KAKADU

DAY 33 – KAKADU                                                                     Thursday, 4 August

You begin to really appreciate the days when you don’t have to move on…. Just lying in bed a little longer, cuddles from my babies, the more-than-occasional-unwanted-attention from my husband!

Off for a visit to the Bowali Visitor Centre this morning which was just so interesting and very well done.  It was great to learn just a little bit more each day about the Aboriginal culture and the importance they place on their responsibility for caring for the land.  There are over 200 Aboriginal languages, and about 100 of these are still used regularly. 40 languages are spoken by a significant number of people.

One interesting story was about a crocodile which was tracked and observed by one woman for a period of two weeks.  It had chosen a water hole that unfortunately had dried up during the dry season and it was now thrashing around in a pile of mud about 4 metres by 4 metres.  It had tried to put mud on its badly sunburned back and even went so far as to put a mud wrap around its head to protect its brain.  Eventually it crawled out, and whether it survived she did not know.  But with that amazing sense of survival it is no wonder they are one of the only animals to survive unchanged for almost 100 million years. 

We decided against driving into Twin Falls (much to my husband’s disgust) because they had only just opened it up to vehicles without snorkels and the water was still 65cm deep.   I am a bit protective of my Prado – it still has a long way to go to get us back home!  Anyway, still went 4WD driving into Jim Jim Falls which was great.  Everyone loves a bit of being thrown around the car!!! At the end there was still a 1km walk in to see the falls.  This was a bit of a challenging walk, climbing over boulders.  But the kids are amazing – just racing ahead and clambering over rocks much taller than they are.  Much better than their Mum!!  The plunge pool at the end was beautiful.  David took a dip and said the water was very cold.  If DAVID thought it was cold I cannot even imagine the words I would have used to describe it!!  But it is just so crystal clear and the sandy beaches – yes, sandy beaches in the middle of nowhere – have just the whitest sand!  Just that excursion was a 5 hour venture.

We came home for a quick sausage-in-bread dinner (which is unusual, we have been having very healthy meals generally), before heading out to Ubirr Rock in the north-eastern corner of the park.  David says that it is definitely the place to be at sunset.  There is a substantial amount of rock art on the walls there which the kids loved looking at and tried to understand what the paintings were trying to say.  There was even a painting of a Tasmanian Tiger which are thought to have been extinct on the mainland now for 2000 to 3000 years.  It is amazing to think these paintings are so old.

Climbing over enormous boulders to Jim Jim Falls

Jim Jim Falls

Tess and Mummy trekking together

Beth does it easily and waits for the rest of us

Together on a top of a rock at Jim Jim Falls

Watching Daddy in the plunge pool at Jim Jim Falls

The leader of the pack - always searching for the easy path for Mum!

A picture of innocence on top of Ubirr at sunset

David at sunset

Watching the world from the top of Ubirr

Just so special

Spectacular

Up to the top of the rock for sunset, which was absolutely stunning.  Words cannot adequately describe how it is to sit up there overlooking the green floodplains as wallaroos bound beneath you and an amazing number of birds fly overhead and the sun sets in the distance.  There is total silence up there, despite the number of tourists.  Everyone, it appears, is there for a peaceful, spiritual experience. I can only echo Tessie’s words:  “Dad, this is most beautiful place in the world”.