Kakadu

Once we are able to get the song “Agadoo” out of our heads, we will be able to look back on this week very fondly.  For weeks we’ve been singing “Ka-ka-du du du, push pineapple shake the tree, Jab-ir-ru ru ru push pineapple, grind coffee.”  It is getting kind of annoying :)

Our first stop in Kakadu was the Bowali Visitor and Information Centre where we got two surprises.  The first was the price of the one week permit we needed to buy - $100 per family just to enter.  Any camping fees are on top.  The price seemed really steep, and as it includes free attendance at a variety of ranger talks, we decided to go to as many as we could to get the most value out of it.  The second surprise was a real bummer.  Recent heavy rains have resulted two of the main attractions of Kakadu – Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls having as much water flowing over them as in a big wet season.  This means all the wooden walkways are awash and it is very likely that the high waters have allowed saltwater crocs in there.  It is so close to the end of the season that the rangers won’t do another crocodile survey to remove any croc that have moved in, so both waterfalls are closed to the public until next year.  There is still heaps to do here in Kadadu though so we will have to add those two falls to our ‘next time’ list.

At Bowali with a boney friend.

Aside from “Agadoo”, another enduring memory of Kakadu will be the heat.  It has been 38-41 degrees every single day and doing anything in the middle of the day is exhausting.  It is 30 degrees by 9am and generally doesn’t start to cool down until 8pm.  We originally planned to camp in the National Parks campsites which would be unpowered and in the bush but quickly agreed that we were all in favour of powered sites so we could use our aircon (and the pools at the caravan parks!)

We spent our first couple of nights in Jabiru which is in the northern part of the park.  There was an interesting ranger talk by Ranger Christian and slideshow on that first night and he told us all about the animal and plant life throughout Kakadu.  We were blown away by how knowledgeable he was.  Lou had to put Ben to bed part way through ended up standing outside the caravan listening to the ranger from afar while he went to sleep.

We had a jam packed week in Kakadu and loved our time here.

Nourlangie Rock

The first walking ranger talk we attended was at Nourlangie Rock where there are several Aboriginal rock art sites.  It was a walking talk that started in the carpark and ended up the top of a lookout.  Again the ranger was Christian and he had a huge amount of knowledge about the area and the local Aboriginal people, the Bininj (pronounced Binning).  The talk focussed on language and in particular, the traits of an oral language such as the Aboriginal people have.  One of the main things we learned was that unlike written languages (like English for example), not every plant, animal, rock, insect etc has a name.  Many grasses are just ‘grass’, many trees are just ‘a tree’.  Only the things worth noting have a name, and with that name comes teaching, lore and purpose.  If something has a name, it has a name for a reason so you need to learn about it.  If not, it isn’t considered anything particularly special.  In this way, the oral languages are able to pass down enormous amounts of information through generations.   

Christian also talked about the 6 seasons that the Aboriginal people recognise up here and how they are able to read the signs in nature to know when the seasons will change and what those changes mean in terms of food sources, access to water, breeding cycles of plants and animals and what they need to do to look after the land.  They regularly burn off in very well thought out and logical sequences to support the health of their land.  They have a saying “you look after Country and Country will look after you”.  One example of this incredible relationship with the land is the knowledge that when the first Leichardt Grasshoppers appear each year, three weeks later the big storms will start.  Christian has been up here for several years and he said that it is unfailingly correct.

The Leichhardt Grasshopper.

For the second talk, we walked with Christian to a rock art site and he talked about the intricate rules that govern kinship, and who the Aboriginal people can and cannot speak to, associate with and in particular, marry.  The rules are the same across all clans Australia wide, although they different names.  It is immensely complex and Christian pointed out that many PHD candidates have written theses on it and finished up more confused than when they started.  There are also many paintings that tell stories supporting the laws and customs of the tribe.

Very clear rock art.

Art is well preserved and protected.

The third talk was in an old archaeological dig site in a cave where the Bininj used to camp.  Christian highlighted the unique nature of Aboriginal archaeology, something that we hadn’t considered before.  When you think of archaeology, (other than picturing Indiana Jones) you think of ancient civilisations (Egyptians, Mayans, Ancient Greeks etc) all with a start and an end to that civilisation.  Archaeologists discover artefacts and try to piece together a picture of the society, culture and world at that time.  

