Wildlife and Culture - Yellow Water Cruise and Nourlangie Rock Art

Well, 5.45 the alarm went off, and we were up and out to the boat ramp to start our SUNRISE cruise on the Yellow Water.  It was cool and there were banks of fog on the water when we arrived, and our guide was concerned that we wouldn't see too much activity on the water if the fog didn't lift.  But, fortunately, he was wrong.  

I got some beautiful photos of dense mist on the water, the glowing sunrise through the fog and the trees, and plenty of birds. We saw magpie geese, jabirus, brolgas, jacanas (the little birds that dart about on the top of lilypads), white sea eagles, cormorants, a multitude of ducks, cranes, and many others I can't remember the names of. 

And the crocs - well, I stopped counting after six.  They put on a very good display for us, and I have some wonderful photos of them, too. 

The cruise was about 2 hours long, our guide was knowledgeable, and it was a serene and tranquil start to the day.  Afterwards, we went back to Cooinda Lodge where we had a full buffet breakfast which was included with the cruise.  We dropped into the Warradjan Cultural Centre on the way back to camp, and it was very interesting and well done.

After lunch we took a drive out to Nourlangie to have a look at the rock art in that area.  It was amazing, and has to be the best aboriginal rock art that I've seen.  It was respectfully presented and protected, and is jointly managed by the National Parks and the local indigenous people.  All of the stories are explained on boards around the walking trail.  Fascinating.

Jim Jim Falls - Corrugations and Boulders

After leaving Maguk we drove up to Cooinda to get some information about Yellow Water cruises, Jim Jim falls and other places of interest in the area.  Trev and I booked a Yellow Water Sunrise Cruise for the next morning at $99pp (including breakfast), then we drove 10km down the road to Mardugal Campground to set up.  Good campground, $10pp pn with good clean showers and toilets.  

After lunch we drove out to Jim Jim Falls - 50km of serious corrugations, then 10km of winding, deep, sandy 4WD track to arrive at the beginning of the walk into Jim Jim.  The first part of the walk was relatively easy, then we came to the interesting part - huge boulders crossing the river, many of them shiny and slippery with sand on top of them.  It was really difficult, especially for those of us with shorter legs!  And this walk was done in 30 degree heat - not pretty.  We finally made it to the lower pool where we all had a swim, while looking up at the towering rocks in the gorge.  There were large fish in the pool, and Trev and I took some movies with the little gopro waterproof camera.  

We still hadn't arrived at the pool directly under the falls and Carole and I were feeling very tired after our walk over the boulders, so Trevor and John continued on through another boulder-filled pool, climbed up yet more black slippery boulders to arrive at the crest, looking down into the last pool.  They both raved about how amazing it was, so I had to go, didn't I?  I swam/crawled through the rocky water, then clawed my way up through the rocks to meet Trev and John at the top.  I must say, I was very proud of myself, and I'm glad I made the effort.  The final pool was huge, in a deep, dark cavern against rich red rocks.  It would have been even more spectacular if the falls had been flowing, but it was still very impressive.  Meanwhile, Carole was back in the lower pool, and slipped over while taking a movie, giving her camera a wash and her hip a nasty bruise and graze.  Hopefully, her camera will recover.

The walk/climb back was just as difficult as it was on the way in, and by the time we got back to the car we were all hot and sweaty again.  Just as well we had some cold water in the car-fridge.  On the way back, poor Trev was driving directly into the sun, following some slow vehicles along the corrugations, and finding his way through their dust.  As we neared the end of the road, we had to pull up sharply as a couple of vehicles had stopped in the road - they were trying to move a large olive python (around 3m) from the side of the road, to no avail.  He wasn't interested in moving, so we continued on to camp.  Next morning we had to be up early for our cruise.

Kakadu - Gunlom Waterfall then Magic Maguk

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.