Camping in the Kakadu
I left home early Saturday 21st
December, heading for a Christmas adventure in Australia. It was more of an
adventure than a holiday as I had planned it all myself, I wasn't going on a
guided tour this time. When I arrived at Darwin I caught the local bus to my
hotel and was surprised how green and immaculately kept everywhere was; I was
expecting burnt, dried grass, but it was the opposite! It was the most
picturesque journey I have ever had from an airport! As there was an hour of
daylight left, I didn't bother unpacking; I went out to get my bearings! My
hotel was directly opposite the esplanade park overlooking the ocean - the
views were wonderful! I found a supermarket and bought provisions for my
camping trip tomorrow and as I headed back, I was caught in a torrential
rainstorm. Once I got out of my wet clothes, I re-arranged my luggage, as I was
only allowed to take my rucksack with me tomorrow. It took a great deal of
organizing to get three days’ worth of snacks, water bottles, hat, first aid,
swimming stuff, toiletries, camera, essential camping stuff and a few clothes
packed in it! I couldn't wait to get to bed - it seemed forever since I had
been to sleep.
Monday
I was picked up at 7am in a four-wheel drive
vehicle for the "Kakadu Litchfield Safari". There were only 4 of us
in the group, another English girl, two Japanese girls and Robbie our typical
surfer Aussi guide. The Japanese girls had paid extra to upgrade to better
tents, Robbie decided that it would be easier if we were all the same – so he
upgraded me too! That meant we would have an electric light bulb in our tent, a
fan and a mattress! I was happy that it was such a small group, we all got on
really well from the word go, and it really was go! Robbie was very informative
and reassured us that there were more deadly things in the sea than in the rain
forest here. (In the sea, apart from the obvious sharks and crocodiles, there
were cone fish and rockfish with a hypodermic poisonous needle, box jellyfish
and Irraganji, a miniature jellyfish that was more deadly than its big
brother). We followed the railway track out of Darwin, heading south and soon
reached Litchfield National Park; it is only 1400 square kilometres, small
compared with Kakadu (which is over 20,000), but what it lacks in size, it is
supposed to make up in beauty! It is known as “the area of hills and lakes”,
and the scenery began as a "tree savannah", although all the trees
were burnt half way up their trunks.
The Aboriginal people carry out controlled
burning, on a rotation system, to keep the undergrowth clear, so if the bush
catches fire in a lightning strike - it wouldn't get out of control. A third of
all Aboriginal people in Australia live at the Top End, mostly in Darwin and
around Lichfield and Kakadu. As we approached Lichfield, we saw huge termite
mounds, in different colours, dependant on the soil colour of that area, and
surrounding theses were a variety of palm trees, pandanas, eucalyptus, and
ferns. Where an area had recently been burnt, the new growth of grass was the
brightest, purest shade of green - only a few days after it had been blackened.
Against the black tree trunks, it was a beautiful scene and one that we saw for
the whole of our trip. The cattle we passed were not the prettiest - they were
pale and looked terribly thin. This breed had been brought in from India, as
they were the only strain that could cope with the Tick that had killed every
other variety of cows that had been introduced to this area. We were told that
we wouldn't see any koalas or kangaroos here, but there would be plenty of
wallabies and wallaroos; also there were almost 300 species of birds in this
park, a third of all Australia's bird life. The "Wet" had come early
this year and everything was looking especially vibrant and refreshed.
After
stopping at Bachelor for a coffee we headed for our first adventure, a hike
down to Florence Falls. This was absolutely amazing, walking through the jungle
– aka a tropical rain forest. It was nothing like anyone imagines the Northern
Territory to be like, the desert; but this was why I had decided to come in
December, in the wet, to see it like this. The monsoon rains change the
landscape for 3 or 4 months every year, to a beautiful expanse of wetland -
full of plants, flowers, birds, animals and unbelievably sharks too! Can you
believe that with the high river tides, sharks have been known to swim 40
kilometres inland!
