Kakadu Safari

Namanjolg and Namarrgon, Lightning Man 

G'day!

I booked a 3 day/2 night trip with Kakadu 4WD Safaris ($510 all inclusive).  My adventure started with a 6 am pick up.  My guide, Neville aka "Nifty", put my daypack and sleeping bag into the trailer and then went over the road (across the street) to get 2 other guests.  Meanwhile, I waited on the footpath (sidewalk).

Stumpy (3 feet away) in Adelaide River

A 30ish man came out of my hostel; I had seen him walk in with a young lady 5 minutes earlier.  He walked up to me and asked me a question.  I thought I must have misheard and said, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"  He said again, "Do you want sex."  I backed away saying, "No, no!" and gaped after him as he hailed a taxi and rode away.  I was wearing a singlet (tank top - not a onesie, Stephanie) and shorts suitable for the hot weather even at 6 am and I did expect to be picked up, but just not that way!

Can you see Namanjolg's feather?

First I have to say that I had an excellent adventure primarily due to Nifty's encouraging attitude and very extensive knowledge.  He told us almost everything that I eventually read about in the visitor and cultural centers and guidebook and more.  I dubbed him a "generalogist".   And he wasn't bad to look at either.

Landforms and rock art or gunbim explain Creation stories

The 4WD Landcruiser seats 1 passenger in the front and has 2 benches holding 4 each facing inward in the back.  We pulled a trailer for our luggage, food, campgear and extra water. My safari mates were a German family of 4, Hannah (10) and Frederich (13), three German girls, and Anna from Tasmania.  Alcohol is not available in National Parks and is expensive close to the park so we stopped in Humpty Doo (!) to buy beer.

First up, a cruise on the Adelaide River to see the salt water crocodiles.  Our Aboriginal guide was Ganda who owns Kakadu 4WD Safaris.  Reese, a behavioral zoologist from the Melbourne area, provided additional commentary.  We got on a small flat bottom boat and were instructed about safety.  No one is allowed to move from one side of the boat to another.  If the croc is on your side, you stay seated and the other side may stand. No human body parts may protrude over the side of the boat at any time.

We cruised down river until we saw a croc.  Ganda stopped the boat and slapped the water with a piece of meat dangled over the water.  The croc came over and snapped at the meat.  It jumped higher until it had the meat in its mouth.  Ganda pulled on the meat and it came out of the croc's mouth.  We saw several crocs including "Stumpy", an large old croc missing his right arm and most of his teeth. He will probably lose his territory and have to move upriver or out to sea.

We're walking on the highest part of the Arnhem plateau

The croc's jaw strength is usually what kills their prey at up to 5000 pounds per square inch (350-400 psi for rottweiler or large great white shark) although the muscles for opening the mouth are relatively weak.    They normally have about 70 sharp teeth that are replaced continually until old age (about 100 years).  The "death roll" helps tears up prey into gulpable pieces.  Their powerful tail helps them jump out of the water or move quickly through the water, less quickly on land.  Thankfully, since they are cold blooded, crocs can go for months without food and are opportunistic hunters, going for "easy meat" that wanders into their territory.

Imagine the force of the water that brought this boulder here

Salties are usually striped tan and black when young.  Generally, as they age and have lived in salt water more, they turn darker so some old crocs appear to be black.  Crocodiles gained protected status in Australia in 1974 so products such as croc tail for meat, leather and teeth are harvested from crocodile farms.  On the way back to the ute we saw a Katherine brown or banded snake.

Jim Jim Falls

About 32% of the population in the Northern Territory, or Top End, is Aboriginal.  The Bininj/Mungguy have lived in Gagudju for as long as 40,000 years.  Kakadu National Park is about 250 kms (150 miles)from Darwin,  World Heritage listed as a natural as well as cultural site and is jointly managed by the traditional owners and Parks Australia.

Plants can survive and be beautiful anywhere!

Kakadu is renown for its biodiversity and internationally important wetlands for migratory birds.  We stopped at Mamukala Wetlands where we learned about the bird and plant life of the area during the 6 seasons of the Aboriginal year.  We saw magpie geese, great egrets and other birds.   At other places we saw many red tailed black cockatoos, black cockatoos, white corellas, flycatchers, whistlers, and bush turkeys.  We also saw a dingo trotting along a sandy track, a few wallabies, flying foxes, and little lizards.

As you may recall, Australia had a very wet year after 9 years of drought.  So even though June - August is Wurrgeng, the Aboriginal cold early dry season when the floodplains are drying out and the creeks usually stop flowing, it's happening later this year.  So some areas  such as Twin Falls and Gorge are still not accessible.

The only place not posted for crocs is the plunge pool itself

Saltwater crocs inhabit most areas of water in Kakadu.  Although some visitor areas in crocodile management zones are opened only after park staff have trapped and removed salties, they can move in at any time.  With so much water still here, risk is higher.  Freshwater crocs can be found in rivers, creeks, and plunge pools (the base of waterfalls).  They are usually shy but should not be approached.  Although we saw heaps of croc warning signs, we did not see any crocs.

