Bungle Bungles...great!

Greetings! Here's the latest:

August 29-30

I am sitting in the shade outside our tent in the Bungle Bungle National Park. It’s hot and sunny (big surprise for this part of the world…) and over 30. We arrived here late yesterday afternoon (having taken 2 hours to cover 50 rough kilometres of dirt road in- our car has been great especially considering it’s not a big super high clearance 4WD) and set up our tent at the park’s northern campsite, before dashing out to a nearby lookout to watch the sunset. What a view! It’s stunning in here…rugged beautiful hills and sandstone rock formations, cliffs, escarpments. Terrific.

We heated up some soup and sat under the stars last night and left the fly off the tent so we could look out at the sky during the night. Also, mum and dad, the self-inflating mattress is great!

This morning we rose early, packed up the tent, and walked through Mini-Palms Gorge…lots of livistona palms and red rock towering above us. VERY impressive. Better than the Olgas in the red centre.

We then went to Echidna Chasm…very very narrow chasm with towering cliffs on either side and the light just filtering in, causing the rock to give off a beautiful red glow. It was amazing to walk through.
We then drove to the either side of the park, which is where we are now, at our second campsite.

We were here by lunchtime and there are some walks we plan doing in the morning when it’s cooler. So this afternoon has just been for relaxing and resting, which is great, as we both feel tired. I think all the constant travel and activity and not living out of a proper home for the past four months is catching up with us! We both also really miss the coast, being water people, and can’t wait to jump in the ocean for a swim when we hit Broome. The bush in the NT and WA has been fantastic, diverse and very different to things we have seen before- but we now long for the coast and beaches again. Some days too, we must admit, the caravan (or tent) walls close in very close and there just ain’t room for both of us! ;-) 24/7 with each other can be full on, no doubt about it. Still, we are both still alive and still learning when to give each other space and how to roll with things. Always learning!

Adam is now sitting in the tent, to avoid all the flies, and playing his guitar- getting ready to play a few tunes with my Dad when he arrives in Broome for a week’s holiday with us in just under two weeks! Hard to believe the time has come around for that part of our trip already. Then again, we are only a third of the way through and we have seen and done so so much it still amazes us sometimes. Looking forward to seeing you Dad!

August 31

This morning we were up with the sun at about 5.30am and it was surprisingly cold (6 degrees) and we after breaky we were straight into our first walk early. Today we saw the most impressive (in our view) part of the Bungle Bungles…Cathedral Gorge. Wow- a gorge, where the sandstone has been eroded and undercut at the bottom, by water during the wet (and over many years), forming a natural amphitheatre. Adam wished he had carried in his guitar to play. We also walked through the beehive domes characteristic of the area, and they shone red-black-orange-brown in the morning light.
We then packed up the tent and hit the road back to Turkey Creek where our caravan was stored. We then drove on to Halls Creek where we are staying just for tonight. Off to Fitzroy Crossing tomorrow.

All our love, A&E xx

El Questro

Howdy everyone! We have just had a fantastic five nights at El Questro- now heading into the Bungle Bungles to go camping. Hope you are all well….thinking of you and sending you our love. Here’s our latest news (we are updating just while we briefly have internet reception before going offline again!):

August 24

After a huge repack of the car and caravan so that all our camping gear is now in the car ready for a trip into the Bungle Bungles straight from El Questro, we set off on the now well known Gibb River Road (4wd and very bumpy) into El Questro, a cattle station/tourist wilderness resort which covers nearly a million acres of the stunning Kimberley region.

We stopped on the way to the Station Township to do the Emma Gorge walk- it loved up to its terrific name (!) – a stunning walk with a beautiful swimming hole at the end (and freezing water which was very refreshing after the 35 degree walk in!).

We then checked into our bungalow which I long ago booked as a break from the van or tent (what a treat! 5 nights out of the van).

