Journey's Beyond The Nest: Days 38-41 Kakadu

(Kate)

Day 38-41 Kakadu

We packed up at the mango farm. It was hot and sweaty work, but we are getting used to it. We fill up our water bottles 5-6 time a day here in the tropics, because we lose so much water through sweating. In the SA outback we allow 4 litres of water per person per day for cooking and drinking, but here we need to allow about 10 litres. We drove out the gate before 10am – great team effort for us.

We drove on the bitumen all the way to Kakadu. We stopped at Pine Creek to refuel on diesel and a few groceries. $5 for a packet of Jatz biscuits. A good car snack. We called ahead to the Cooinda Lodge and booked in for 3 nights in the unpowered section. It was $40 a night – not too bad. We picked it because it’s close to Yellow Waters, and a sunset cruise on Yellow Waters was on Ben’s “must-do” list on this trip. When we arrived we found Cooinda to be very spacious and relaxed. We could choose our own site, so we setup right at the back – furthest away from the amenities but quietest. Plenty of trees and shade, and tent-peg-friendly ground. There are lots of mozzies here but not as many moths, grasshoppers or beetles as at the Mango Farm. After setup we went for a swim in the pool – it was amazing. It looks like what I imagine a pool at a resort would look like. Massive, with an accessibility ramp, a shaded shallow area for people with small children, and a spa. In addition there was a separate pool for parents with toddlers and babies. Lots of sun lounges and grassy areas all around the pool, and a cool water feature, with water cascading down over big rocks to the spa. We set up the big tent and the medium tent since we’ll be here for at least 3 nights.

Day 39 – day trip to Jabiru and Cahill’s Crossing. We stopped at the Bowali Visitors centre (photos) which was fantastic – lots of information on country, including some of the animals we have seen. Ants with green abdomens, who build nests from leaves up in the trees. I thought these were bird nests, but now I know. There is a separate cultural centre (Warradjan) which has info on culture. https://kakadutourism.com/trip-planning/culture

We went to check out Cahill’s Crossing, which is a crossing over the East Alligator River to Arnhem Land, which you need a permit to go into. There is a platform for visitors to view crocs. Apparently at high tide, the sea pushes up into the river, bringing fish with it, and the estuarine crocs wait for the food to come to them. There were plenty of crocs to watch in the middle of the day, but we were advised at the Border Store/Arts Store that about 5pm would be the best time to watch the high tide spectacle.

So we decided to come back later in the day, and drove to Ubirr, a local rock formation that you can climb and get 360 degree views. It’s popular at sunset for this reason. It was superhot in the middle of the day, and the sign at the carpark recommends allowing1.5-2 hours return for the walk, and taking 1 litre of water per person per hour. Ben wanted to do the walk then and there but the rest of us rebelled on account of the heat. Ben was a little salty but agreed to return later in the day or the following morning. We went back to Jabiru for OPTUS reception, and the visit Foodland to get noodles in a cup, and cans of drink so we could have an early dinner while watching the crocs at Cahill’s Crossing. We sat on the viewing platform for a couple of hours, with about a dozen other people, watching the crocs in their home. We saw 2 big crocs catch a fish each. One climbed up onto the bank afterwards to have a rest. The biggest croc crawled up onto the causeway at one point and just sat there. Then a road train arrived. None of us really wanted to see a flat croc but we were interested in who would give way first. The croc did.

Ben used the bushman’s kettle to boil water for the noodle cups (yay Ben) and delivered them to us on the platform with a can of cold lemonade. 6pm arrived and there were still no waves of fish coming up the river, even though we could see the water level rising on the downstream side of the crossing. Maybe it wasn’t a very high tide today. Ben wanted to go and do the Ubirr climb, but the rest of us rebelled again but agreed to return in the morning.

Are they rocks or crocs?!?

This is the croc that had to give way to the road train earlier. They open their mouths either as a sign of aggression or to cool themselves by allowing heat to escape from their mouths.

Day 40 – Yellow Waters Cruise

With some excitement, we arrived at the Cooinda Lodge reception area at 4pm as instructed, to catch the shuttle bus to Yellow Waters (pretty close –3 minutes maybe, but it was still nice to travel there in an air conditioned bus). There were 3 boats going out on this sunset tour. We had the coolest guide of them all – his name was Dennis He identified with both his Indigenous heritage and his European heritage, and told us lots of great stories. He was very welcoming of all of us tourists, and welcomed us to country. He was very knowledgeable about all the wildlife, and cracked lots of jokes. Sometimes it was difficult to tell us if he was having a lend of us or not. We cruised about on the water for 2 hours, stopping every time there was an interesting animal to look at. Lots of crocs. Lots of whistling ducks (brown and small). There was also a black and white duck, but his grandma told him not to ever hunt that one. $5000 duck, I think he called it. These ducks mate for life, and if you kill one for food, the mate will starve themselves to death. His grandma told him not to kill any animal unless he was going to eat it. Lots of Egrets (white, snake-like neck). The egret that hangs around cows and horses is called the Cattle Egret. We’ve noticed them a lot on our trip already. There are 3 other Egrets up here in Kakadu. We learned that any animal with a hoof is not native to Australia, but nevertheless is a good food source for crocs and people. There are wild horses, pigs, cattle, buffalo, which have been released over the last couple of hundred years when the settlements managing them were abandoned. We learned that a croc has the crushing power in its jaws of 3.5 Toyota Hiluxes. We learned that Crocs have small stomachs, and even though they eat birds, they will vomit up the feathers later, just like cats vomit up fur balls. We learned that just because someone else is swimming in a waterway in the NT, doesn’t mean it’s croc-free. “Look at the signs” Dennis said. “Drink 6-8 litres of water each day up here” said Dennis. “More people die in the NT from dehydration than from croc attacks every year.” The bigger crocs with identifying features like big scars or missing limbs from fighting with other crocs have names given to them by the guides. Max. Boofhead. Dennis described the wide floodplains as their food bowl.