After a quick stop at Bowali Visitor Centre and a sandwich lunch in the Nourlangie region at Anbangbang Billabong, we went to see the rock art or gunbim on the walls of Burrunggui.  Some of the art dates back tens of thousands of years to when the Mimi spirits first taught Bininj how to paint. There are naturalistic paintings of animals, traditional xray art, and paintings of European contact.

Billy can and early brekkie before our big climb

Some figures established dream stories, some were ceremonial, and some were to teach younger ones.  We could see from Gunwarddehwardde Lookout, the solitary stone on the Arnhem escarpment that is Namanjolg's feather that his sister put there after they broke the incest laws.  Namanjolg later became Ginja, the saltwater crocodile.

I was impressed with the amount of art we were able to easily see in a 1.5 kilometer area; there are about 5000 drawings in Kakadu.  The Bininj painted in the shade during the scorching hot days and while staying dry during the rains.  The rock surface in the area is coarse conglomerate sandstone.  Ubirr is the other area with spectacular rock art.

Mossie tents are a must!!!

Then we headed towards our campsite.  But we got a flat tire.  After searching all over the Landcruiser and trailer, we could not find a jack and had to flag down a car and then a ute because the car's jack was too low.  We collected firewood (partially burned trees left from land management fires) while Nifty was dealing with the jack/tire.  Then off again through the savannah woodlands to the Jim Jim Falls area which is only accessible in the dry season and only by 4WD, (by flightseeing during the wet,) eventually turning onto a bumpy red dirt road for 50 kms/30 miles (2 hours).

I don't know how this granite got on top of the sandstone

We camped both nights at Garnamarr Camping Area which had flush toilets and hot showers!  Although we were supposed to sleep in swags, we were very relieved that Nifty provided us with 3 mosquito tents instead.   We had kangeroo meat burritoes, chocolate cake!, roasted marshmallows and didgeridoo lessons by our campfire the first night.  Roasted chicken and jacket potatoes on the second night.

After the hiking in/and the heat (and with the foam mat which I folded in half and used under my shoulders to hips), I slept well.  I got into my sleeping bag in the middle of the night when I got cold.

Budjmi Lookout

We left camp by 6:40 am (late) and drove 10 km/6 miles (1 hour) over the sand/rock road to the Jim Jim Falls carpark.  The Barrk Marlam Bushwalk branches off the Jim Jim Plunge Pool track and is a "very steep, difficult 6 km return walk through the rugged stone country typical of the Arnhem Land Plateau.  Allow 4-6 hours."  Well, we made it to the top of the sandstone escarpment in a little over 2 hours.  It was worth the effort (at the time, I paid later with sore thigh muscles).  It's amazing to see the evidence of what all the water can do during the wet season and what a gorgeous view!

Fruit from Pandanus is good bush tucker

We made it down in under 2 hours and then did the 1 km return walk through monsoon forest and over boulders to the base of the falls so the Germans could have another swim.  Nifty taught us a trick.  Stare at one point of a waterfall for about 10 seconds.  Then look to the side of the waterfall.  The wall will appear to move.  It really does!  Less than one K back to the carpark!! Hot shower!!  Ah!!!!!!!!

The next morning we drove an hour to do a short steep walk up to Budjmi Lookout.  This involved crossing a creek on 3 small fallen treetrunks and hiking up the conglomerate sandstone hill.   Then we rockclimbed, searching for hand and toeholds, up the granitic rocky outcrop perched on top of the sandstone.  Strange geology.  Another great view of the escarpment we had climbed the day before and in the silence, we could hear many different bird calls.

Old Jim Jim Road is only open during the dry season - now

We bumped back to the campground to hitch up the trailer again and then drove through the Yellow Waters region to Cooinda and toured the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre.  After lunch we took Old Jim Jim Road out of Kakadu and drove miles and miles of dirt track back towards civilization.

On the way we passed through areas being burned to reduce undergrowth as the Aboriginals have always done to care for their land. We passed signs indicating areas of military training where soldiers do their war games and tanks practice.  We also had to go through a high creek; although the water level was higher than the door, water did not enter.

Giant termite mound

Our last stop was to see huge termite mounds that were more than 10 feet high; their underground network is even more extensive. There are termite mounds dotting the bush throughout the area with each colony keeping to itself.  Termites play an important role in creating habitats, soil aeration, groundwater retention, and recycling nutrients.

That's it for my Kakadu adventure.  I saw a lot and did heaps of hiking for a 3 day safari.  But I only touched the surface of what Kakadu had to offer; another 2 days would have been good (but expensive).  July is probably a very good time to be in the area because the weather is cooler and the water level is low enough to allow access yet wet enough for the waterfalls to still run.  Litchfield National Park is nearby.  So, if you can, pick up a 4WD vehicle and National Park Guides (free and very helpful) in Darwin and spend a week or so in the Litchfield/Kakadu area.

Cheers!
Cyn