Nourlangie Art Sites and Jabiru NT

Here is the second part of the 17th's trip. After the sumptuous breakfast we headed off for Jabiru, but along the way we drove 12 Kms off the highway (good sealed road all the way) to a place called Nourlangie where there are well accessible aboriginal rock art caves (more like overhangs, but cooler inside than out, where the aboriginals used to come to keep cool). 

Nourlangie Art Sites

It's was only a 1.2 km walk around these overhangs, but there were rock painting everywhere, fenced off but close enough to see and photograph. One area was completed barred to the public because it was a narrow passageway between two overhangs and what paintings we could see had obviously been disturbed by human interference. However we did see lots of paintings, many unexplainable to us - there were some signs giving some details and they did advertise times when a ranger would be there to do a guided walk, but the next one we could have gone on was almost three hours away, so we opted out. Some of the paintings were quite explicit. It was interesting to note that one of the signs mentioned that the god of these local tribes came from the north with his wives (just where folk would have come from after the Tower of Babel). 

Censored ?

Nabulwinbulwinj

Kangaroo hunt

Aboriginal Rock paintings

Modern Art

Look at that!

   We then drove onto Jabiru to one of the best Caravan Parks to which we have ever been. It was set out (something like Tanilba) in circles with a huge swimming pool in the centre (which we immediately took advantage) and most of the sites were drive through - no backing up, not seeing where you are and wives getting upset because you can't understand what she means when she points left and you think you should be going right). 

 Jabiru is only a small settlement with a small shopping centre, some specialty shops, police station with court house, post office and several other Govt. buildings and a Westpac Bank. The main Supermarket was smaller than Tanilba's, but it sold almost everything - food and smallgoods (of course), washing machines, fridges etc., souvenirs, fishing & camping gear and almost anything you could want. According to the map of Jabiru there looks to be two residential areas with about a dozen streets each most being cul de sacs. 

We didn't do anything special there, except a bit of shopping and then left early this morning (18th May) for Darwin. On our way here we saw several dingo (they call them wild dogs here), those that were the proper dingo colour looked well fed and healthy, but one black one we saw was quite emancipated. We were told at the caravan park not to leave any shoes or things outside the caravan at night because the wild dogs do roam and will take anything they can find. 

Jabiru Town Map

Mosaic outside Council Offices

 Just found a Baptist Church on the internet with a 9am start time, so we'll go and suss them out tomorrow.

Kakadu - Yellow River Billabong NT

Today we had an early morning call to catch the bus outside the caravan park which took us to our boat for our Yellow River Billabong cruise and breakfast - cost $99 each for two hours. The boat wasn't quite full so we had some opportunity to move about to get a better photo, if we wanted. It was still pre-dawn when we left so I couldn't take photos very well with my ancient digital camera, but it soon got light enough, but it was overcast after a few showers during the night.

Of course, everyone wanted to see a crocodile, so all eyes were on the water and banks. We had an excellent guide/boat driver (an young aboriginal man), who spoke well and was full of local knowledge. I said to Ruth - down south the unions would demand that three people do his job - one to cast on and off, one to steer and drive the boat and one to be the tour guide - he did it all.

It wasn't long before he caught sight of the first croc. and from then on we saw several more - the first one we saw was a big old male and he actually seemed to relish the attention he was getting with flashes flashing at him and people hanging out to get at good photo - until - the guide said "I'm not joking folks, but don't hang over the side, this croc could jump two thirds of his body length out of the water if he wanted to!" That made us all pull our heads in - the croc was four metres long and the side of the boat was only about a metre and a half.

Our first croc sighting

Croc at Yellow River Billabong

One of the mama crocs.

Searching for a croc.

 We think the tour group must have been paying this croc because he just lazily followed alongside the boat for quite a way until the guide decided we needed to see some of the 200 species of bird life that come to the billabong in the dry season - however the dry season is late this year so we didn't get to see near that many, but we did see quite a lot - many too small for my 3X optical lens to catch. 

Birdlife everywhere

A Jabiru

Yellow River Billabong

It was a very pleasant and enjoyable cruise, maybe overpriced (as is everything here), but that's what you have to pay, probably won't ever come back. Although, I did suggest to Ruth that the only way to see the water falls in their full glory was to fly to Darwin in the wet season and take a guided flight over the falls, which she thought would be a good idea (for later, much later).

They then took us back to the Lodge (attached to the caravan park - or visa versa) for a full English breakfast with eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast, fruit juice, fruit, cereal and tea or coffee. We had a plate full each and that filled us and kept us going all day until tea time, but some of the other people there (esp. the backpackers) just loaded their plates with everything and then went back for seconds and one guy had thirds (I'm sure a lot of it went into their backpacks).

We were told that during the wet season, where our caravan was, can be flooded and that even in the dry season that crocs have been seen up in the caravan park - and there are signs in the park advising that crocs may be about. We didn't, thankfully see any there - seeing them in the water was fine by us (we did see a small one up on the bank).

After we packed up we decided we had seen enough plunge ponds and water falls, so we went to a site that had Aboriginal Paintings on the rock face - but I'll leave that for my next update, it's getting late - Ruth is already in bed - we are so thankful for our car and van AC's, it is so hot and humid, we sleep all night with it on. We have decided that after spending an uncomfortable night at Edith Falls (no power) that we would try and make sure we always stopped at a caravan park with power until we started heading south again.

