The Kakadu Experience

We debated about going into Kakadu - negative stories abound. It was very hot and we intended to camp in one of the National Park campsites, without power, at a central point and travel around to some selected sites over a couple of days. M did some homework on the brochures and we decided to avoid the expensive boat tours and instead follow some of the Ranger's talks and presentations. That proved to be a good decision.

We visited Nourlangie Rock, walking and climbing and listening to the Ranger, and she was very good, then attended an evening outdoor talk and slideshow right next to us where we were camped. The initial presentation, before dark, was by a female aboriginal Ranger, helped by her two kids, about bush tucker and healing plants and other cultural practices - very well done and interesting. Darkness came in quickly and the talk and slideshow about crocodiles and buffalo shooters was presented by a Ranger named Andy - a rough diamond but great to listen to. We were camped about 100 metres from the East Alligator River, by the way, and one of the stories was about a croc that travelled through the camp one night on its way to the river from a dried up waterhole up behind. A visiting American saw it and asked this same Ranger was that normal.

The second day we had an early start to go right up to Ubirr, next to the border of Arnhem Land, for more climbing and a series of talks, similar to Nourlangie, about the rock art. We found these very interesting. The end of day 2 was taken up by a walk out along the boardwalk at Yellow Water Lagoon, led by a Ranger guide, the same girl from Nourlangie.

In the end, we really enjoyed the visit to Kakadu. We moved on from there back to Katherine for a night in a van park to recharge the electrics and stock up with food and water, then across through Victoria River and into Western Australia, where we are now, at Kununurra.

Here are some more pictures:

Nourlangie Rock, framed by a bloodwood

One of the dreamtime stories

Namarrgon the Lightning Man is the figure depicted on the top right, with the stones on his elbows and kneecaps, to make the thunder

The big overhanging rock above the gallery at Ubirr - very imposing

A depiction of a thylacene in this gallery at Ubirr, dated very old and indicative that these roamed this area a long time ago

A rock wallaby just near the gallery

The last bit of the climb to the lookout at Ubirr

The view from the lookout, looking North across the floodplains with the Arnhem Land escarpment in the background

This relates to the painting below

A lesson in good behaviour!

Some information at the Yellow Water Lagoon, for the kids