The dig site we were standing in was first accessed by archaeologists in the 1950s and they were digging up items that have been dated to up to 45,000 years ago.  As they were digging and speculating about the use of those items, the local Bininj people would visit and tell them all about what had been dug up, what is was used for and by whom.  For example, the lead archaeologist was very excited about a rock from which spear heads had been chipped thousands of years ago.  He had formed a relationship with the Bininj and when they next visited he eagerly showed them what he had found.  “Yes”, they said, and pulled out a very similar rock from their dilly bag. “That one you have is not from here though” they told him.  “But it is. I dug it up right here. It is thousands of years old” he replied. And pointing over a nearby ridge they said, “You dug it up here but it is not from here.  That rock comes from a quarry three days walk that way.”  Imagine how much Egyptologists would love to be able to consult with a pharaoh to validate their hypotheses around life in ancient Egypt.   

Such is the power of oral languages and knowledge that is handed down so reliably from generation to generation.  It is also why it is so tragic that so much is being lost as many young Aboriginal people leave the land and shun their culture.

Artefacts from the dig site.

We learned lots of things from Christian that day and could write a very long post about it all, but for your sake won’t...

Cahill’s Crossing

Cahill’s Crossing is where the road crosses the East Alligator River into Arnhem Land.  The river is tidal, so at low tide the concrete road is dry and splits the waterway in two, with shallows on either side.  At high tide however, the water rushes across the roadway, how deep depending upon the time of year.  When this happens, saltwater crocs come from far and wide and sit on the downstream side of the road with their mouths open, waiting for the fish to flow over the road and into their hungry tummies.  It is the crocodile equivalent of bears snatching salmon out of the rivers in Canada. 

Open wide....

Croc infested water rushing across the road doesn’t stop the locals from casually driving on across though and the combination of crocodiles and potential road disasters draws such a crowd that a viewing platform has been built for the tourists that gather to watch each day.  We went out there for high tide one afternoon and over the 45 mins or so that we were watching, visible (many stay submerged) croc numbers increased from around 10 to at least 30.

Just the visible ones!

A constant stream of them slowly made their way up river to the crossing and then stopped and waited for their dinner.  We didn’t realise that crocs did this, but as they floated there with mouths open, waiting for the fish, they also extended their webbed feet out to the sides so that they can grab any fish that flow past beside them.

Arms out, fingers spread to catch a fish.

 A few people fish at the crossing too, although with all that reptilian competition we’re not sure if it would yield any results.  We didn’t see anybody catch anything when we were there and we suspect that the fish are too busy thinking ‘Holy crap I better get outta here!” to bother chasing a shiny lure.  Even if you did hook something there is a very big chance that one of the crocs would take it off your hands (with your hands if you got too close to the water).

Croc crossing the road.

We saw several vehicles cross while we were there but the water was only mid-wheel deep so it wasn’t very dangerous.  We had a slight concern for a 2wd sedan that crossed but the driver had obviously done it many times and just powered through without any problem.

Locals crossing the river.  Croc lurking.

Ubirr

Ubirr is in the northern part of Kakadu, not far from Cahill’s Crossing and is a site with a great lookout and lots of rock art.   Unfortunately, it was mid-afternoon by the time we got there and it was 41 very hot degrees. We did a loop walk to see the amazing rock art as a lot of it was shaded but when we got to the beginning of the steep climb up to the lookout we decided to skip it.  Poor Ben was bright red in the face and really tired and the trail was in full sun. 

Ubirr rock art.

It's very well preserved and clear.

Cooinda

We moved caravan parks from Jabiru to Cooinda which is more central and makes the southern parts of the park a far more manageable drive.  Despite Jim Jim and Twin Falls being closed there are still a lot of things to see in the central and southern parts of the park. Near to Cooinda is Jim Jim Billabong which also has a National Parks campsite.  We were initially planning to stay in the National Parks campsites as much as possible but the constant high 30s temperatures made us opt for the powered sites at Cooinda instead.  It’s probably considered ‘soft’ not to free camp, but when we had the choice of a pool and airconditioning at a powered site or a 42 degree caravan next to a crocodile infested billabong, we all unanimously agreed that pool and cool was the way to go!

We drove around the Jim Jim Billabong area and found the ruins of the old Cooinda Store.  

Old Cooinda Store.  About to fall down...

We had a fish in the billabong, being careful not to get too close to the edge.  We had our usual amount of luck and didn’t persist too long in the 38 degree sunshine.

Out on the platform, keeping a close eye on the water.

Daniel has introduced Ben to an iPad game called Terraria and all we hear on long drives now is “Mummy, I have an epic sword and we killed the Eye of Cthuhlu.  Can I play Terraria?”  The Famous Five audio book we got to entertain him doesn’t stand a chance.

