We're finally heading into Kakadu National Park. We stopped at Pine Creek on the way to refuel and pick up some wine, passed through Mary River Roadhouse, then picked up some information from the Ranger Station where we paid park fees of $25pp (for 14 days), then went on to Gunlom (pronounced Goonlom) Waterfall. This is where the infamous Crocodile Dundee scene of the crocodile pulling Linda Kozlowski into the water was filmed. It's also one of the iconic views of Kakadu, with the infinity pool at the top of the range overlooking Kakadu. I was really looking forward to this.
The road in from the highway was about 35kms of dirt road, and had some serious corrugations along the way - we were even stopped on our way in by a couple towing a caravan, who said it was the worst corrugations they'd ever been on and had turned back. But after our trip along the Roper Bar road, we didn't think we'd have any problems, so we continued. And we're so glad we did!
Our site cost $10pp per night, and the camp had showers, toilets and good basic facilities. After setting up, we decided to brave the climb up to the falls. This was a 2km round trip over a rocky path which was basically vertical. I definitely needed my hiking stick here, and Carole also had hers. It was a good climb, with a fantastic reward at the end. The pools at the top were just beautiful, and yes, there was the infinity pool. We couldn't wait to get in and have our photos taken at that spot - again, it was a little cool, but after our climb we needed to cool off anyway. We spent a lot of time here before attempting the walk back down - I think it was harder than the walk up, as you really had to watch where you were placing your feet so that you didn't take a faster trip down than expected!
At the bottom of the cliff there was another walk to the Gunlom Billabong - through a pandanus and paperbark forest which opened out to another gorgeous body of water, with majestic cliffs rising above. The reflections of the cliffs in the water were beautiful, and Trev and I decided to come back here at sunset with a glass of champagne, to watch the colours change on the cliffs. Very pretty.
At the Ranger Station we were told that we should definitely visit Maguk (Marguk) as it was the smallest but prettiest of the waterfalls in Kakadu. Carole's friends had also said the same thing, so it was on our list.
We set up camp, then discovered that we had to walk about 1km to the beginning of the track into the Maguk Waterfall, which was then a further 1km. So off we went - the first 1km was a pretty ordinary walk, but when we got to the beginning of the track it was lovely. Again, lots of pandanus, paperbarks and eucalypts, then clambering over rocks and sandy spots till we came to the first big waterhole. It was very tempting, and I wanted to go in there and then, but we continued on to the waterfall. Ohh, it was magic! And there were huge fish in this clear water, who obviously knew no fishing was allowed. They just swam around us, with no fear. The water here was the warmest so far, no problems at all diving in and swimming over to the waterfall. I had a nice shower under the falls, then sat on the rocks for a while taking it all in. Even Carole, who doesn't swim a lot, swam right over to the falls with us and thoroughly enjoyed it. On the way back I also had another swim at the first hole - couldn't resist.
After dinner John and Trev got a good fire going - not that we needed it, as it was a beautiful evening. But it was a great ending to another beautiful day.
The road in from the highway was about 35kms of dirt road, and had some serious corrugations along the way - we were even stopped on our way in by a couple towing a caravan, who said it was the worst corrugations they'd ever been on and had turned back. But after our trip along the Roper Bar road, we didn't think we'd have any problems, so we continued. And we're so glad we did!
Our site cost $10pp per night, and the camp had showers, toilets and good basic facilities. After setting up, we decided to brave the climb up to the falls. This was a 2km round trip over a rocky path which was basically vertical. I definitely needed my hiking stick here, and Carole also had hers. It was a good climb, with a fantastic reward at the end. The pools at the top were just beautiful, and yes, there was the infinity pool. We couldn't wait to get in and have our photos taken at that spot - again, it was a little cool, but after our climb we needed to cool off anyway. We spent a lot of time here before attempting the walk back down - I think it was harder than the walk up, as you really had to watch where you were placing your feet so that you didn't take a faster trip down than expected!
At the bottom of the cliff there was another walk to the Gunlom Billabong - through a pandanus and paperbark forest which opened out to another gorgeous body of water, with majestic cliffs rising above. The reflections of the cliffs in the water were beautiful, and Trev and I decided to come back here at sunset with a glass of champagne, to watch the colours change on the cliffs. Very pretty.
At the Ranger Station we were told that we should definitely visit Maguk (Marguk) as it was the smallest but prettiest of the waterfalls in Kakadu. Carole's friends had also said the same thing, so it was on our list.
We set up camp, then discovered that we had to walk about 1km to the beginning of the track into the Maguk Waterfall, which was then a further 1km. So off we went - the first 1km was a pretty ordinary walk, but when we got to the beginning of the track it was lovely. Again, lots of pandanus, paperbarks and eucalypts, then clambering over rocks and sandy spots till we came to the first big waterhole. It was very tempting, and I wanted to go in there and then, but we continued on to the waterfall. Ohh, it was magic! And there were huge fish in this clear water, who obviously knew no fishing was allowed. They just swam around us, with no fear. The water here was the warmest so far, no problems at all diving in and swimming over to the waterfall. I had a nice shower under the falls, then sat on the rocks for a while taking it all in. Even Carole, who doesn't swim a lot, swam right over to the falls with us and thoroughly enjoyed it. On the way back I also had another swim at the first hole - couldn't resist.
After dinner John and Trev got a good fire going - not that we needed it, as it was a beautiful evening. But it was a great ending to another beautiful day.
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