But when we walked over to our bungalow we discovered we weren’t located right on the Pentecost River and we did not have a balcony (the brochures had showed bungalows with private riverside balconies). When we walked inside our disappointment grew. We had lashed out and spent some of our hard-saved cash on an expensive bungalow which really wasn’t anything better than a basic motel room! We gave each other a despondent look and sat on the bed feeling sorry for ourselves. If we hadn’t been so desperate for a little luxury or expected so much, it might not have felt so bad. But the fact was we really felt let down.

In the end I resolved to see if we could change bungalows and move into one of the much more impressive buildings we could see a little further along the river. Ones which actually did look like the photos in the brochures, complete with balconies and a riverside setting.

As luck would have it, someone had cancelled and we were able to change rooms. We happily handed back the key to the “Dingo” bungalow (they are all named after different Australian wildlife) and promptly moved into the “Echidna”.

The change was remarkable. Apart from the lovely setting, Echidna had polished wooden floor boards instead of tiles, a decorative wooden headpiece around the bed and of course, a private balcony instead of a fairly public concrete porch. The air conditioning was on and the room was a cool oasis compared to the 36 degree day outside. To my girlish delight there were plenty of lovely freebies in the bathroom from “grapefruit, tangerine and coconut” body wash to “lavender, rosemary and mint” shampoo.

One thing we would really have liked though, was a kitchenette. For some reason we had both incorrectly assumed there would some basic self-catering facilities in the bungalow and were a bit surprised when we realized there was nothing beyond a mini-fridge and tea and coffee making facilities. Luckily we have our own plates and cutlery, along with a swag of food, our camp gas oven and the fridge, in the back of the car. Not wanting to eat out at the expensive Station Restaurant every night, we are ready to improvise.

In the late afternoon we drove up a steep 4wd road to a lookout to watch the sunset over the ruggedly beautiful landscape…it was a tapestry of colours…browns, greens and yellow and orange, with the vivid blue sky and finally, the sinking red ball of the sun.

Augst 25

An awesome day today- we love the Kimberley and El Questro. Started by going to thermal springs (poor Ad slipped and had a nasty fall on the rocks) set in a beautiful palm filled gorge.

We then embarked on a 130km 4wd circuit around the Cockburn Ranges. Stunning scenery, some challenging driving, and we didn’t see another car or person all day!!! We were out more than six hours on the drive. Stopped by a riverbank and had lunch in the peace and quiet, watching the birds fish. We drove past swamps, cattle, along huge salt plans and mud flats, up hills, along rivers…it was great and very diverse.

Later on we watched the sunset light up the rocky range…a great end to the day.

Then what a treat to return to a proper room, instead of the caravan with our own bathroom, full sized bed and some SPACE!

Agust 26-27

El Questro and the Kimberley continues to REALLY impress us- a true highlight of our entire trip so far (and of course staying in the bungalow is helping as we have lovely relaxation time inbetween long hot bushwalks). Yesterday we did the terrific El Questro Gorge walk- fairly challenging walk up a narrow gorge with lovely clear swimming spots along the way, including a terrific waterfall and plunge pool right at the end. Very scenic, sheer rock walls, palms etc, lots of climbing over rocks and boulders on the way (we even had to go through a stream and Adam had to carry ourbackpack above his head! Me, the shortie, could barely touch bottom!

Last night there was entertainment on here…and Ernie Dingo and a crew from the Great Outdoors were there filming etc…they must be doing a segment on this area. It was a fun night.

Today we did another long walk (10km) to a place called Champagne Springs…a waterfall and swimming spot in the river. Another challenging and rewarding walk. The walk out was bloody hot though and quite exposed to the sun. We are now resting. I am sitting on our balcony watchng the birds and reading books and magazines etc. Adam is having a siesta. Ah, the life we lead….

Tonight we are having dinner out- yum, can’t wait – we are both hungry already after today’s exertions.

