From it’s sheer escarpments and clear swimming holes in the South, to the wetlands in its heart and the culture in the North Eastern corner, Kakadu, despite the number of tourists really is a special, beautiful and sacred place.

Finally we were in true 4wd country and I had the privilege of being the first driver to test the rocky roads! (successful, yeah!)

Our first night saw us camping by a waterfall at Gunlom in the southern end of the park. This is home to the Jaywon people, the same mob that call Nitmiluk home. The waterfall and swimming hole were a refreshing treat for another hot afternoon here in the territory. As clear as the swimming hole below the falls was, the real highlight of the place were the rock pools and views above the waterfall itself. A half hour walk to the lookout offered views over Southern Kakadu and offered a sanctuary of croc free swimming pools. Talk about an infinity pool with a view!

Our (or Rob’s) enthusiasm for bushwalking endured through the heat and we set off on a walk to ‘motor car falls’. The problem with being a traveler is that you never really know what is going to greet you at the end of a trail and picking a walk is a bit of a lucky dip. Particularly in the dry season as a walk to a ‘waterfall’ can lead you do a dried up pool of rocks! Thankfully, we had made a great decision and arrived at a spectacular pool with a gentle trickle still flowing over the rocks. We were lucky to have it all to ourselves however we were too chicken to go for a dip (but we really wanted to because it was so hot).

In search of another waterhole we spent the afternoon on a short walk to Maguk. The crocodile warnings at the start of the swampy trail had us on our toes the entire time. Every shadow made us second look! No crocs were spotted however we did cross paths with a Golden Tree Snake, which was out for a sun bake on the track.

We arrived at Maguk falls to find quite a good amount of water flowing over the falls with a very large and deep plunge pool. Unfortunately, it wasn’t safe for swimming (or maybe we were too chicken once again) so we walked back to stink up the car.

We stayed at Cooinda for the night and headed off early to check out the town Jabiru (which had a bakery, yum!). Jabiru is a town in the middle of the national park. It was basically built for the uranium mine next door. Jabiru also hosts the airport and a range of other services including fuel and food. The mine within Kakadu is very controversial and opinions of the mine vary. Some locals resent the mine and the impact it has on the environment, while others are happy that employment, income and infrastructure are providing a future for the community. Interestingly enough, there are many places within Kakadu in which the local aboriginal people will not go. They have not visited these parts for thousands of years and call these areas ‘sickness country’. Scientists have since drawn correlations between ‘sickness country’ and areas within Kakadu that have high levels of uranium and arsenic. The aboriginal people sure knew their land!

In the North Eastern corner of the park is a place called Ubirr (pronounced oo-beer). Ubirr was a very special place to me. It is a place where wetlands meet rocky outcrops and borders the ridge that divides Kakadu from Ahnem Land. It surely is the land of spirits and I found it very humbling just to be present. Ubirr is also home to the most spectacular rock art Rob and I have ever seen.  The rocks boast layers and layers of painting that date back thousands and thousands of years. The rock art is so interesting as the styles of art change over the years. Some rock art depicts spirits and the creationists, while more recent art is an ‘xray’ style and is almost scientific in the way is illustrates the digestive systems of hunted animals. I was very moved by one section of rock art in particular that depicted a ‘white man’. You can clearly see they have painted big boots and show the white man with his hands in his pockets. Close by another white figure shows a man with a pipe in his mouth.

We spent an afternoon on the banks of the East Alligator river (all rivers in Kakadu are pretty much called Alligator river). East Alligator river marks the official border to Ahnem land and no one can proceed further East without a permit. You wouldn’t want to cross the river anywhere other than the official entry point either as we could see at least four big saltwater crocs at any one point in time! That river seemed to me like a mote protecting the communities that call Ahnem Land home.

 

We watched the sunset from on top of the rocks at Ubirr and we were treated with a full and giant sun setting brightly on the horizon over the plains. It looked like something you would imagine on the African Savannah.

Before leaving Kakadu we took a sunrise boat ride into ‘Yellow Water’ or Kakadu’s central wetlands. The billabong was misting as the suns heat touched the water and it was all very picturesque. The wetlands are abundant with life, mostly birds and of course crocs! We spotted multiple species of kingfishers and ducks and had a four metre male saltwater croc swim right up to the boat! Crocs are such dinosaurs and it was incredible to see the prehistoric creature so close. Funnily enough the boat had life jackets on board, however they seemed to be pretty useless. If that boat was going down a life jacket wasn’t going to save you.

 

I underestimated Kakadu and was completely surprised by the exceptional beauty we found there. In the end we spent two and a half days and three nights in Kakadu but could have easily spent more time. I guess we have to save some things for the next time we come back because I would most definitely like to return to the magical land of Kakadu. Yes it’s over run with tourists and it is a rare treat to get a pocket to yourself, yes it’s pricey (at $25 pp just to enter the park) however it is totally worth it and a MUST see for any Aussie nature lover. Oh and then there are the stars….

Some stats about Kakadu:

* The park covers nearly 20 000 square kilometres

*It is world heritage listed for both it’s cultural and natural values

* Kakadu is home to 290 bird species (over 1/3 of Australia’s birds), 68 Mammals (1/5 of Australia’s mammals), more than 120 reptiles, 26 frogs, over 300 fish species, more than 2000 plant species and over 10 000 species of insects.