What with the sharks and saltwater crocodiles, that have
been known to travel 300 kilometres to Katherine, in floodwaters – it wasn’t
safe to be near any water up here! But apparently, Florence Falls was a safe
place to bathe. We had to walk for about half an hour in the blazing heat,
passing several wallabies sheltering among the rocks. When we arrived, we were
so pleased to be able to have a refreshing swim in the clear, dark water, which
was quite cold, full of fish, and took some getting into.
It was very isolated
and incredibly picturesque with its 2 cascading waterfalls surrounded by
boulders and overhanging trees, making it shady and private. We followed Robbie,
who took us behind one of the gushing waterfalls – that was hard going! I am
not the strongest swimmer. We stayed by the falls for about an hour, before
walking back through the beautiful tropical rain forest again, still in our
bathers, over several creeks, through shaded gorges and eventually reaching our
vehicle and a temperature of about 40 degrees!
Our next stop was at Buley Rock
Hole – or Nature's Spa. This was a popular bathing spot for families and we saw
more people there, than we saw for the rest of the day. There were a series of
plunge pools carved out of the sandstone rocks and you could slide down (not
too comfortably) from one to another until you reached the rainforest at the bottom.
These refreshing waters came from a freshwater spring, where it was possible to
refill your water bottles - providing you did it upstream! It was really hot
now and it was delightful to get back into the cold water again.
After this,
Robbie made us hot dogs for lunch, which we ate enroute - as we were booked on
a boat trip on the Adelaide River. We made it with 10 minutes to spare, and
guess how I spent those 10 minutes?
With a Carpet Python around my neck! Robbie
volunteered me! It was quite an experience and one that I didn't enjoy it that
much! I could feel the snake getting tighter and heavier around my neck, and I
was paranoid about where its head was going! I had hold of its tail, but when
it disappeared over my shoulder and down my back - I had, had enough! After
that excitement, we boarded the cruise boat and when we were all safely on it,
a rope was put up to keep people on their respective sides of the boat.
The
captain did not want people moving from one side of the boat to the other,
taking photos, in case it tipped over and we all ended up as dinner for the
crocodiles. Within a few minutes of setting off, the crocs started emerging.
The first one we saw up close was an albino nicknamed Michael Jackson. The
crew, held meat over the side of the boat, and we photographed the crocs
jumping out of the water for it. Even though they are so huge, they can jump up
out of the water three quarters of their body length.
There were lots of crocs
about that day and it was really eerie to see their green eyes looking up out
of the water at you. The largest one called Hannibal was almost seven metres
long - a real monster. Crocs have survived from before the ice age and are akin
to dinosaurs; they have exceptional survival skills and can go 12 months
without food. Half way through the cruise, we had a tremendous storm, thunder,
lightning and monsoonal rain. The hills of Arnhem Land in the distance generate
their own weather system; it is 5 degrees hotter up there and every afternoon,
they create torrential storms.
As much as we all got soaked through, after the
intense heat, it was very welcoming! As we drove to the campsite, at Bark Hut,
we saw wallabies feeding alongside the road, kingfishers and parrots in the
trees and the occasional dingo! When we had unloaded the truck and had all been
allocated a tent, we prepared tea and went to have a shower whilst Robbie
cooked it. Thai green curry, rice and stir fried vegetables - it was delicious!
We all mucked in to get cleared up and then went to the campsite bar for a
drink.
Robbie was telling us about cyclone Tracey that flattened Darwin 39
years ago tomorrow - on Christmas day, and I told him about the cyclone that I
was in, in Townsville exactly 2 years before that one. Mega Cyclones are
supposed to happen in 40 year cycles, so we decided that it would be a miracle
if we got through this Christmas in one piece! When I went to the toilet, there
were many Cane toads about, they are poisonous to any animal that tries to eat
them and the locals kill them because they are such a threat to the wildlife.
