Kakadu National Park

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After our Ayers Rock tour we flew to Darwin in the north of Australia. The first thing we noticed was how hot it felt as it was still around 34C but the humidity was much higher. We decided to do another 3 day tour, this time to Kakadu National Park. We were picked up by our guide, a half aboriginal, half scottish man (how random!) called Genda. Apparently his scottish dad lives on a small island off the north coast of australia in an aboriginal community with 3 wives!

First stop on route to the national park was the "spectacular jumping crocodile cruise"! We got on a boat on the Adelaide River and cruised up and down dangling a large piece of meat on a stick over the river. There were some huge crocs swimming around us, some up to 6 meters long! They launch themselves out of the water to get the meat and are so fast its actually pretty scary.

Next stop was the Nourlangie Rock Art Site. It was a huge area covered in rock paintings that aboriginal people have been using for thousands of years as a kind of blackboard to teach their kids about various things. There were sections to learn about hunting, childbirth, cooking and even a circumsision area! 11 year old boys have to be circumsised and are not allowed to make a noise or it brings shame to the family. Also as they didn't have a written language all laws are also drawn as paintings and they have some pretty odd ones. You're not allowed to look at or be near a sibling of the opposite sex or its classed as incest and you can be given a pretty severe punishment.

On our way to the camp Genda slammed on the brakes and charged into the bush and came back with a huge spitting lizzard! It has this big frill around its neck that it can spread out when its angry to make itself look bigger.

At the camp we set up a large fire and cooked dinner. Kangeroo steaks in a red wine marrinade and veg stir-fry! It was so good! Kangeroo's are so lean that their meat has hardly any fat so it was like eating a really good beef fillet steak. It even topped the camel con carne we had at ayers rock. A few people, Kate included, ate some raw kangeroo meat. Apparently it was good, but then she nearly gagged at the thought!

The next day we went on an all day hike to see various waterfalls and swimming holes (all thankfully crocodile free). It was so hot that the thought of a cold pool to jump in up ahead was the only thing that kept us going through some of it!

Back at camp when collecting wood to start the fire with Kate managed to nearly slice her finger off on some grass! To be fair it is known as razor grass. I think it was just so she could get out of doing any cooking or washing up. We had another feast, buffalo sausages and lamb chops with baked potatos cooked in the ashes of the fire. We loved the food on this trip! Genda tried to teach us how to play the didgeridoo which is just as difficult as it looks. Making the noise isnt too hard, its just breathing thats the problem! As breathing in and out at the same time is impossible, they hold some air in their mouths and force this out to keep the noise going while breathing in through the nose. Genda was so good at it, it was great to actually hear someone playing it properly. We went for a walk that night and Genda jumped into the croc infested river (we could see their eyes!) to yank out a water python. It had really baggy skin that works as fins in the water and felt like sandpaper so it could grip and crush fish. On the last day while sitting around a waterfall we painted our faces with aboriginal style paint. Needless to say we looked very cool.

It was another brilliant tour and left us just as shattered as after ayers rock. Next stop Cairns and the east coast!

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Photos

Rich gracefully entering the lagoon
This was the lagoon in Crocodile Dundee...good eh?!

An Aborigine painting
This one shows a man who was killed and then turned into the salt water crocodile, to teach kids to be careful about the water. The white thing next to him is the man who brings lightening and rain.

Aborigine face painting!
Kate had a fly on her lip...hence the weird face...

Charlie
The buffalo from Crocodile Dundee...only Kate got excited by this out of everyone on the bus.

Comments

[jess]

great blogs kids! i cant believe he jumped into a croc infested river! me and mum cant believe you ate raw kangaroo! miss u loads. look forward to seein the great barrier reef pics. xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[barabra]

Only just seen your bloggs
Hi guys, for some reason all your Blogg updates have started being filtered as Spam, so only just discovered the one where you asked for Suggestions between Brisbane and Sydney. Can't halp you there anyhow as we never did go up that side of the country. Canberra was a bit Bizarre but something different, interesting architecture!!! (similar bulshit you read iin the awful guide books). We stayed in a place called Burra which is in land and unlikely to be en route for you but that was a great little place to 'recover' from the endless slogg of travel. There is NOTHING to do there but the pubs (thats right plural) in that one horse town sure know how to satisfy an Irish girls hunger. Plus we stayed in cornish miners cottages and reminded us of home a little bit to be living in a real house for a bit. If you do get the chance (you probably won't because its miles from Sydney and nearer to Adelaide) go to Kangaroo Island, also the wine tasting in the Barossa valley is brilliant. you see Sydney was shitty for us the weather was awful-wet and miserable and John got sick from sleeping in a damp bed in a skuzzie back packers (of which there are many in Sydney). So of all the good memories of Australia, none of them are of Sydney. Hope I'm not depressing you if you're heading there!!! Looking forward to hearing about NZ, I completely Loved loved NZ go to Nyzna in the South Island, there are lakes there but theres a Maze and an illusions 'play place' that is such good craic. you'll know what I mean when you go there, silly fun!.Going on a bit now so will finish there.

[stuart b]

good face paint