Kakadu - Gumlom Falls NT

Well today we reached Kakadu - it cost us $25 each just to get in! That was because we weren't Northern Territorians, Politicians, VIP's, Media personnel or Schools Kids on an Educational excursion! I think the Politian's, VIP's & Media could well afford to pay - and why other Aussies have to pay is a bit rich when there are signs here saying how the Federal Govt. is paying for the roads.

A termite skyscraper we saw as we turned off
the Stuart Hwy onto the Kakadu Hwy.

Anyway, we pulled into the Information/Fee Collection Office to pay our money and said we would like to do the 4WD trip to Jim Jim Falls (didn't know you had been up here twice, Jim). "Sorry that road is closed for repairs, but 11 kms up the road there is a turn off to a very pretty place called Gunlom Falls and it's on a 4WD track, just leave your caravan here and we will look after it for you."

So we did, the 4WD road was a good graded road for the first 26 kms and then we hit the real 4WD track for the final 11 kms (David you would be proud of us). It was corrugated, rutted, soft in spots with several wash-outs that had to be negotiated, and I only 'bottomed-out once'. We could see in the trees about a metre or so above the top of the car where the water flow had been, by the debris caught up there.

Water damage to flood sign

When we finally arrived, parts of the car had turned red, due to the dust from the road, but the picnic area was nice and clean with clean toilets and the bottom plunge pool only 200 mtrs down the track. We could see the falls from the car park, but when we got to the pool, I plunged in to cool off and Ruth came in more sedately. There was a nice sandy bottom and we immediately saw several types of fish, some that would have filled two dinner plates (no fishing allowed). They came right up close and because the water is so clear we could see them very clearly. There were also a lot of smaller striped fish which came up real close and nibbled at our feet and the sandfly bites on our legs. Apparently they are after dead skin.

Gumlom Falls and Waterfall Creek

We had lunch and a nice swim and then left to re-negotiate the 4WD track and road and back to pick up our caravan. We are now at the Gogudju Lodge Caravan Park, at Cooinda, about 40 kms south of Jabiru. Tomorrow we have booked a Breakfast boat trip on the Yellow Water Billabong and tributaries of the South Alligator River, so it's another early morning start, then we come back to get our caravan and then on to Jabiru.

Edith Falls NT

Well we didn't get far from Katherine, 40Kms north on the Stuart Hwy there is a turn-off to Edith Falls for a further 20Kms (on a good sealed road), so we took it having read a bit about how nice it was there. We arrived about 10 am and so we thought we would take the 1.6Km walk to the top falls as these are really a cascade with three separate falls making up the whole.

It was quite a climb over a fairly rough track and lots of rocky outcrops to negotiate at the end of the walk. But it is was well worth it and we enjoyed a nice cooling dip in the pool at the bottom of the top falls. Then we had to walk back and by the time we got back we were hot and bothered, so we decided to stay in the camp grounds here (they have everything except power, so I'm writing this on batteries - going flat quickly).

We had lunch and then went to the plunge pool at the bottom falls and it was much nicer and deeper there and a good place for proper swimming. The middle falls are not accessible by any track we could see, but I did manage to get a some photos of them from the top falls.

So that was this days events, we are both sweltering now in the caravan at 32 deg (must be the humidity), but it does cool down in the night - may even go back for another swim before 7 pm (when they close - not sure if they turn off the falls, but it does say they are closed between 7 pm and 7 am).

Edith Bottom Falls

Edith Middle Falls

Edith Top Falls

 

Nitmilik National Park (Katherine Gorge) NT

We spent yesterday doing the rounds of the shops (esp. Op Shops) in Katherine, bought Ruth her own Noodle (floatation device), some groceries and a new camera strap for my camera (actually I couldn't find a suitable one so I bought a dog collar and attached it to the camera with a plastic tie and a plastic twistie tie for safety - it worked well).

Today we arose early and headed out to the Katherine Gorge for our 9am "Timeless Land 3 Gorge Cruise". Actually it's not called Katherine Gorge any longer, it's now reverted to its Aboriginal name of Nitmiluk Gorge and the whole area is the Nitmilik National Park.

Each gorge required a different boat because there were rapids and rocks separating them. So at the end of the 1st Gorge we disembarked and walked about 500 mtrs to the 2nd Gorge and took the boat there to the next set of rapids which was only about 50 mtrs walk to the 3rd Gorge. Each gorge was better and deeper that the one before it. There are actually 16 gorges in all, but the others need to be explored by canoe of on foot (from above).

There are fresh water crocodiles in the gorges but unfortunately we didn't see any. Swimming in the gorge is not allowed yet as they have not determined if all of the salt water crocs have been caught (they come into the gorges during the monsoon when the water is high and flows uninterrupted all of the way down).

We saw rubbish from the high water caught up in the tops of some very high trees and in the 3rd Gorge the guide pointed out a spot way up the side of the canyon wall where the water rises.

Glad we took the boat trip! (Wrecked plane near turnoff to aeroplane tours)

High water mark about 1 metre above top cave.

1st Katherine Gorge

2nd Katherine Gorge

3rd Katherine Gorge

At the end of the 3rd Gorge we all disembarked and took a rough trail to a small high waterfall at a place called the Lily Ponds. The waterfall fell into a large water hole where a lot of us went swimming and had our photos taken under the falls - it was the highlight of the whole trip - we stayed there for about an hour, had some snacks brought along by the guide and regretfully had to leave. The water wasn't cold but cool enough to refresh ourselves from the heat of the day, esp. after the walk there.

Waterfall at Lily Ponds

Bernie having a shower.

Ruth having a shower.

Tomorrow we head for Jabaru and Kakadu!