Back in the upgraded tent, I switched the light on, but the tent had mesh
sides, so with the light on, everyone could see everything I was doing, that
wasn’t good! So I fumbled around in the dark. I was told that I would be
sharing a tent, but I was given one for myself, I don't know if that was a good
thing or not! I put the torch back on to check my bed for anything that
shouldn't be there, tried to ignore the gecko above my head, and with my torch
under my pillow I fell to sleep. What an exhausting day it had been.
Tuesday
I only slept until 3am, and once awake, I kept
hearing all sorts of noises and there was no way I could get back to sleep. The
worst thing I could possibly have done was get everything out ready for the
morning - the morning dew soaked everything through and all my clothes were wet
when I put them on! But it was not nearly as horrendous as the sight in the
toilet block! Without exaggerating, there were millions and millions of dead
termites. Their wings and bodies had clogged up every sink, and you just
couldn't look down the toilet - it was the worst sight ever. I ended up washing
my face and cleaning my teeth in the kitchen tent.
After a quick breakfast, we
packed the truck and headed off to Kakadu National Park. The park is 49 per
cent owned by the local Aboriginal people who have lived here for over 50,000
years. We stopped at the entrance for a quick photograph and I spotted both
white and black cockatoos in the nearby grass, happily eating fallen fruit.
The
next stop was the Mamuka Wetlands, a huge expanse of water covered in water
lilies and a haven for bird life. The flies there were awful, so I ended up
putting a fly net over my head, I though everyone would laugh at me, but they
all wanted one.
Next stop was at Cahill's crossing, a tidal river full of
saltwater, man-eating crocodiles, and the boundary to Arnhem Land. We didn't
see any crocs this morning, but Robbie told us such horrific tales about them,
that we were never going near any water again.
In the wet season, the reason so
much of this park is closed off, isn't because of flooding, its because the
floodwaters have enabled the crocs to get into places that they wouldn't
otherwise have got into, and are lying in wait for unsuspecting humans!
Next,
armed with extra drinking water, we hiked through Ubirr to see ancient
Aboriginal rock art that has survived for thousands of years. It was far more
interesting than I expected, and once we had been told about the different
styles of paintings, the images made far more sense.
One style was of animals
showing their skeletons whilst a different style showed them filled in. You
could actually see up to four different paintings superimposed over each other,
like a blackboard that hasn't been wiped clean properly. The colours were so
well preserved too; it was quite remarkable that these are the oldest
paintings, done by the oldest known people in the world.
There were drawings of
animals that are now extinct, such as the Tasmanian tiger and they told stories
about the Namarrgarn sisters, the Mabuyu and Rainbow Serpent as well as
expected behavior and laws. Many of them could be up to 30,000 years old,
showing a culture that has stood the test of time. It will be such a shame if
it cannot survive now when there is so much that can be done to help preserve
it.
Then we clambered up a rocky lookout to view the Nardab Floodplain and the
East Alligator River - it was astonishing. I could not believe what a lush
green the tropical grassland below was, it was nothing like the green grass
back home - it was so bright, nearly luminescence, swaying gently in the
breeze. Every so often there were clumps of palm trees making an oasis; and you
could see gigantic granite rocks that looked like they had been precisely
positioned.
These vast wetlands really were an awesome sight! There were many
birds of prey just hovering above us on the hot air currents and swooping down
for their prey. But the vista from the top, looking along at the 300 metre high
escarpment as far as you could see, really was quite breath taking, and to think
that this was once coastal cliffs (now about 50 kilometres from the sea) and
that they stretch 300 kilometres inland, all the way to Katherine. We tried
some bush tucker, aren't I brave! A desert plum, a wild apple, a type of nut,
and wait for it - a green ant that tasted of lime!
Once we had descended, we
visited the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre, where it was interesting to
see many of the characters and dreamtime legends that we had been told about
earlier in the day, they made more sense now. We left Robbie outside getting
lunch ready, but the inevitable happened and the heavens opened. The storm
lasted quite a while but we were driving to our next campsite for most of it,
and managed to unpack when it had stopped raining. We all went and had a beer
before getting supper ready, at a lovely bar next to a swimming pool that I
would have loved to gone in, but it was getting dark and the mosquitoes were
about. As much as I put lots of repellant on, I was still worried that they
would be going to make a meal of me! We had kangaroo and buffalo steaks for
supper with fries, salad etc and it was so tasty. But it was a bit late for me
to eat though, and I knew that I wouldn't sleep well!