Maguk

We left early to get out the walk at Maguk before it heated up.  The trail isn’t too bad and is a mix of dirt, rocks and sand.  There are several crocodile warning signs along the way despite it being known as one of the good swimming spots.   

Sign on the way in...

They clear the saltwater crocs out at the start of the season and set traps in any areas they are likely to come back into but they have to put signs up just in case.  There are almost certainly freshwater crocs in all the watering holes but it is salties you need to worry about.  One ranger we spoke to said that the best thing to do is wait until other people have been swimming around for a while (kids in particular) and if they don’t get eaten you’ll be fine.

The swimming hole was well populated when we arrived so we were happy to have a dip to cool down.  We stayed in the really clear water near the edge just to be extra safe and gave the GoPro a try out as we hadn’t had much of a chance to play with it yet.  Ben is getting really great at deep diving and spent most of the time underwater collecting rocks.   

Got a shot without many people.

Jenny also went for an underwater explore with the GoPro and found a pair of great sunglasses under a rock!  Initially, Lou took them but when Barb told Jenny that she should wear them instead as her current sunnies were granny glasses, Jenny took them back.

Ben and Jenny deep diving.

Mayali Festival

We had a great time learning from Manuel at the Top Didg Cultural Experience in Katherine, and have been keen to experience some more genuine Aboriginal culture.  We have a bad habit of arriving in places the week after something awesome has been on so we were really happy to discover that the local Aboriginal Community were putting on a weekend festival called Mayali. There would be traditional painting, weaving, music, dancing, cooking and bush tucker among other things.

We arrived there around 10am and were met at the gate by a hilarious caucasian guy called James.  He is friends with the family running the festival and as it is their first year, is helping out with coordination.  He has just finished up managing ‘Throb’, a gay nightclub in Darwin and you can imagine how the two types of events mix.  When we arrived, the place was practically deserted with tables and tents still being set up and half of the booked entertainment missing.  James took it all in his stride with a laugh and a shrug.  Some of the pricing for participation in the activities was ludicrously expensive and he ended up doing a package deal for us to do whichever ones we wanted for one price.  As it is the first year, they are testing the market and finding the right price points for everything.

We went fishing in the local river with one of the family, Chaz, and Lou nearly caught a big barra!  It was on the hook and jumped up out of the water near the shore, flicked it head and leapt off the line.  We were all standing on a metal platform with some other participants and one of the young boys was telling people ‘that lady nearly caught a barra!  It was big and jumped off the hook!’ all afternoon.

On the way back from fishing Ben saw some ducks and wanted to play with them.  Chaz was in the car with us but obviously hadn’t heard him properly and when we asked if we could take Ben to the ducks, he directed us over to some trees behind a shed.  As we walked over, Ben was excited as he loves animals.  We came around the corner expecting to see a pen or some birds wandering around but realised that Chaz had directed us to the duck plucking!  In front of us was a table full of dead ducks with people standing around chatting and pulling out all of their feathers.  We both looked down at Ben, not sure how he would respond.  He paused a moment and then went over to see what was happening.  We explained how the Aboriginal people hunt sustainably and what happens to the ducks and before long he was not only happily plucking one himself, but when Daniel came over too they were making their dead ducks have conversations with other.  Disaster averted!

Plucka!

After some plucking, we went over to the bush tucker area to taste some goose stew.  It was actually pretty gross.  We understand that using the whole animal is the least wasteful method, but a bowl of unidentifiable cartilage and strings of ligaments and tendons was a bit much.  Jenny ate all hers and Lou’s.  Lou and Ben ate plain rice…

Jenny and her gristle.

We drank lovely bush tea while the boys played on a makeshift slip’n’slide that had been set up.  It was a long strip of black plastic with dishwashing liquid sprayed all over it.  A lawn sprinkler was providing the water and rocks held down each corner.  It was old school, the way we used to do it before everything in life became overly safe.

Slip 'n Slide

James, who we had met at the front gate in the morning had moved onto the face painting station as the person who was supposed to be doing it hadn’t arrived.  He said that he usually made up drag queens but would do his best at puppies and princesses for the kids.  :)

We returned to Cooinda for a swim in the afternoon and then went back to the festival at sunset for their music concert.  One of the family members is a well known performer, Shelly Morris and she was great.  Their headline band was a no-show so they’d got another band at the last minute.  You could tell, they were very rusty, had feedback issues and stopped mid song for broken strings but despite the chaos, it was really fun.

