After our relatively fast paced trek from the east coast to central Australia, we have slowed right down to enjoy the national parks of The Top End. Our first stop was Nitlimuk NP just outside of Katherine. The most famous and accessible part of the park is Katherine Gorge, where we stayed for three days. Luckily the only accommodation option at the gorge is the caravan park with a “resort-style pool”. Normally, we would avoid such places, but given the temperatures were reaching a very hot and sticky 38-39oC, we were very pleased that we didn’t have any other options. Despite the heat we managed to explore Katherine Gorge, both on foot and in a canoe, doing early morning bush walks on two days and then canoeing up the first three gorges (there are 13). Our last night at the gorge was somewhat traumatic, as a group of about 200 Victorian school kids descended on the caravan park. Troopy was quite concerned for her safety, since their tents looked suspiciously like Darleks (from Dr Who), and I had to fight my way through mascara, lip stick, hair driers and hair straightening tongs to get to a sink in the ladies. We were pleased to move on to the lovely swimming spot at Edith Falls, which is in the northern section of Nitlimuk NP. The scenery in both the gorge and at Edith Falls was quite spectacular – see photos on flikr.
Next stop was the world famous Kakadu NP, where we spent five days. We could have easily stayed longer, except that the heat was really becoming oppressive and we felt that we needed to retreat to Darwin and some air conditioning. Each part of Kakadu was different and amazing, so I’ve detailed each spot below. Overall, we really enjoyed Kakadu and both felt a deep appreciation and awe for the amazing natural wonders and the ongoing connection between the country and its traditional owners.
Gumlom – our first stop in Kakadu was at the base of a large waterfall with a clear plunge pool at the bottom. We spent the first afternoon frolicking in the swimming hole and chatting to German tourists who were traumatised after the 37 km stretch of (not too bad) dirt road into the campground (while we were suitably sympathetic to their faces, we rolled our eyes behind their backs and decided the autobahns were making the Germans very soft). First thing the next morning, we trekked up the side of the waterfall to check out the amazing view of southern Kakadu from the top.
Yellow Water – the cruise on the wetland here had been recommended to us by several sources, and so we decided to take up the bargain offer of doing two cruises for only $20 extra. We did both a sunset and sunrise cruise and were rewarded with amazing views out over the wetland, great birding and some up-close croc sightings. We also went to the Aboriginal Cultural Centre, which was simply excellent – really interesting stories and very well done interpretation.
Jim Jim Falls – Troopy was excited about some 4WD action again as we travelled down to Jim Jim Falls. The road wasn’t actually too bad, and we decided that Luke’s old Subaru would have made it apart from one muddy spot (where Troopy nearly got stuck on the way out!!). The falls themselves and surrounding gorge were spectacular, with a clear green plunge pool at the base of 150 m high surrounding cliffs. The walk in was a bit of a challenge, with 500 m of scrambling over large rocks and boulders in the ~40oC heat.
Nourlangie Region – we made the mistake of having a lazy start this morning and didn’t make it to Anbangbang wetland until around 11 am. We decided to do the 2.5 km loop walk despite the heat – big mistake! We (more me than Luke, but I’m telling the story) got very hot and bothered and cranky. We did see some good birds and a croc being stared down by a group of ducks. Later in the afternoon we checked out some of the Aboriginal rock art in the region and listened to talks by one of the rangers. It was really great to be able to see the art and to hear the associated Dreaming stories – one about Lightning Man who continues to keep an eye out from the Arnhem Land escarpment and another about forbidden love.
Ubirr – we had some more croc action at Cahill’s Crossing, which is a crossing into Arnhem Land over the East Alligator River. This section of the river is tidal and we watched the river level at the crossing rise around 30 cm in about 45 mins and a cop car nearly get swept away trying to cross at a river height of ~0.6 m. The crocs (some quite large) gather on the incoming tide and swim around with their mouths open with the hope of catching a barra or mullet. The most we saw them catch were sticks, but they were menacing nevertheless. Ubirr is just up the road from Cahill’s Crossing and is a renowned rock art site. We had a great experience there – appreciating the art, spotting some rock wallabies, seeing a thunderstorm threaten to start the wet and hiking up to a high point and having an amazing 360 degree view over the East Alligator River floodplain and Arnhem Land escarpment (see Luke’s panorama shot on flikr). The following morning we did two bushwalks through the stone country and monsoon forest.
Click here for photos on flikr
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