Kakadu to Kununurra

On the way to Kakadu we stopped off at the Adelaide River for a croc jumping tour, to have our first glimpse of crocs in the wild. We were keen to meet the famous "Brutus" who had made headlines around the world a few weeks ago, thanks to a photo taken of him mid jump, with nearly all 6 metres of him out of the water. There were various operators - we decided on the small, open boat option, for that up close, intimate experience! And what an experience it was. The first few crocs were good beginner size - females about 3 metres. We then realised that the big log floating in the middle of the river was in fact a croc. And a big one at that. A really big one! As he slowly approached the boat we felt there should have been some type of "dun, dun, dun, dun" accompaniment. It was indeed Brutus and he was, as the kids would say truly "awesome". He jumped out of the water for some meat held out on a stick and it was breathtaking to see this amazingly powerful, prehistoric beast at such close range. And quite nerve-racking too I might add - as the driver kept reminding us not to hang any appendage out of the boat or a croc might jump out of nowhere and rip it off. Righto. Will do.

Our first sighting. Sweet little thing.

Big Daddy "Brutus" approaches

Crikey! What a beaudy!

Brutus is lured to the bank

We later met a tour guide who gave us the feeling that the croc jumping tour was somewhat controversial, due to the questionable wisdom of training large aggressive crocodiles to approach small boats looking for dinner. Hmmm. Good point. She had also heard that our tour operator was a bit of a cowboy and had been reprimanded for encouraging tourists to pat the crocs!  Seems we were lucky to leave with our appendages attached.

We stopped for a break at a lookout only to discover that we had a stowaway from Darwin in the van - a cane toad! Frightened the bejeezus out of me! Thank god we got rid of him and didn't let him loose to terrorise the native fauna at Kakadu. (sorry can't seem to fix the random highlighting!)

Kakadu is a national park nearly half the size of Tasmania, world heritage listed for its cultural significance and incredible natural beauty. If you were planning a day trip to Kakadu you would leave feeling rather underwhelmed, as much of the landscape (especially from the road) is rather uninteresting, scrubby savannah woodlands. You do have to travel quite a way into and across the park to see the highlights - but it was well worth it as there are many. We stayed 5 nights and felt like we only really scratched the surface. Our favourite experiences were watching the sunset from Ubirr rock, where a short climb revealed a breathtaking 360 degree view of the surrounding wetlands and ranges; seeing rock art, dating back 20,000 years and learning of the dreamtime stories behind them; a wetlands cruise where we observed countless different species of birds including brolgas, jabirus, hawks and magpie geese; and a swim at Gunlom Falls, a (nother!) beautiful waterhole, that was featured in Crocodile Dundee (and where I nearly stepped on a snake!) The weather in Kakadu was very hot (36/37), so we soon discovered it was best to rise early and do something in the morning, flop in the shade by the pool in the heat of the day, and have another outing in the late afternoon. It really zaps your energy. Well that's our excuse anyway!

John and Georgie and "Lightening Man" - Nourlangie rock art, Kakadu

Georgie, Eleanor, Tom and Will listening to a Ranger talk, Ubirr Rock, Kakadu

The astounding view from Ubirr Rock. John asks not to be mocked for his hat choices

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Sunset at Ubirr Rock, Kakadu

Kakadu Birdlife I

Kakadu Birdlife II (the "Jesus" bird)

Kakadu Birdlife III. Yes, I've forgotten their names.

A Kakadu croc enjoying a tasty morsel (think it was a large fish)

Another stunning sunset. Yellow Waters cruise.

Gunlom Falls, Kakadu. More of a trickle in the dry season.

Whilst in Kakadu we also had the unique experience of traveling to Arnhem land. Arnhem land is an area in the far north of NT which is owned exclusively by the local aboriginal people and usually only accessible with a permit. Once a year however, they hold an open day in the Oenpelli settlement, know as the Stone Country Festival, where visitors are welcome. It was fascinating day. We watched some amazingly skillful AFL playing, learned basket weaving, enjoyed traditional dancing and had a helicopter ride over the surrounding country - which was absolutely stunning in it's dramatic beauty. The town was...less beautiful. Think I'll leave it there for now. Can of worms.

Traditional dancing, Arnhem land. Experiencing it in context with the landscape was unforgettable.

Captain James

The next stop was Katherine, a town that we had only passed through briefly on our way to Darwin. We had heard from friends that the Top Didg cultural experience was a must do, so we joined locals Manuel and Adriana for an interesting insight into their culture. We learned the technique of cross-hatching and dot painting (both done with sticks - and so much harder than it looks!), how make fire and how to throw a spear. We were all rather proud of our artwork, but have to say our hunting skills were rubbish! Thomas also bought a boomerang and learned how to throw it to make it return. Something else that needs a lot of practice! Interestingly, we were told the returning boomerang is more of a toy - hunting boomerangs are heavy and thrown low to the ground at a moving target, eg kangaroo, in order to disable it.  The kids really got a lot out of the experience - saying in fact that it was one of their favourite things we have done so far.

John and Georgie learning dot painting with Adriana

James, Tom and I learned cross hatching with Manuel

Making fire.

Tom learning how to hunt for his tucker.

Proud artists.

Later that day we headed out to Katherine Gorge where we hired some canoes to explore a pitifully small part of the gorge. We decided canoeing always seems like a good idea until you are half and hour into it and your arms start burning, when it becomes more like a very picturesque kind of torture. It was however, very dramatic, gorgeous (sorry) scenery and we were very pleased with ourselves having done it. The thousands of fruit bats hanging from the trees at the jetty was also a sight to behold!

Canoeing at gorgeous Katherine Gorge with George.

Tommy. Katherine Gorge. Canoeing.

5 of the 5,000 fruit bats we saw.

Didn't mention this, but this is the gorgeous pool we swam in at Lake Argyle, on the way to Kununurra.

We had a long 7 hour drive the next day from Katherine to Kununurra, W.A., the gateway to the Kimberley (BTW non-native readers, "the Kimberley" refers to an area in northern W.A - it is considered one of the world's last unspoilt frontiers -  1.7 times larger than the U.K!)  We arrived yesterday and haven't done much as yet (save shopping and washing), but are already in awe of the spectacular surrounding country. We are planning to leave the van here for a few days and take the tent, so that we can explore the best of the Kimberley, which is only accessible by 4 wheel drive. John is hoping that his 2 days of training qualifies him as "experienced" and has equipped him sufficiently to tackle the many exciting hazards of the Gibb River Road! James will be having his 11th Birthday at El Questro, a million acre cattle station, where I am hoping we can meet his expectations of a "spectacular" day. We will be back next week to tell you if we survived succeeded!