to speak proper like. Stephen has now bought 3 separate bird books so that I can now tell the difference between a blue breasted tit and a white breasted tit!!!! We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool which had a rating of about 7 for those that care. We quickly cooked dinner and headed for the safety of the caravan. Those pesky mossies aren’t going to get me.

Tuesday was to be a big day. This is Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls day, a 40 km dirt road, then a further 20 kms into the falls, real 4x4 truck drivin’. With peanut butter and cheese and vegemite rolls on board, adventure awaited us. The first 40 kms were fine, a little bit corrugated but generally aok. The next 20 was only just single lane (I hope we don’t meet anyone going the other way) through sand, over rocks and through water, real fun. We found ourselves travelling with another car so felt a lot happier that if something went wrong we would be okay. Our first stop was Twin Falls Gorge. We were met by Kim, a ranger, who took us up the river on his punt. Kim didn’t let us down, he talked non-stop the whole way telling us to be careful along the ledges we were going to have to shimmy along to get to the falls. Groan, I hate ledges. I wished he would just shut up. This of course proved to be BS as it was an easy climb over to the falls. We were unable to swim here – crocs you know – but were surprised at the amount of water still coming over the falls. We walked back to the boat with our new 4x4 buddies and more of Kim’s chat. Then back to Jim Jim Falls. The walk into Jim Jim is quite strenuous – Stephen in his element of course – over big boulders, lots of them. By the time we arrived at the falls we were hanging for those rolls and a drink of water. We were thrilled that we were able to swim in the rockpool at the bottom of the falls – no crocs here. It was freezing but just what we needed on a very hot day. All in all, a great day.

After some discussion on the agenda for the next few days we decide to travel to Jabiru. We called into Nourlangie for a quick walk and some rock art. On arrival in Jabiru we check into the Kakadu Lodge. We had our pick of the very large and grassy sites. We settled in and headed for the pool – well, we were hot by now. This pool is a definite 10, big, clean and lots of chairs and grass with the obligatory bar and bistro. I cannot believe we stayed down the road at mossie infested Cooinda when we could have been here. A very lazy afternoon follows, swimming, resting, watching people come in – oh my goodness is that Janet and Rob’s van, yes it is, I think we are being stalked! Eats and drinks with our old new best friends. We decide to stay on an extra day as it is so nice here. Next morning a very early rise and off to the Marnukala bird hide for a bit of whistling duck and magpie geese spotting and mosquitoes by the thousands. Home for a brekkie of bacon and eggs. Stephen heads off for a ride on his bike while I head for a day by the pool. Unfortunately so do the sandflies and mossies as I discover later in the day when I am covered in bites. We spend the late afternoon driving with Janet and Rob to Cahill’s Crossing (on the border of Arnhem Land) where we see the local indigenous people throwing in a hand line to catch their dinner and two idiot white fishermen walking in the waters of the East Alligator River where only a month ago a guy was taken by a croc. We drove onto Ubirr where we climbed the rock and watched the sunset over the wetlands. Can life get any better! I hope so.

Next morning Stephen and Rob do a tour of the Ranger Uranium Mine while I stay home and pack up (see it is me who does all the work), a quick swim in the pool before driving with Stephen sprouting facts and figures about the mine in my ear all the way to Darwin.

We are trying a new way of showing the photos we have taken. So, if you want to see the photo of Kakadu go to:

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/stephen.hede/GunlomFallsYellowRiverTwinFallsAndJimJimFallsJabiru?authkey=Gv1sRgCNKe3aXkhvPUrQE