But, that’s beside the point. We spent a fair bit of time walking, and also birding. Matt was on somewhat of a birding mission, because there are five or seven endemics in the Top End, and Matt was hoping to see as many as he could. So, while Matt was still with us, we made some major efforts to try and find White-lined Honeyeaters and White-throated Grasswrens (at least I think that’s what they’re called.) We were unsuccessful on the grasswrens, only Matt saw the honeyeater, but fantastically, we all got to see the Banded Fruit Dove and the Partridge Pigeon. These two birds were precisely where the guidebook said they would be, and what fantastic birds they were. And, we saw a Large-tailed Nightjar and heard Barking Owls (sound like dogs) and Bush Stone-curlews (they make a long, eerie, mournful cry).We also enjoyed some excellent swimming beneath Gunlom Falls (really a trickle when we were there at the end of the dry season); learned about bush tucker (how to forage in the wild for food – essentially, what Aboriginal people eat in Kakadu); and had the most amazing burgers at Cooinda on our final night with Matt.
The day Matt left, we met up with our guides Patrick and Penny for a bushwalking trip in Kakadu. Because 4WD vehicles are required to get to the best spots in Kakadu, we opted to go on a guided walking trip with Willis Walkabouts. We had heard good things from our friends in the Adelaide Bushwalking Club, and decided it made sense for us, since we didn’t know anything about Kakadu, and weren’t really prepared to rent high clearance 4WD vehicles. Also, access to many parts of Kakadu are limited because the land is important to the Aboriginal people who live there (usually called traditional owners). Permits are often required, and some areas are only accessible through approved guide services. Dinner Creek, where we went on our walk, is one such area.We’re used to going walking on our own, and have never before used a guide service for an overnight trip. Although there were some parts I didn’t really enjoy about the guided trip, one thing that was absolutely incredible was the food! Our guides had prepared all the food before hand (much of it dehydrated), and they made dinner for us every night. We had to bring our own breakfast and lunch, but not having to make dinner was incredible. We had three course meals (soup, main meal, and dessert), and it was just fantastic not having to think about cooking at the end of the day. It felt seriously luxurious.
The walking itself was different from any other walking I’ve ever done. Much like driving in Kakadu, where you have to drive quite a ways to see something interesting, it seems like you have to walk quite a distance as well before you get to something interesting. And, the interesting things always involve water, and particularly places that are salt-water-crocodile-free so that you can swim. It’s really hot up in the Top End and there are lots of flies, which means that the best part about walking is swimming. But, you can’t just swim anywhere because there are salties in many bodies of water. Fortunately for us, it was the end of the dry season, which means that there is not enough food left in the smaller streams to support a crocodile. However, during the wet season, the crocs can swim upstream for miles, making any water body unswimable except for those that are inaccessible to crocodiles because they are above high waterfalls.
We camped at two places with excellent swimming holes, and it was an incredible feeling to go swimming at night, just before bed, to cool off. We didn’t need sleeping bags, and just had a sheet for cover. We didn’t put the fly on the tent, which meant we could also see the moon every night. Unlike most places, where you’d rather it not get dark, night time in the Top End was a welcome time. I began to see why so many creatures in Australia are nocturnal – why would you go out in the hot sun when you can move easily in the cool of night?Our trip ended with a dinner back in Cooinda, and then a cruise in the Yellow Waters wetland, where salties and birds abound. We saw Jacanas (called “the Jesus bird” because it looks like they can walk on water with their especially large, webbed feet), beautiful kingfishers, night herons, darters, and brolgas. It was an excellent way to finish up our time there, except for the fact that we were trying to figure out how to get back to Darwin from Kakadu (a 3+ hour drive). It’s sort of a long story, but the short version is that we had arranged for one of the people coming on the following guided walk to pick up a rental car for us and drive it out to Kakadu so that we could drive it back the following day. I know it sounds like an unusual arrangement, but I had called the rental agency ahead of time (Alamo/Europcar) and made sure this was okay. They had taken a copy of my driver’s license, and agreed that I could be the second driver. Except that when the guy went to pick up the car, they told him that it wasn’t possible, and that I wouldn’t be insured if I drove it. Extremely frustrating since there really weren’t any other options for us to get back to Darwin.
So, Dave and I spent our last night and morning in Kakadu asking everyone at the campground if they were driving back to Darwin the following day (we had a flight to catch) and if they had room for two. We still hadn’t found a ride by the following morning, so we hung out by the check out desk to ask people leaving that day. I asked one guy, and he told me that he had the space, but that he had a fridge and a generator in the seats and two little kids, which just meant it would be too hard. He walked away, and a little disheartened, I looked for our next possibility. But, about five minutes later, he amazingly returned and said, ‘Come on, we’ll give you a lift.’ He and his family were taking the year to drive around Australia with their caravan. It was so kind of them to take us. We had to move the fridge and generator into the caravan, and then basically acted like babysitters for their two adorable kids that day. The title of this blog is in honor of the dad because when his kids would say something that was cool or interesting, he would say, “Wakadu” since they were in Kakadu. I thought it was great.
We also got to head up to Ubirr and Cahill’s Crossing to watch some exciting fishing. The river there is a tidal river, and so when the tide comes in, the little fish swim upstream to stay in the freshwater. The barramundi (the salmon of the Top End) follow the little fish, and the salties sit waiting for the barramundi to swim by. The fishers wait on the banks (not really all that far from the crocodiles) and also try to catch the barramundi. It’s lunch time for everyone. The guy who was driving us wanted to catch a barra (so did his wife, just so he would stop trying everywhere they went), and so we got to watch. It was pretty amazing to watch the crocs, just waiting patiently for a fish, and then to suddenly watch them strike out with a massive crunch. They sit there with their arms and legs spread out so they can feel the movements of the fish. Pretty incredible.And, an unexpected but great detour for us on the way back to Darwin. We did make it back in time for our flight, and even got to go to the Mindil Beach Markets, which had been highly recommended. So, though Kakadu was at times Wakadu, we had a great time there, and would definitely recommend going if you’re looking for something different.
No comments:
Post a Comment