Outdoorsy Odyssey: September 2019

You know you’re in the tropics by that distinctive sweet smelling air. Yes, Dan and I escaped Adelaide winter for the Top End of the Northern Territory.

We spent time with our friends Linda and Darren who moved up to Bee’s Creek, among the bushy outskirts of Darwin, with their doggos and horses about 18 months earlier. Well, Darren went back to work mid-week and then it was three of us for the Kakadu adventure. Earlier in the week we visited the Territory Wildlife Park while Linda was getting over her head cold and Dan and I slowly acclimatised to the 32-ish degree heat. I went ga-ga over the wildlife, checking out the animals in the nocturnal house, watching barramundi and stingrays swim over my head in the aquarium tunnel and meeting Kevin the black-breasted buzzard at the Flight Deck.

Hello Kevin the black-breasted buzzard

Another pre-Kakadu highlight was navigating shallow water between pools at Berry Springs, contending with submerged rocks while noticing fish in the clear water. At the same time a sun-mottled reflection of the waters jumped around on the riverside foliage. It was a hard life sitting with our friends on the verandah in the balmy warmth, repeatedly throwing balls, or the green crocodile toy – Territory dog toys for Territory dogs, at Trooper and Tinker the adorable kelpie doggos. Deserving a special mention is the sound of the wailing bush stone-curlews building up to a chorus in the middle of the night. It was really out-there!

Kakadu National Park is World Heritage listed and made me feel a bit special and welcome with messages from the Traditional Owners. On Wednesday following a comfortable three-hour road trip we arrived at Ubirr, having learned from my guidebook about rock art dating from pre-estuarine, estuarine and modern periods. The abundance of barramundi, other fish and turtles suggests estuarine but we saw possibly older styles too, and the Mabuyu hunter painting I remembered from my visit 22 years earlier on a backpacker tour. How did I appreciate the rock art half my lifetime ago? I don’t recall stopping for as long as I did this time around. The views over the floodplains were amazing. Bright light green grasslands against monsoon trees and escarpments stretching to Arnhem Land. All to the raucous song of magpie geese cackling in the wetland below the Nadab lookout, as if they were in council.

Ubirr with Arnhem Land in the distance

I felt the peaceful air while looking at the art. People came and went but there were moments of stillness in the heat of the day, and then tree roots dangling over rock would sway with the slightest breeze. While the art stood strong, telling stories of the ages. We saw a small rock wallaby from the track, sheltering from the sun, a lucky wildlife moment. Once down the road and settled into the Cahill’s Crossing viewpoint, we witnessed a saltwater croc with mouth open ready for fish as the tide came in and cars crossing the causeway washed waves over its head. This was the crossing from Kakadu to Arnhem Land on the East Alligator River. Other crocs cruised along or submerged themselves in the water while people fishing kept a certain 5 metre distance on the banks! Linda, Dan and I enjoyed recapping the scene over cold soft drinks at the Border Store.

After our stop at the Jabiru Foodland to collect supplies we settled into camp at Djarradjin Billabong/Muirella Park, the sunset a deep red in the haze. Hours after sunset it was still stifling hot in our little hiking tent with no need for a fly. Why did I agree to camp? Maybe it felt too hot because we came straight from the Adelaide winter. Fortunately evening showers were just the thing and later the temperature dropped a little. The atmospheric animal noises were bats, howling dingos and those curlews – kudos to Linda’s meme, ‘You’re trying to sleep? Let me sing you the song of my people’.

We woke early and, over coffee smelled smoke, later learning that the Traditional Owners did controlled burns, the plumes of grey smoke rising up near Cooinda. We drove to Burrungkuy/Nourlangie for small hikes starting off in a beautiful morning temperature and we studied the Aboriginal rock art at Anbangbang Shelter, such as X-ray barramundi and saratoga, and dancing people. There were obvious grinding holes in the shelter. I learned later that haematite is the longest lasting paint and we came across a lot of that – very old paintings in red iron oxide. In perfect timing for a Ranger talk, we learned about the creation spirit figures and the kinship system. The group stood before the depiction of Namondjok, his wife Barrginj and lightning man Namarrgon on the rock wall. Namondjok broke the kinship laws with his ‘sister’, who then took one of his headdress feathers and placed it on the edge of the cliff, which was a boulder above us. When our guide had greeted us it was reassuring when she commented it was quite humid for the time of year (if it was sticky in the Dry how would I go in the Wet?!)

Aboriginal rock art, Burrungkuy (Noarlangie Rock): Namondjok, Barrginj and Namarrgon

The hikes included pleasing lookouts. At Gunwarddehwarde Lookout views of the massive Burrungkuy escarpment were quite something especially as we were up against it, looming above a sea of open monsoon forest and that burn-off haze. On the escarpment was the boulder balancing on an edge, the feather of Namondjok’s headdress.

Viewing Burrungkuy from Gunwarddehwarde Lookout

We relocated the car to the Nawurlandja Lookout walk for even bigger sweeping vistas, resplendent in lime greens, yellows and ochres. The yellow kapok bush flowers were stark against blue sky. By this time it was hot, and, later, we discovered that the temperature had climbed to 34 degrees, just a little hotter than usual. Good fun banter and a few laughs took my mind off the heat and we kept our fluids up with rehydration salts. Further moving of the car saw us marching to Nanguluwur rock art site (4 km return) and fewer tourists. I arrived at the junction with the 12 km Barrk Sandstone loop walk. Such a keen hiker that I am, its signage for this challenging terrain was tantalising. Barrk would call for a 7am start to beat the heat, demanding minimal faffing at breakfast time from me. Something to consider for a future trip.