August 28, 2006

Our final day at EQ sadly! Last nights dinner was superb! Fresh barra flavoured with wild bush spices and a macadamia crust, drizzled with a wattle cream sauce. Yum. Followed by apple crumble and ice cream for me and sticky date pudding for Adam.

Today we did another gorge walk and had a swim, and this afternoon went for a cruise on Chamberlain Gorge, where we saw some more rock art and were served champagne and fruit on the way back.

Packing up tonight and preparing to go from this to a tent tomorrow night in the bungle bungles!

Beautiful lakes and rivers and fun, busy days

Hi there….

Monday august 21

The past couple of days in Kununurra have been great- hot clear days (as usual up here)…have been for some nice morning walks around the lake, and also bought some of the fresh fruit and veg grown up here, thanks to the extensive irrigation from the Ord River. Yesterday we went to Barra Barra farm and had lovely fruit smoothies and bought some home-made jams and chutneys, along with some pickled boab!

Today, our day trip was excellent!! The cruise on huge Lake Argyle was informative and impressive-we saw shy short-eared rock wallabies, freshwater crocs, lots of fish etc and really gained an appreciation of how massive the body of water is- equal to 24 Sydney Harbours!!

That was followed by a wonderful 50k trip back down the Ord River and into Lake Kununurra. Great scenery, steep gorge walls, rolling hills, narrow side creeks, awesome reflections, bird life…plus a very informative guide who explained a lot about the area and how the lakes were formed when the dams were built etc. The area is now so fertile and has so much water, there has been talk of how it could be piped to Perth or SA. Cost is obviously the big obstacle. On the way back we stopped on the river bank and were served afternoon tea of fresh pumpkin scones and muffins – not good for the waistline but very yummy!

Tomorrow is our scenic flight! Cant wait. Both tired and having fun.

Tuesday August 22

We rose at 5am for our 6am scenic flight (5.30 pickup) . The flight was excellent! We saw Lake Argyle, the huge Argyle diamond mine and also of course the Bungle Bungles- very impressive beehive formations from the air! The scale of the formations etc, not to mention the other rugged ranges and gorges which make up this region. It really is a tough wilderness.

We then drove to Wyndham for the day- it’s the most northerly town in WA- and the only port between Broome and Darwin. An interesting “frontier” town. The museum was full of local history and stories from the war etc, plane crashes and ship wrecks up here and stories of survival.

The area has some of the biggest tides in the world and we had amazing views from a lookout, over an area where five different rivers converge….with extensive tidal flats and salt plains in the distance, surrounded by large mountain ranges.

We ate lunch at the pub (a barra burger and chips!) and then took a 4wd track to see an old boab tree, which was used as a prison in the early days! It’s hollow on the inside and there is a hole on one side and they used to put prisoners in there overnight and lock them up!

We also bought a carved boab fruit (dried) from a local Aboriginal- it’s really good!

After that we checked out Parry’s wetlands and a local billabong full of birds, and stopped at a waterhole called “the grotto” on the way home (it was in a gorge).
So a big day! Got back to the van at 6pm!

Tomorrow we have to repack the car and the van as we are storing the van the day after and heading into El Questro station for five nights. We are staying in one of their bungalows which should be great! From there we’ll pick up the van and head down to Turkey Creek to access the Bungle Bungles. Will once again store the van and head into the Bungle Bungles and camp for a couple of nights and do the walks etc.

So we won’t have internet access for at least a week. Then there will be no doubt a lengthy update on here as I’ll continue to keep a diary of our activities on the computer in the meantime.
Sadly the internet reception here is not good enough for uploading pics. Perhaps we’ll put a stack on when we reach Broome.

