Blogs from Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 5

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Got to Darwin early enough and checked it out. Vibrant young exciting city, but you can’t go swimming in the sea. We reckoned that we could see big Salties (Estuarine Crocodiles) swimming the harbour below the cliff we were standing upon, so we went and had a Vietnamese instead and chilled out. Next day was our trip to the Kakadu National Park. It is a huge national park 2 hours from Darwin. It has spectacular natural scenery and wildlife, including millions of birds and reptiles. It also contains some phenomenal indigenous sites that can be visited, in particular the interesting aboriginal rock art paintings. There are a few that you can visit within the park and are easily accessible. We went to see one called Ubirr, guided by a local indigenous tour guide. He explained the ... read more
TwinFallsKakadu
JabiruandEgret
CrocChilling


Today was a rest day after all the walking yesterday in the heat. We went into Jabiru and found the supermarket (the one and only) and did some shopping. Then stopped at the Bakery for some fresh bread and some more pecan tarts, as we’d enjoyed the last ones so much. I also bought us each a quiche for lunch. After stowing our purchases and eating our lunch I worked on my blog while Barry watched some movies with the headphones on, sitting in our air conditioned van. The conditioner works hard to cool us in high temperatures as it isn’t very powerful but we had good shade from the tree by mid-afternoon so it was fine. In the evening we went to the poolside bar/bistro and had a drink and some dinner. Barry had a ... read more
A Lovely Shady Caravan Park
Jabiru Supermarket
Barry Lugging Shopping


We were up early today so we could get to the Nourlangie Rock Art site for the Ranger talks that were to start at 9.20am up at the Gun-warddewardde Lookout. We got there just in time and sat in whatever shade we could find while our Ranger Guide, Christian, told us about Aboriginal Views of Country and Culture. Christian was very enthusiastic about his subject and made sure that he used the Aboriginal terms for everything he spoke about. He has been fascinated by the culture since he saw the white ship rock artwork as a boy. He spent 14 years in the desert country at Uluru learning the language and being taught the culture by an elder that accepted him into the family. He said that he even dreamt in language but that he only ... read more
Aboriginal Art and Stories also tell the Law
AnBangBang Shelter
The Type of Artefacts Found in the Shelter


We found out from the caravan park owner that the nearest place to get our flat tyre fixed is Jabiru so we’d better not go on any more dirt roads until then. Then, as we were getting set to move on we saw a flock of Red-Collared Lorikeets enjoying the lawn sprinkler, flying in and out through the spray. We’d also seen them looking for water near our van so I put out a plastic box with some in. It didn’t attract the Lorikeets but we did get three Northern Rosellas down. Unlike our Victorian Rosellas, they are blue and yellow and have a black cap on their heads. I also spotted a Friarbird, with its black lump on top of its beak. We drove to Mardugal, where we set up camp under some trees in ... read more
Feral Donkeys on the Way to Kakadu
Green Ant Nests
Hanging Out to Dry


Hi everyone, Today we did some small things. At 9 am we left with a boat on the East Alligator river to see some crocodiles and learn about the Aboriginals. We saw like 30 crocodiles in 2 hours, a lot! And we learned about the hunting techniques and carving and rituals of the Aboriginals. The guide gave us some red paint the Aboriginals use for painting rock walls and other stuff and my sister and I got ourselves some tribal stripes. Also we heard all kinds of ghost stories about people getting attacked by crocodiles. Like a woman who went cayaking at 7 pm and got attacked but she survived eventually. And a 12 year old boy who got eaten. Kinda scary when a crocodile is 2 meters away from the boat.. After this little trip, ... read more
Mr. Croc
Boat view
Red tribal stripes


Hi travel followers. After a few days in Litchfield National Park, we moved on to Kakadu/Jabiru for a few days. We have also been here before, BUT when you can do it slowly and take your time to understand and appreciate the surroundings it looks much better. Also, given we now have a great four wheel drive, we can do things we haven't done before like cross the Cahill's low level crossing (see photos) into Arnhem Land. This is one of those "tidal" crossings where there was half a dozen 3 meter crocodiles waiting each side of the crossing looking for lunch (Barramundi) to make the crossing. An unbelievable experience driving across and staring into the eyes of crocs checking you out for a possible lunch. We also took the couple of days to visit and ... read more
Nourlangie Rock
Ubirr flood plains from the Lookout
Ubirr flood plains


There are more things we want to do in Australia/New Zealand/South East Asia than we can possibly fit into 6 months so we know we wont get to do them all. However, a priority for both of us is to go “Up Top” to the Northern Territory. We realized that we are heading into the Wet Season and that if we don’t go now, we may not be able to see Kakadu so…we went. Booked a trip and flights one day and left the next. There are really only two proper seasons in the North, the Dry and the Wet, however there is an unofficial season as the Dry turns into the Wet and it’s called the Buildup. Basically it means the heat is increasing, the humidity is increasing but the rain hasn’t come yet to ... read more
Rock paintings
I have my eye on you...
Kakadu

Oceania » Australia » Northern Territory » Kakadu National Park September 27th 2013

One of the odd things about visiting Kakadu National Park is the division amongst travellers as to whether to visit or not. We had both very positive and very negative advice, but are pleased that we went anyway. Probably the wrong time of year, right at the end of the dry season, but still plenty to see. Just at the end of the wet season, there is more drama and activity in the gorges and waterfalls, and water fowl and lilies to enhance the experience. However, we saw plenty of action, and would visit again with a 4WD vehicle to access the more remote parts of the park. We visited Fogg Dam before entering the National Park. Signs warned of a rogue salty, thus closing the walking paths. We could drive around the park and photograph ... read more
Truck crossing East Alligator River
Lilies at Fogg Dam
Just opening


Katherine, Northern Territory, 15 juillet Le parc national de Kakadu, inscrit sur la liste du patrimoine naturel et culturel mondial, mérite amplement sa réputation. Gigantesque territoire, incroyable biodiversité, foyer culturel de l’histoire humaine, ses merveilles nous laissent tout simplement pantois! Ces deux journées passées à découvrir ces confins de la terre australienne m’ont ravi et l’aventure du «outback» est ici tout simplement hors normes. Vous dire le sentiment qui nous envahit lorsqu’on parcoure les pistes de terre rouge, à des centaines de kilomètres de toute civilisation, au cœur d’une nature à l’état brut, difficile d’y mettre les mots justes. Je vous dirais simplement que j’en resterai marqué à jamais… Les peintures rupestres de Nourlangie Rock nous ramèment loin loin dans le temps et le talent de ces artistes impressionne, les terres humides des «wetlands» bou... read more
Nourlangie Rock
Nourlangie Rock
Nourlangie Rock


Following on from Ubirr we went to Nourlangie Rock again to look at some aboriginal rock paintings similar to Ubirr but telling a different story. An interesting place with paintings dating back thousands of years.This place is wheel chair friendly to a point but some of the paintings are only accessible after climbing up some rocks.There is also a cavern in which Aboriginal people would take shelter during the stormy wet season.Again an inspirational place where you would be taken back in time. We liked Ubirr and it's close proximity to so many natural attractions,one disappointment was that the road to Jim jim Jim Falls was closed not sure why.This road is strictly 4x4 for 2hrs followed by a 1hr hike over rocks to reach a spectacular waterfall and plunge pool,never mind there is always next ... read more
Kakadu
Kakadu
Kakadu




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