Kakadu NP aka Gagadu
I decided to go on a tour of Kakadu to take a break from driving and also experience some of the 4WD only accessible places that unfortunately the little Yaris wouldn't handle. So my trip started nice and early on Saturday morning where I had to pack up my campsite and leave my car in the caravan park and be ready at 7am. The truck came and I was the last to be picked up so it was already full of 14 other travellers and Brad the guide and driver. We left Darwin and travelled south before turning onto the Arnhem hwy. Our first stop for the day was the Corroboree Park Tavern where we could have a pit stop and a drink. This tavern is no ordinary tavern as it's home to a unique albino buffalo and the skull of a 7m long croc which wasn't dead as was first thought by the locals who came across it. It did die a short time later though.
We jumped back in the truck and headed to Corroboree Billabong where we went on a cruise through the wetlands and saw a huge variety of bird life from the white bellied sea eagle to egrets and these tiny little birds known as the Jesus bird because it looked like it could walk on water. We also saw five crocs both freshies and salties. The longest being about 3m long. The wetlands were covered in water lilies which were flowering.
After the wetlands cruise we headed east to the Bark Hut where we stocked up on some essentials (alcohol) as you are unable to by takeaways in the park and also read about some of the history behind the buffalo catchers of the 70s. We had lunch at the Bowali visitors centre and then headed to Ubirr. Here we did a 'gallery' tour of the rock art in the area. There were a number of sights we visited and Brad was very informative explaining the different types of art and how the artwork has changed over time. We continued on this walk to an escarpment where a scene from Crocodile Dundee was filmed and looked out over a beautiful green landscape below. After climbing down we headed back to the truck and drove to our camp for the night.
The first night we stayed in what's called a permanent camp where there were shade cloth covered tents sleeping between 4-8 people on bunks, it felt like being on school camp. We cooked our dinner and drank and ate and got to know each other a bit better.
There was a great mix of people on the tour including, 3 French, 4 Germans, an Englishman, a Dutchman, a Hungarian a Swiss guy and 4 Aussies. As well as a range of ages from 19 to 51, there were 3 couples and the rest were single travellers so I think this mix of people made for a really interesting and easy going trip.
On the first night we played a game called mafia. We didn't get to finish it that night but continued it the next.
Day 2 saw us doing lots of swimming. After packing up camp we headed to an area exclusively accessed by this tour company called Moelene Falls. A short walk took you to a beautiful waterhole with a small fall. The water was a little chilly here being only 8am and not in the sun yet but we swam anyway and Brad assured us there were not crocs. We then went to a second swimming hole called Motorcar Falls. This one required us to walk about 45mins into the falls but it was well worth it at the end. The falls were tranquil and the water was so clear and green. We were all a bit hot from the walk so we jumped in off the rocks and swam over to the falls. There were dozens of tiny little frogs all over the falls and fish swimming around in the pool. We rested in the shade and had a second dip before doing the 45mins back. Our lunch stop for the day was a tin shack which a buffalo catcher used to use and with our make shift tables everyone pitched in and lunch was served. After lunch we went to our third swimming hole for the day and our camp site for the night. We drove into Gunlom and set up camp first which was swags, however we did have some tents to protect us from the mozzies. We then collected some firewood down the road and by this time we were really ready for a swim. We walked to the pool at the bottom of Gunlom falls (another place used in Crocodile Dundee) and swam around in the refreshing water before doing the 25min walk to the top of the falls. At the top there were multiple rock pools and other falls to swim and relax in. We spent a few hours trying all the different pools and swimming to the edge which looks like an infinity pool. As the sun was setting we made our way back down and cleaned up ready for the nights campfire and dinner. This night Brad definitely earned his keep having to cook a stir fry in a massive wok on the open fire. We enjoyed our dinner and then began a new game of Mafia. This was very entertaining with lots of personalities coming out and lots of accusations circulating but it was all in good fun. The 2nd game I was a 'killer' and was able to kill everyone of the villagers or willagers as Fabian (Swiss) would say. We finished the night with toasted marshmallows and then went to sleep under the stars.
Another early start on day 3 and we headed off back towards Jabiru where we went to Gubara. Here Brad took us on a 7km walk into the area. About half way we had to leave all of our stuff because we had to climb through a chasm and then up over boulders and rocks to the top. The view was spectacular. The climb down was a little hairy in places but we all survived and were rewarded with a quick dip in a waterhole where a water monitor was also swimming. We walked back to the truck and then headed to Jabiru for our lunch. We said goodbye to Jamie (English) who was staying overnight there to continue his tour for a 4th day the next day. After lunch we headed back to Darwin where we said our goodbyes.
I would highly recommend Territory Expeditions, and it well worth doing a minimum of 3 days in Kakadu.