Sending love and hugs,
Emma and Adam xx

Now in WA! At lovely Kununurra

Hello- We've crossed the border and have hit Western Australia! Here's our news:

Keep Range National Park, August 18th

The final rays of sun hit the top of a glowing red escarpment….it is still and peaceful apart from the final calls of a few birds as the day draws to a close and night sets in. I am in the Keep River Campground and loving this rare taste of peace and quiet! There are only about 4 other camp sites being used, as this park is often overlooked in people’s rush to travel further west to WA and the more well known national parks and highlights. Adam and I are so glad we decided to stop in here! It is refreshing to be somewhere beautiful without all the crowds which usually converge on the more touristy spots.

When we arrived after lunch it was baking hot, 34 degrees, and we set up and had something to eat, before setting out on an 8km bush walk . It was a hot walk at the start but really worthwhile, as we reached an excellent lookout with views over sandstone rock formations which are very similar to the Bungle Bungles, as well as the plains stretching far and wide in all directions, surrounding by a large ridge.
We continued round and saw some Aboriginal rock art and were lucky enough to spot a white quilled rock pigeon- a bird which doesn’t exist in many areas of Australia at all. At 6pm when we finished walking the sun was about half an hour away from setting and it was still 31 degrees. The winter days here are surprisingly long…although when we cross the border we have to set our clocks back and will then be 2 hours behind eastern time, so I imagine the days will become a little shorter again.

Now, lucky for me!, Adam has started a fire and is preparing some fish (the remains of the mackerel he caught at Karumba!) to put in the coals, wrapped in foil with some herbs and spices. He is also going to cook a damper in our camp oven- yum! Nothing like fresh warm damper with butter and jam. :-)

More soon… xoxox


Sunday August 20

Today I am sitting on the banks of pretty Lake Kununurra….beautiful spot and our caravan park fronts the lake- luckily we scored a good site right near the water’s edge. Crossed into WA yesterday and today we are having an easier day after being busy and active the past week.

Yesterday we did a couple more walks in the Keep River National Park (one just at sunrise which was great), before crossing the border and the strict quarantine checks (no fresh fruit, veggies, meat etc to be brought into wa)…The poor official who had to climb into Molly to check our fridge etc had to scramble over the piles of things we store in the van when we are on the road…plus the sink was dirty as we’d run out of water in Keep River NP to wash everything up properly- I was quite embarrassed by the state of the van! But anyway…we’ve been able to do a clean up since arriving here thankfully!

It’s great here..tomorrow we are doing a full day tour- a boat cruise on huge Lake Argyle, then a cruise down the Ord River back into Kununarra- should be tops. We are now 2 hours behind those of you on the east coast. The days are shorter once more.

Thinking of you all back home, Love Em & Ad xoxo

Litchfield National park and heading west....

Hi all- have had no internet reception the past 5 days or so…I am actually uploading this from a roadhouse petrol stop at Timber Creek (west of Katherine on the way to WA) as we have some phone service here and I had the laptop in the car!!

We’ve had a great time since Darwin exploring some national parks- here is our latest travel news (upload piccies when we are back in a town with service in a couple of days):


Monday August 14

Howdy- currently in Litchfield NP and it is very beautiful here- lots of wonderful waterfalls and swimming spots. Our caravan park is near Wangi Falls and is nice and peaceful. No phone or internet reception out here at all though (hence this being the first online update for a while).

We went to lovely Florence Falls and Buley rock pools today and had lots of swims, a nice picnic lunch by a waterfall. Very good day. Also drove into the “Lost City” eroded sandstone formations which look like the ancient ruins of a long ago city.

This afternoon we went into Wangi Falls (a top spot! I also had a swim there when we arrived yesterday afternoon), and had a swim and also put on our face masks to check out the freshwater fish (barra, catfish etc). Then we had a bbq for dinner in the picnic area at the falls. Once again it was a clear sunny day, the temp up to 34 degrees….and the sun doesn’t set here until about 6.35pm –and its winter! Fantastic- feels like summer to us.

More exploring and waterfalls on the agenda for tomorrow.

