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Published: July 13th 2008
Hello all ..... I am back in Katherine after having spent 3 nights in Kakadu!! I actually prepared most of this post whilst in Kakadu as I had a bit of time (actually ... come to think about it .... I had LOTS of time). Now I have internet again, I can update and publish this post.
Since my last post I have walked ALOT. After having the JGG serviced (and washed) in Darwin, I decided to visit Doctors Gully - the home of Aquascene - where you can hand feed wild fish at each high tide (for the small fee of $8!). Well .... I have not fed my own fish for quite some weeks now, so I was going through withdrawals (Thank you to Tony and Thuy for doing the honours whilst I am away)! Doctors Gully is pretty cool actually, despite being the perfect example of a typical tourist attraction. There were hundreds of fish all coming in to get their share of a free feed - some of these buggers were BIG. But after having had my fun, I headed down to Litchfield National Park for the day - I have to say that I was
not overly impressed - maybe I should have spent longer at Doctors Gully! Yes, the waterfalls were gorgeous. Yes, the scenery was beautiful. And yes - the place was absolutely overrun with visitors! Unfortunately, the dry season up north is also the busy season. That coupled with school holidays, means that there are an enormous number of people up in the Top End - so much so that it took me up to 45 minutes to get a parking spot in some places in Litchfield National Park. Then, after scoring that elusive parking spot, your short walk to the actual feature (waterfall, rock pool etc) is greeted by standing room only due to crowds! Not my idea of an idyllic National Park I am afraid. In any case, I spent the day in Litchfield, saw all of the main sights, took quite a few pics (of both scenery AND people - including one fat bastard who would not get out of the way), and then I headed back to Darwin.
After 3 nights in Darwin, where my sleep was interrupted by not only aircraft taking off in the middle of the night, but also by what I worked out
Litchfield National Park
This fat bastard would not get out of my shot!!to be native fowl scrounging around my tent in the wee small hours, I decided to head into Kakadu. My last visit to Kakadu, some 8 years prior, was during the wet season. As a result, there were a number of areas which were inaccessible at that time, and so I was very much looking forward to seeing those attractions for the first time. I stopped at the Adelaide River Jumping Crocodile Cruise on the way through, just making the 9am cruise. These cruises are great! The basic premise is that staff on the cruises “tease” the crocs into jumping out of the water for their scrap of meat. Sometimes the croc gets lucky and manages to grab the meat early. Other times, the croc has to go through all 3 jumps before being rewarded. It is a real photographic opportunity though, and of course I was “ready and armed” with my camera.
My first stop in Kakadu was a wetland feature by the name of Mamukala - somewhere I had not visited before. Not knowing what to expect, and not having great expectations, I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to see an enormous oasis in the middle
of the dry bush which was overrun with squawking ducks! There must have been thousands of them ... literally. Welcome to Kakadu! This is what Kakadu is all about ... well in the dry season it is anyways. There are large expanses of dense dry scrub, and in between is an oasis or wetland area which supports much wildlife of different descriptions - whether this be birdlife, fish, crocodiles, or as I was to find out - wild horses. It really is a beautiful unspoilt area. After pitching the Thunderbox at Jabiru (and being alarmed by the sight of curlews again in the van park I am in), I headed off to Ubirr art site, somewhere again I had not managed to get to during my last visit to Kakadu due to impassable roads - not that I did not try in the rental car mind you . Again, this was spectacular. There is the obligatory aboriginal art of course - but something unexpected was the view from the top as you sit high above a wetland area - a beautiful green oasis in the middle of the dry. Unfortunately though, it is the traditional practice of the aboriginal
Litchfeld National Park
If you look closely, you can even see that people managed to get down there!!! owners of the land to burn areas of bush during the dry. This not only manages fire risk, but also brings out new life - and a food source - when the wet season arrives. The resultant smoke haze which “pollutes” many of my pictures was the unfortunate outcome of this practice however.
After Ubirr, I again visited Nourlangie Rock for more rock art - including my favourite work which I have included. This guy is definitely what you would call “well endowed”!! On my way out of Nourlangie, I visited the Anbangbang billabong which was signposted - but not marked on the map. It was great! I was the only person there. The place was extremely peaceful - the only sounds you could hear were the birds singing and the leaves rustling in the wind. I managed to wander close to the water to get some nice shots - didn’t see any crocs - but I was very much on the lookout!
On day two in Kakadu I decided to hit Jim Jim Falls - a 60km 4WD only road in and out. I had never visited Jim Jim before, but was very much looking forward to
Litchfield
Finally ... no crowds!! the photographic opportunities there. Well I have to say that the road into Jim Jim would have to be the WORST road I have ever driven on - and that is against the Bloomfield Track (between Cape Trib and Cooktown) and the road between Alice Springs and Chambers Pillar. The corrugations on the road were nothing less than painful. Every bit of the JGG shook .... and my queasiness even returned! There were no washouts, but there were several creek crossings - some up to a metre in depth. After a couple of hours driving, there is a walk of about 900mtrs to get to the falls - over some fairly poorly marked and very rocky trails. And after all that, you learn that Jim Jim Falls only has water during the wet season! I was not impressed! I still managed to get a few shots however, even though the smoke haze from local burn offs can be clearly seen in them. But the plunge pool at the base of the falls is nothing short of picturesque!
Following Jim Jim, I did all the minor features marked on the park guide map - Mirray Lookout, Jim Jim Billabong, Sandy
Billabong (which was closed in any case), and I did the board walk at Yellow Waters. This has to be the jewel of Kakadu. I was at the Board Walk yesterday and was standing about 6 or 7 metres away from a croc - I didn’t even see the bugger. He was half hidden by a tree, but even still, he took me by surprise. As I was standing on the Board Walk today, watching the vast amount of wildlife (birds, fish, horses and the croc), I heard the guide on the Yellow Waters Cruise tell his passengers “This boat is well equipped with life jackets ... not that they will do you much good out here!” Bring on the crocs!!
This morning, before I left Cooinda in Kakadu, I did the 6.45am Yellow Waters Cruise. Yellow Water is nothing short of spectacular. It supports so much in the way of wildlife - today we even saw wild boars which the guide explained are mostly exterminated, except for a few which they leave to feed the crocs. Not sure if that was the truth or a load of croc in itself? The morning cruise, whilst very early, is designed
to get you into the heart of the billabong by sunrise - well worth the early morning! The two hour cruise was definitely the highlight of my trip so far. I would have t o say that it even beats Lake McKenzie on Fraser, and is marginally ahead of the Great Barrier Reef. I have included a few pics for you to enjoy. I am already planning where to place these pics on my walls at home. J
Tomorrow I do the Katherine Gorge cruise, before heading down towards the Red Centre on Monday morning.
Out of interest, I have travelled around 12,300kms so far, and consumed about 2,700 litres of LPG at a cost of $2,360. The most I have paid for LPG is 123c/L at the Barkley Roadhouse in the NT, and the most I have seen unleaded for is 206.9 at Threeways Roadhouse in the NT. I have run the JGG on LPG all the way except for approximately 100kms - it has not missed a beat! LPG was definitely the way to go as I am guessing that I have saved somewhere around $2,200 in fuel costs through the conversion - which only cost
Stumpy
I saw this guy 8 years ago - he had one leg missing then. Now he is missing both front legs. me a net of $1,150 - meaning I have already recovered the cost of conversion.
Hope you are all well
Until next post ... probably from the Alice.
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