We entered Kakadu from the south with little research done but knowing an adventure lay ahead.
We mixed our camping grounds with a bit to experience a little luxury in major but busy camping ground and a quiet, secluded bush camping site. Our first camping ground was Gunlom in the south of Kakadu. It was a large but dusty park, the highlight of which was its pools – a large green pool a short walking distance from the camp and a series of plunge pools following a steep uphill walk. We were fortunate to catch a great bush-tucker slide-slow from a local ranger in the evening from a colourful, larger-than life ranger.
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| Gunlom lower pool |
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| Gunlom Upper Pool |
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| Gunlom Upper Pool |
Leaving Gunlom, we made a trip out to Maguk to splash around a terrific waterhole, watching out for crocs on the walk in.
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| Enticing! |
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| Can you spot Robyn? |
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| Saving Jordan's book from getting wet! |
Sandy Billabong was our next camping ground, which was to the north of Kakadu and which we used as a base for our ventures to remaining areas of the park. It was adjacent to a billabong of its own and because it was at the end of a 6km 4WD track, we found that we had a lot of space to ourselves. Here we listened to another ranger talk – on water-buffaloes which had previous destroyed a large part of the local ecosystem before being culled.
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| 4WD'ing to Sandy Billabong at nigh |
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| Sandy Billabong |
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| Lots of room! |
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| Pikelets for tea! |
We made a day-trip out to visit some of Kakadu's best known sights – Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls. Twin Falls involved a boat ride and a easy clamber over rocks to get to. Jim-Jim was another matter entirely – with a progressively more difficult clamber which stretched some of the family to the limit. We all made it safely, and were rewarded with a splash in its cool waters with another magnificent view.
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| Boat ride to Twin Falls |
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| Twin Falls |
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| Croc-infested crossing to Jim-Jim Falls |
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| Croc-trap |
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| Balancing act |
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| Enormous Jim-Jim Falls and plunge pool |
Jabiru is the central township within Kakadu with a large supermarket, great swimming pool and a great bakery with tasty cakes especially the custard tarts! Worth a visit.
We also visited two magnificent rock art sites – Nourangie and Ubir. The aboriginal artwork at the sites were spectacular feasts to the eyes to behold. Beautiful rock-art adorned the walls, of ages past, painted in ochres of hunting, gathering and their gods. It talked of a simpler time that is now forever lost. It helped understand and appreciate some aspects of their culture that needs to be respected and preserved. Ubir was great at sunset as it accentated the colors on the rocks and the surrounding countryside.
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| Kangaroo |
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| Long-necked turtle |
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| X-ray painting of Barramundi |
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| Ubir at sunset |
The walks ranged from simple walks on boardwalks to difficult clambering over large boulders. For some walks, the physical exertion at times challenged and stretched the kids. However, with the spirit of adventure, it broadened their horizons and made them work for difficult goals. Through hardened resolve it gave them a sense of achievement and satisfaction when the walks were over. For the adults, it was just hard going :)
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| Saltie at Yellow Water Wetlands boardwalk! |
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| Anbangbank Billabong |
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