Some of the men also did traditional dancing, jumping around on the sand to a beat.

Yellow Water Cruise

We were a bit disappointed that our guide for the Yellow Water Cruise was an English guy but despite bad jokes he was pretty knowledgeable.  He said if anyone fell overboard they would have about 7 seconds before being eaten by one of the numerous saltwater crocodile in the river.   

This big guy shadowed the boat for a time.

Another croc later on.

They haven’t culled crocs in decades and their numbers are massive.  Salties are being seen further and further south and they are everywhere in the north.  In addition to seeing lots of crocs on the cruise, we saw a Jabiru, a couple of buffalo, some ‘Jesus Birds’ that walk on the water (on the lilly pads really) and loads of other birdlife. 

Majestic eagle.

'Jesus' birds walking on the lily pads.

Young buffalo with a young stalker.

Jabiru nest with 3 young.

We went back to Jim Jim Billabong in the afternoon as Ross and Barb had driven in there the previous evening and it had been on fire.  There are loads of grass fires up here and everyone pretty much ignores them.  The traditional owners and the rangers work together to burn the land the way the Aborigines have done it for generations and it works brilliantly. There is no raging inferno as the undergrowth is maintained and controlled by these regular fires.  They ensure that the trees remain healthy and the environment is balanced.  When we went back some of the trees were still smouldering and huge areas of scrub along the roadside were blackened.   

We tried fishing again and Jenny hooked a barra this time but it swam under the metal platform she was standing on (there is a water pump platform out over the water) and snapped the line on the legs.  It was so disappointing!

The one that got away!

Arnhem Land

We purchased permits to drive into Arnhem Land to visit the Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre in Oenpelli which is about a 30 minute drive after you cross the East Alligator River at Cahills Crossing.  We were excited to be driving over the river for two reasons.  Firstly, Ben has a favourite book called ‘Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo’ which we bought before heading off on this trip.  It is about a boy who goes to live in Arnhem Land for a year and in it, Ernie crosses the East Alligator River just as we did.  We were able to point out the parts of the book that were familiar.   

The second reason was that we had been to Cahills Crossing a few days prior and had seen the rushing water and waiting crocs.  It would we awesome to drive across it with crocs on either side (our car would be totally fine, there is no chance we would be in danger).  Unfortunately when we arrived to cross it was low tide and there was neither water nor any sign of croc activity.  We made the boring crossing and hoped that the tide would be higher upon our return (which it wasn’t….).

Outside the Injalak Gallery in Arnhem Land.

Injalak is awesome and if you want any Aboriginal artwork check out their online store. They run as a not-for-profit and pay the artists fairly.  There were several artists painting when we arrived and it is no problem to watch them work and have a chat.   

Watching the artists.

Materials are supplied by the gallery.

We were also keen to see some pandanus weaving (it is also in Ben’s book) and were lucky enough to meet Anne who makes pandanus crafts and who is also an elder.  She was sitting outside under a shelter making a basket and showed us what she was doing.  There is also screen printing, wood carving, clothing, jewellery, books and many other things for sale in the gallery.  

Anne weaving a basket.

We bought a painting and Ben really wanted a pandanus bracelet but there were none small enough for his wrist.  We went back outside and asked Anne if she could possibly make one for him and she agreed.  It was wonderful to watch her weave, measure it against his wrist, weave some more, measure and weave until it was just right.  All the while, Ben was sitting next to her playing with a plastic motorbike he had found.  It was a funny dichotomy, the ancient craft next to the modern plastic toy. 

Anne fitting the bracelet to Ben's wrist.

The drive back across Cahill's Crossing was as uneventful as before as there was still no water over the road.  We picked up the vans and headed south again to the Mary River Roadhouse where the owner is a very weird and sarcastic man.  Ben had a sore throat and cough coming on and we had a very average night as he felt rotten.

Gunlom

Our last walk in Kakadu was to Gunlom falls.  Ben was crook so he and Lou stayed in the van while Jenny, Ross, Barb and Daniel did the walk and had a swim.  It was a really steep climb but the swim at the top was worth it.  There are three pools at the top, the third of which is a natural infinity pool that looks the part if you view it from the right angle.  

Waterhole at Gunlom Falls.

Poor Daniel slipped on the way down and Ross had words with a very pesky German guy who deliberately blocked him from passing on the trail back to the bottom.  It got to the point where Ross was actually walking in between the guy and his wife and the wife was even telling the guy to get out of the way.

 

We left that afternoon and headed for Mataranka, home of hot springs and the book/film ‘We of the Never Never’.