Tuesday august 15th

The fun continues in Litchfield…like a big outdoor amusement park, full of natural swimming pools, bubbling spas and top views. Today we visited Sandy creek falls and had to drive through a substantial creek crossing to get there- a bit of a test for the Toyota Kluger, but we came through no worries (and Adam rather enjoyed conquering the crossing- a boy thing). I took some photos on the way out which give a good indication of what it was like (and show Adam in action, gallantly bringing his powerful steed across the mighty waterway).
There was a hot 2km walk into the falls and swimming hole, but it was well worth it- a beautiful spot and surprisingly uncrowded (either we got lucky or the creek crossing put some people off).
After that we went to Tolmer Falls, also very pretty, before returning for lunch and a swim at Wangi Falls, beautiful in the afternoon sun. Today’s top temp- 35.

At this point the caravan feels too small, but we haven’t killed each other- yet. We seem to go in cycles. :-)

Wednesday august 16th

We couldn’t have asked for a better day to finish our stay at Litchfield- hot and sunny once again and today we explored Walker Creek and its many swimming holes (there are 8 listed in total along the marked walking track). We swam in a few of the different pristine swimming holes, with deep clear water. We also took our face masks and saw lots of little fish- many of them hanging around the bubbles formed by the waterfalls into the pools- it was like an outdoor fishtank! We had lunch by a waterfalls and read books, before walking back out.

This evening we went to Wangi Falls (near our campground) for a late swim and took some food for a barbeque dinner at the picnic area. It was so peaceful there and the last rays of sun lit up the rock walls around Waangi Falls and its plunge pool. We stuck around after dinner to watch a free slide show on the NP put on by the park rangers.

Tomorrow we hit the road again- heading back to Katherine and then west, towards the WA border. We’ll be in another state in just a few days!

Our trip in some ways is going so quickly- and yet in other ways, it feels soooo long ago that we set off and stopped at Yamba. We have done and seen so much already- so many wonderful and varied experiences in 3.5 months. We are truly lucky to have been able to plan and save for this and actually do it!


Thursday 17th-Friday 18th

Hi- long drive on Thursday from Litchfield back down to Katherine and then west, through a more remote corner of the NT….we stopped last night at Victoria River Roadhouse, so we could do some bushwalks in Gregory National Park- a little publicized area, and a real surprise, as the walks were stunning! A large ridge line, which turned red in the late afternoon sun- we walked to the top of the escarpment and had great views!

This morning we rose early and from our site (nice and green and grassy) had great views of the surrounding national park- lit up in the suns first rays the rocky escarpment seemed to glow. We did an early walk, which was excellent, with lots of palms beneath the rocky ridge line.

Now back on the road heading west – tonight stopping in a campground (no water, no power) at Keep River National Park, before crossing the border into WA!

Love and hugs,
Emma and Adam

Leaving Darwin now and heading to Litchfield

Hi all- just a quick note, before we set off from Darwin (and while the internet access is fast). We have loved it here at Darwin. Last night we went to the outdoor Deckchair Cinema, which was fun. We went for a long bike ride around the beaches yesterday which was great, and had a swim (had to walk a long way to get to the water as the tide was out!).
The evening before we had a lovely ritzy dinner out at Pee Wees on the point...fabulous views and food- Adam claims "it's the best meal I've had from start to finish in my entire life" - so needless to say we had a good night out! The desserts especially were melt in the mouth delicious (I had cheescake and Adam had some chocolate decadence, which was actually called on the menu "The Chocolate Slut"!).
We also drove one day to Howard Springs, a nice freshwater swimming spot not far from Darwin.
So now it's time to get back on the road. Not sure we are ready to be honest (going a bit crazy in the caravan from time to time lately)! But we cant spend anymore time here, or we won't have enough time to see other places on the way to Broome.
More news soon. Thinking of friends and family back home and sending you love and hugs, Emma and Adam xoxox

Darwin life

Been nice to swim in the ocean again! Even for quick swims in the sandy shallow water.

