We were all excited at finally reaching
Kakadu. Sash was so excited that he made up a handful of songs about Kakadu
with which he entertained us for the entire drive. Most notably Ka-ka-du-du-du (to the tune of Agadoo for those of us at school in the early 80s...). We felt a bit nervous about
entering this iconic part of Australia – nervous that it wouldn’t be as
spectacular as we were expecting. Our first port of call was Gunlom, which is
not far from the Pine Creek entrance to the park. We set up in a pleasant,
shady campground and ate dinner quickly in order to go to a slideshow about
Living on Country – a good general history of the area, introduction to the
Jawoyn people, bush tucker and medicines.
In the morning, we hiked up to the top of
the waterfall – a short, steep, rocky climb. And when we got to the top we were
gobsmacked by the beauty of the place. A series of crystal clear rockpools,
each with soft sandy bottoms in which you can relax whilst overlooking a very
spectacular view over the waterfall. People say it is like an infinity pool.
The pools are surrounded by lush foliage and trickling little waterfalls. Words
could never really do this place justice. We all voted it one of the top spots
of our whole trip. Lovely.
After lunch, we swam in the plunge pool at
the bottom of the waterfall. It was also wonderful. Again the water was crystal
clear and the just-running waterfall towered over us as we swam around the huge
pool. Once we got over our slight nervousness of crocodiles, we had a great
time. Of course there are salties everywhere in Kakadu, but a handful of crocodile-managed
zones made some swimming safe. However, in true Australian risk-management
style, the Parks folk have erected signs at the safe swimming spots telling visitors
that it is possible that salties have moved into this area and that visitors
are to enter the water at their own risk… So even though these areas are
supposed to be safe, no one will guarentee that they really are safe… For
crocodile-nervous southerners this makes for an element of fear everytime we
enter the beautiful swimming spots of Kakadu. But enter we do, because it is so
so hot that swimming seams almost as important as breathing! And the beautiful
Gunlom swimming spots - what a start to our Kakadu adventure.
Next morning we decided to brave the extreme heat and attempt a walk at nearby Yurmikmik. We lathered up in sunscreen, jammed our hats onto our heads and walked towards a lookout. The view from the lookout was pretty spectacular, but the walking was really hot and exposed. Only early morning walks or late afternoon walks for us from now on.
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| Splashing at the top of Gunlom |
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| Just another rough day at school |
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