Wednesday
It wasn't the excitement of Santa coming that
woke me at 3am, it was being eaten alive by mosquitoes and hearing a pack of
dingoes howling close by - scary!!! I couldn't just lay there, so I got up and
was all ready and packed before 6am, teeth cleaned in the kitchen again. There
was no way that I was going to face the dead termites again. I had learnt from
the previous night, and kept all of my clothes in plastic bags, so at least
they weren't damp.
We left camp early and we drove out to see the Uranium mine,
a massive hole that has been carved out of Kakadu's landscape by huge
bulldozers. There was a brilliant view of the escarpment from the mine area
though.
Then we went to another cultural area called Nourlangie, which has been
occupied by Aboriginal people for over 20,000 years. I loved this place even
more than yesterday's; the rock art was wonderful and we saw more colourful
flowers. There were wild orchids growing everywhere; red, blue, yellow and
white flowers. We saw more wallabies hiding under the rocks, lizards and many
birds; as well as millions of annoying flies again.
The rocky outcrops in the
distance were so many shades of orange with black lines travelling down them -
I couldn't take enough photos! This is where Namarrgon, lightning man, would watch
for the first lightning storms. It was an amazing view all around, and so
different from the day before.
As we climbed higher up the rocky outcrop, we
came to a flat area that was surrounded by boulders, flowering bushes and
trees; it could have been an area in a local park just without benches and
rubbish bins. This area fascinated me, it felt very special and the view from
every corner of it was just breathtaking!
It probably was where ceremonies and tribal
gatherings used to take place. When we got back to the truck, the heat was
quite unbearable, again, and we were happy to be in the air-conditioned vehicle
animal spotting for a few hours.
We headed back towards Darwin and stopped at
Butt Hut again, to use their kitchen to do our lunch, so that we didn't get
flies in it! Robbie was very good, stopping whenever we saw anything that we
wanted to photograph and we saw so many birds. I got a great photo of a
Cockatoo eating a Kakadu plum, more black Cockatoos, kites, a blue falcon and
several kingfishers that were too quick to photograph.
We stopped at some huge
Cathedral termite mounds before the afternoon monsoonal rain was upon us again.
We had to keep reminding ourselves that it was Christmas Day, and nowhere was
open, only one cafe/bar on the main highway where locals there enjoying a
drink; and we all ran through the torrential rain and treated ourselves to an
ice cream.
We called in at a couple of places by the river looking for more
crocs, but we didn't see anymore. We also saw some different termite mounds,
these were black and always built north to south - they were known as Magnetic
termite mounds! By now, I was feeling a bit worn out; whether it was all the
mosquito bites affecting me or the fact that I had climbed in and out of that
truck about a hundred times in the last few days, I don't know.
Our final place
to visit was Fogg Dam; this area was a reserve that was full of more animals
per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world. There are 800 water
pythons and 100,000 rats in every square kilometre - not counting crocs etc!
There was a sign saying you weren't allowed to get out of your vehicle - well
with all of the things that could kill you, who would want to get out?
The
vastness of the water went on as far as the eye could see, and much of it was
covered in pink and crimson water lilies. We saw the most colourful birds of
our day here too, small finch-like birds in red, yellow and green, and the
water-loving jabaroo.
It wasn't far back to Darwin from here, only half an hour
and I was first drop - everyone gave me a big hug and we swapped email
addresses.
I had, had a brilliant adventure and would consider doing it again
"in the dry", to see how different it would be. I had an hour of
daylight left and as it wasn't raining, so I went for a walk; I couldn't
believe how quiet everywhere was, I had expected it to be livelier - especially
as it was still Christmas Day. What a Christmas I had experienced, tomorrow I
would be flying south to Alice Springs for some more wild encounters.
Watch this space!
Lynne
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