A couple more piccies:

At Mindill markets last night.....the food choices were almost endless.....lots of live music- we ate some Indian.

Just like a Baywatch star- Adam sunning himself to dry off after a dip at a small beach around from Mindill Beach (very shallow water here in Darwin...no stingers this time of year though)

Some more images....

Another Kakadu sunset piccie...I loved the mornings and evenings at the wetlands...all the birds and the lovely reflections- it was peaceful and beautiful




While in in Kakadu NP, we went to a few talks by Aboriginals etc. and learned all about traditional bush tucker! One thing they used to do was suck the sweet nectar directly from flowering bush plants...so Adam and I thought we'd give it a go while we were out walking one day! The nectar was really strong and sweet- a bit like organic honey sometimes is...here I am wish my face stuck in the flower!









Love this egret reflection-Kakadu









Adam relaxing at the Mataranka Hot Springs (we stayed in the caravan park there a couple of nights)... a pretty spot surrounded by palms- also very popular and often busy








Adam and I enjoying a sunset near Ubirr Rock at Kakadu...a good lookout and the site of some excellent rock art

Having some time out in Darwin and loving it

We are enjoying some down time up here...Darwin is a top city- laid back and small, but with lots of youthful energy, outdoor eating places, nice walkways etc. We are in an apartment for 2 days which is bliss after the caravan for so long. I had a bath last night- joy!
Heading to Mindil beach markets tonight...and getting bits and pieces done in the city (banking stuff etc)...plus nice food (had a yummy vietnamese meal last night) . We also planning heading to the outdoor Deckchair cinema one night to watch a movie.

Meantime I've added a pic of me swimming in the clear water at Bitter Hot Springs (we later hopped in with masks and snorkel- was great!) , near Mataranka a couple of weeks ago---will upload more pics later today- but right now Adam and I are off for a walk before the day gets too hot!

Picture inundation...Part 3

Here I am at the base of the rock, imagining I am in the nastiest barrell of all, back hand........and standing up!!!!


Sunset on Mindil Beach..........We like Darwin already and We've only been here for a few hours








This rock art painting depicts the lightning-man, which dreamtime explains is responsible for the thunder and light shows during the monsoon season for the Kakadu clans of aboriginies. He has a specific part of the Arnhem escarpment in which he lives.......nobody is allowed to go there for fear of waking him early......the stone axes (look carefully) on his elbow and knees are what makes all the noise.





The Arnhem escarpment which separates Kakadu with Arnhem Land (other side). On the other side (Arnhem side), the escarpment gently slopes off, but regardless it is not in the least bit hospitable.





Emma floating in Katherine gorge after a long paddle and portage of the canoe to the start of the third gorge. Pretty spot with beautiful clear water.











Ahhhhhh.....the rock top taunts me again.....the matchbox cars are actually real cars and tour buses.........this was taken at the top of the chain which is about half way to the top of the rock.

This was a little spa pool at the top of Maguk (Kakadu) waterfall which was about 12ft deep.....no crocs here........just me in my budgies launching a bomb to stun the fish (and stun the euro tourists with my white legs......I forgot to pack my boardies....honest!!!!)



Emma preferred to lay in the spa










This is the top of the Maguk waterfall overlooking the swimming hole.....nice spot.......the spa pool is just behind the waterfall











One of the friendly kakadu locals.......luckily he was full of barra and not looking for a feed




Sunrise over Yellow Waters (in Kakadu) ....we loved this place

Emma's piccy of sunrise at Yellow Waters in Kakadu......a huge wetland with lots of birds and many huge crocs










The rock, heading into sunset








This is where I bailed out of the rock climb............I have a healthy respect for heights (they scare the crap out of me)...emma took this pic with one hand on the top of the chain....me, well I had both hands on the chain, both feet and my butt planted on the rock




Half way up the chain of the first part of the rock climb







King's canyon. This was the rim hike which was spectacular, with beautiful colours in the rock and the granduer of the force of mother nature over time

Fun adventures at Edith Falls, Kakadu and now in Darwin!