Linda (on the right) and me Nawurlandja Lookout

The rock art was amazing at Nanguluwur. Long-limbed beings, contact art in the form of a 19^th century sailing ship, many hands and some X-ray tucker. Like the other art we had seen, it inspired awe and wonder at the age of the friezes with older layers beneath them. Park staff placed lines of silica on rock ceilings to redirect the rain away from the art. It was said that Mimi spirits painted up high on improbably lofty rooves – there was a good example at Ubirr. Dan and Linda suggested tall trees were once there for ancestors to reach but are gone today. And I’d like to add the shade of the rock was so inviting.

We rolled into Cooinda in the early afternoon in enough time for lunch, setting up camp then making our way to the Yellow Water cruise just after 4pm. I faff a good deal when unpacking camp, despite trying to be more efficient. In hindsight I felt sad there wasn’t time to simply sit in the shade with a book before rushing off to the next thing. I forgot my water bottle for the cruise and became quickly flustered and heat-stressed. Of course they had cups of chilled water on the boat. Learning how to factor in rest in itineraries is a work in progress.

How was the serenity on this cruise slowly showing us the Yellow Water Billabong and tributaries? OMG it was amazing. Well, our hearts went out to the little bub (also from Adelaide) who howled and howled making herself red hot, her parents trying to comfort her. She recovered eventually and soon she entertained the other passengers playing with her snacks and being cute.

The Yellow Water cruise

The locals said the Dry this year has been exceptionally so, as their previous Wet was around half the usual rainfall. Famous Twin and Jim Jim Falls dried up, but at Yellow Water the animals were probably more concentrated for awesome wildlife viewing: saltwater crocs (keep your body inside the boat), gazillions of plumed whistling ducks, buffalo, jabiru, egrets, white-bellied sea eagles, kites, kingfishers, and wallabies. It was a wonderful experience. Golden hour illuminated pandanuses fringing the river banks and the sweet tropical green flats stretched out, backed by distant woodland. The boat stopped for us to watch the sun gradually go down and cast an orange sheen on the water, while a baby crocodile peered above the waterline.

Many plumed whistling ducks!

Jabiru or black-necked stork

Saltwater crocodile with pandanuses

Iconic Kakadu sunset

I rode up front with the shuttle bus driver back to Cooinda and he told me about brumbies, dangerous Buffalo and the low rainfall. It was great to chat with locals as always.

I flapped about getting showered and ready for dinner at the Barra Bar and Bistro, then beer o’clock arrived, whoo hoo! We enjoyed a feast, my dish a minced crocodile Caesar salad. Fans blew the warm air around under the verandah and the mozzies stayed away while we three had great chats through our tiredness. It was hard to imagine that back home in Adelaide a cold snap with a storm was underway; Linda, who dislikes the cold, said that when she and Darren moved to the Top End she felt like she came home 😊

Beer o’clock at last!

Errrgh there were so many mozzies at the Cooinda camp. The only epics I have to tell are of mozzies and sticky heat. Applying yucky DEET to our limbs helped but I swatted a few mozzies trapped inside the tent then watched blood stain the tent walls. Other than these things it was a cruisy tropical outdoorsy odyssey.

More reflections on the rock art. It is fascinating to think there are over 5,000 sites of rock art in Kakadu, the majority of them off-limits or untouristed. I felt grateful to the Bininj/Mungguy people for allowing us to visit Ubirr and Burrungkuy/Nourlangie. To think that Anbangbang Shelter has been home to Aboriginal people for 6,000 years and occasionally used as far back as 20,000 years ago is remarkable. The many rock art sites across the park must also be ancient. Age-old libraries for the Traditional Owners. I had to linger because these sites were really up there for me, out of the many historic sites I have experienced in my life.

And we still had another day! Fabulous. Day three saw us drive out to Gunlom. Also known as Waterfall Creek, Gunlom feeds into the South Alligator River and its pools are idyllic. However in the vicinity there is Buladjang/sickness country, as it is known by the Jawoyn traditional custodians. These are sites with mineral deposits including uranium.

Gunlom is definitely worth the 37 km of often corrugated unsealed road that will be harsh on some cars. It was meant to be 2WD accessible but Linda switched her beautiful Ford Ranger to 4WD. Plenty of time on this bumpy road for good conversation and tunes! Once we arrived there was a partially completed new track taking us up the escarpment which met the steep rockiness, but a staircase was almost complete for future visitors. At the top, beholding the plunge pools and grand views of the Southern Kakadu hills took my breath away.

Upper pools, Gunlom

Gunlom and amazing views of Southern Kakadu

Linda and I swam in the upper pool, exploring a little canyon upstream to discover a mini waterfall. We smiled at our adventurism and tried not to slip on the rocks; just being in the moment of the cooling water, delicate poolside native flowers and blue skies. I saw a turquoise dragonfly flitting between a dwarf waterlily and sundews. ‘This is the life for me.’ We rock-hopped in the upper pools area and soaked in escarpment-top views for the last time.

Then it was lunchtime in the shade down the bottom and a side-trip to lower giant pool. The gigantic waterfall only trickled and visitors swam here too, although there was a slight risk of salties at the bottom. I hope the Jawoyn Traditional Owners didn’t mind us breaking out the Gangnam Style dance! It sounds like Gunlom right? I was so happy. But it was time to leave Kakadu for the road trip back to Bee’s Creek.

Linda greeting Trooper and Tinker was priceless. Lots of love! Soon Dan and I would reunite with Sonia Kitty in her winter coat. Our fur babies.

Bobo is the Bininj/Mungguy word for goodbye. Bobo Kakadu! I hope to see you again some time.