Hi all- haven’t been able to update the blog the last little while as we have been in Kakadu with no phone or internet reception…so this update is slightly long, as I have been keeping notes on our fun Kakadu adventures on the computer anyway and have uploaded them here….we are now in darwin and thrilled to be in a city. We both have been craving the coast and also some city luxuries, like nice restaurants, good coffee, hairdresser, shops etc. We’ve been in the bush, national parks and small towns basically since we left the east coast and Cairns… We arrived here this afternoon and had a lovely walk around the esplanade area and watched the sunset at Mindill beach…beautiful! Now we are mapping out the things we’d like to see and do over the coming 5 days and first impressions of Darwin are very good. Meanwhile…here is what we have been doing!:

*****************************

August 1

A great day exploring Edith Falls, about 60kms from Katherine. Once again it was stinking hot! About 38 at one stage…but lovely clear blue skies and it made swimming in the pools beneath the falls that much nicer! We walked to some upper water falls, a really pretty spot with lovely swimming places. We had a nice picnic lower down on a very large pool at the bottom of a series of falls.
Tonight we ate dip and biccies back at our van park while we listened to the free entertainment- an award winning bush poet. He was great –especially his poems about caravanning! Hilarious. We listened to him yesterday arvo too and it was what inspired me to write my article of the Top Ten Things you Need to Know About Caravanning, which I posted here.

Heading into Kakadu tomorrow and looking forward to it.

Today is also exactly 5 years since Adam and I met… :-)

August 2-3

At kakadu and as usual we’ve hit the ground running! It’s very hot still (low to mid thirties). We’ve been to the Aboriginal cultural centres here, which are really well done and explain a lot about how they lived off the land here for so many years and their way of life.

Lots of people, before we left home, who had been to Kakadu joked about it not being that great, saying “kaka-don’t more like it” etc. So perhaps for the better, we came here with fairly low expectations. This morning, however, was one of the highlights of our entire trip so far for me (Adam loved it too)- we took a Yellow waters boat cruise on a billabong area and it was fantastic!! We went at 6.45 am and saw the sun rise over the wetlands- the water a perfect reflection with bird life everywhere! It was a really beautiful morning…saw jabiru, sea eagles, kites, jacanas, herons, darters, magpie geese, pygmy geese, ducks, herons, kingfishers, corellas, flycatchers, finches….the list goes on. Also saw LOTS of estuarine crocs (the nasty kind). Got some lovely photos.
Before we leave we intend doing the same boat trip, but at sunset!

After that we set off and did a walk around some interesting sandstone escarpments and along the river (bloody hot and we both felt a bit grumpy!)…then went to one of the popular Aboriginal rock art sites- Ubirr…very good collection of art, dating back thousands of years. Listened to some free park ranger talks and saw the sunset from there, with great views. So a great, but very long day - especially considering the rock art we saw is around 100kms from where we are staying- this is a BIG park, with lots of woodlands and you have to travel a long way to see the various highlights to make the visit worthwhile.

Tomorrow we are going over 100kms in the other direction to see Gunlom Falls and catch another free ranger talk (we also watched a slideshow on crocs last night and enjoyed a free sausage sizzle at our park here at Yellow Waters). Then in the afternoon we’ve booked in to take a scenic flight- cant wait. Many people have said it’s the only way to gain a real perspective on the land in Kakadu- it’s so vast and so diverse, surrounded by the Arnhem Land escarpment, rocky ridges and gorges, monsoon forest, woodlands and of course rivers and billabongs and floodplains.

Lots of mozzies here!! Both have lots of bites already.

August 4-5-6

Hi- we’ve been really busy in Kakadu and have enjoyed it. It’s true as I said before- it’s a huge park and lots of it is woodlands…but if you put in the effort you can find some great spots.
Gunlom Falls was a lovely spot- we rose at about 6am and arrived there early and in time for the free ranger talk which was interesting. We walked to the top of the falls where there are rock pools – had a nice swim before walking back down and having lunch on a sandy beach beside a plunge pool at the bottom of the waterfall. Being the dry season none of the waterfalls are very big right now, but it was a pretty spot.

We drove back to Cooinda (where our van is parked) and took a scenic flight in a small plane- really worthwhile…from the air you can a real perspective of Kakadu and much better understanding of the landscape…clearly seeing the long escarpment, the gorges and valleys, the plains, the rivers and the wetlands, billabongs etc.

We then listened to the entertainment here and had a drink.

Next day we were once again up early- this time to drive to the Mamakula wetlands…a good spot for birdwatching and a recommended spot in the park brochures. It was nice, with all the usual waterbirds. We then drove to the Nourlangie section of the park, famous for its collection of aboriginal rock art. The art was interesting, and it’s amazing to think how long ago the first paintings were done and to imagine what our country must have been like then.
We then set off on a walk around Anbangbang Billabong…a very pretty billabong, full of birds and lilies. As we were walking along I thought I saw a large bird near the top of a tree, but wasn’t sure if it was just a branch. I grabbed the binoculars (a must for any try hard birdwatcher like me) and saw that it was an owl! We looked it up in the book later and discovered it was a Barking Owl- as you might expect they make a sound like a dog barking. So we thought that was pretty cool.
We had a picnic by the billabong too.

After lunch we embarked on a walk to some natural pools in a section of monsoon forest in the park- nice and cool compared to being in the sun! It was a hot walk into the forest section but nice when we got in there…there were some small pools where you could swim and we had the place to ourselves for quite a while which was nice and relaxing. We watched the birds and a small goanna which went in fishing, before laying in the sun on a rock right near us. I had a swim in the deeper pool of the two, which was refreshing (although when swimming here I am always nervous about seeing a croc…the area we were in was a monitored area, and only freshies were likely to be anywhere around..but still).
In the evening I watched the sunset over Yellow Waters (right near where we are staying)..it was beautiful, I really really love that spot! The sun went blood red and there were birds everywhere, silhouetted by the sun as it sank from view and lit the water up in a blaze of colour.

Today (Sunday) I again rose early (about 5.45am) as I went on another Yellow Waters cruise, and watched the sunrise and saw lots more birds and saltwater crocs. I saw some birds I hadn’t yet seen up here- spoonbills and brolgas as well as the usual customers. Also saw a huge croc- at least 4.5 metres! It lumbered up out of the water onto the bank right next to the boat.

Then Adam and I set off for another waterfall, gorge area- called Maguk. It was a 4wd road in and then a walk to the gorge and swimming spot (another croc “controlled area” which means they check it at the start of the dry and remove any saltwater crocs, but somewhat unsettling are the signs which say the crocs “may move in undetected to this area”- tour groups etc go these places, swimming etc and it’s probably as much to cover the park from any liability etc…but still!).
It was a really lovely spot- one of our highlights of Kakadu. We walked to the upper pools- so deep and so so clear! One was small and round, and like a perfect natural spa pool…and very deep (maybe 12ft)….so we sat in that for a while…even bombed into it which was fun. We ate our lunch up there too, and once again, were fortunate to have the place to ourselves for a while, before people started rolling through.
I had another swim at the larger plunge pool at the bottom of the falls (lots of people and tour groups etc were swimming which made me feel a bit better) and we read our books for a while before walking back out.
This evening we again watched the sunset at Yellow Waters and it didn’t disappoint. Just beautiful.

Now we are once again exhausted…off to Darwin tomorrow and both of us really looking forward to a change of pace and being in a city for a little while anyway.
********************************

So that’s it for now…some piccies very soon

Lots of love…Em & Ad xx