10. – 12. September

Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve to Mary River National Park

It was time to start our second loop around Darwin. We stopped at the Fogg Dam Reserve which was originally built for a rice-building project. But this project failed but the nature had already enough time to take over the dam – a lot of birds seek refuge during the dry season. It’s possible to make several walks but we just did one – from the woodlands to the waterlilies. It was an interesting walk with some lookouts and interpretive signs along the way. We also wanted to walk over the dam to the lookout on the other side but this walk was closed and only open for vehicles. One large crocodile should be in the water and it’s feared it might attack any walker on the dam.

Shortly after we stopped at the “Windows of Wetland Visitor Centre” which features 360 degrees views of the wetlands and the Adelaide River. The interactive display provides some information about the changes of the wetlands. It was interesting although the displays and the way it was displayed looked like 15 years old.

But we managed to get the information sheet about the Hardies Track – a 4WD track which connects the southern part with the northern part of the Mary River National Park. We had a chance to see the fertile heart of the Mary River catchment. The track starts at the Bird Billabong. I don’t know how big the Billabong is as it varies every year – a billabong is an open body of water which has been cut off the main river channel during the dry and will reconnect during the floods. While driving the track we saw several times the Mary River as well as the native Bamboo species. The Bamboo lives for around 30 years, then flowers and dies afterwards. The last flowering phenomomen happened 5 year ago so there were only young Bamboo plants. We had to cross several dried up creeks but they were quite rocky and you had to watch how to drive. The Hardies  Crossing had a special warning as large salties frequently use it. The crossing still had water flowing so you couldn’t see the rocks. But we managed without any problems and any crocs. Then we were in the floodplain and enjoyed the sweeping views to the horizon. The track went on through a cattle station before joining the Rockhole Rd and leading to the Couzens Lookout.

We camped at Couzens Lookout and had the place to ourselves. There was nobody around to disturb our views of the river, the sunset or the night sky. But we were not alone! Several boats were travelling on the river. We could hear the engine and the people talking. During the night the ranger must have been out to go croc counting/spotting. We could hear the engine and see the search light as well…

The Wildman 4WD track was next on our agenda. This 32km track links the Rockhole and Wildman Roads and gives you the possibility to see monsoon forests, fig trees and stands of bamboo and pandanus. We came across one fig tree and stopped for a short walk. Then we saw an eagle but it was just resting in a tree and not sitting on the nests. But anyway I guess the eagle was trying to find his lunch as several birds were resting in the floodplains and at the waterholes. Next we came across another warning “wildlife crossing” and saw a water buffalo. The buffalo just looked at us before continuing his walk into the woods. Pandanus trees were the next  feature on the track. The trees look a bit weird – sometimes they are compared as Pandanus Warriors. They stand tall and straight and their leaves form a grass skirt. These leaves are dangerous when it comes to a bushfire as they create burning ember which can be carried around for miles.

Our next stop was Shady Camp a big camp area with two boat ramps (into salt- and freshwater). There is some kind of a (natural) barrier which disrupts the water-flow and so there is one side with freshwater and the other still salty. Don’t ask me how it really works… And we saw our first crocodile in the wild. But mind you we nearly missed it. It just looked like a tree floating on the water with the exception it was going against the current and suddenly it dived. We sat down and watched for several minutes and saw some more crocs swimming by. They didn’t look dangerous at all.

Finally it was time to say hello to Kakadu National Park so stay tuned…

Enjoy and have fun,

Cheers, Tom and Anja

13. – 20. September

Kakadu National Park

Our first task was to buy the 14-day pass. Every interstate and international visitor has to buy an entry pass (as there were no controls not everyone gets one) – I guess Kakadu will soon be known as Kaka-don’t again. Luckily we were allowed to use the pool and showers of the  Aurora Hotel, it did pay off to ask. We then headed to the camp area and had the Red Lily Billabong in mind. But these camp spots were so close to the water we decided to have a look at the Bucket Billabong as well. We than camped at the Bucket Billabong as the water was 1.5m below the camp-area. So we assumed the crocs won’t climb it. In the morning we were assured that crocs do live in the billabong as one swam in the water.

Then we headed to Ubirr via the Visitor Centre and Jabiru. We had a look at the several rock paintings. We recognised paintings of turtles, snakes, ships and fishes as well as X-ray paintings of human beings. A lot of these painting originated in the freshwater period around 1500 years ago. But there is also a painting from a Tasmanian tiger which became extinct over 2500 years ago (at least in this region). We also enjoyed the Nadab lookout – overlooking the floodplains.

Next we stopped at the Cahill’s Crossing – the East Alligator River crossing connecting Kakadu NP with Arnhemland. This crossing is only passable during low tide and only with the right permission. And we arrived at high tide, it was still possible to see the water moving inland. Two cars were waiting in front of the crossing, although I’m not sure if they were waiting to cross or just parked their car as they were fishing… We saw several crocs in the water. This area is like heaven for them. Most fishes are not strong enough to withstand the current they get swapped away. So the crocs just have to wait in the right position and the fishes are getting directly into their mouths.

Another rock art site is at Nourlangie. It’s known that this area was used for the last 6000 years although some founds could be dated 20000 years back. The rock paintings were re-painted in 1964 as they were so faded. The circuit walk leads through the rocks along the different galleries before you can start the lookout walk. From the lookout we had fantastic views to the surrounding hills and into the woodlands.

Then we headed out towards the Twin- and Jim Jim Falls. This area is only accessible with a 4WD as you have to cross the Jim Jim Creek still standing at 50cm depth. And we had to take a little boat shuttle to come close to the Twin Falls. But you still have to walk a little bit of several  rocks and even over water (of course there was a walkway) to come to the plunge pool. Unfortunately it’s not possible to swim – the creek is still connected with the other waterways and not all crocs have been removed. The ranger informed us that they spotted 8 crocs during the wet season but only 2 could be relocated so far. But there was no croc in the traps so the fishes enjoyed the bait… There are several turtles and they had their nesting season so that the hatchling come out for the wet season.

Now we went to the other waterfall – Jim Jim Falls. And we could swim in the plunge pool. The waterfall didn’t have any water anymore so part of the creek was dried up and no croc could enter the pool area. It was a hard 900m walk – climbing over rocks and stones. But we had our swim! We even put our shirts into the water and they were completely dry when we returned to the car.

We only stopped briefly in Yellow River– the big wetland with a huge crocodile population and several cruises on offer. We didn’t go on any cruise we just watched the crocs and birds from the walk.

The next day could be called “find as many swimming holes as possible”. First we went to the Maguk area and walked to the plunge pool. Of course the walk went of the rocks and stones still through a little bit of water and then we reached the pool. It was a big plunge pool and the water fall still had water. But we didn’t swim to the fall as the water was cold, deep and quite dark. Additional a lot of backpacker tours turned up and they used all the remaining space.

In the end we reached the Gunlom area where you could swim as well. This time we just had to walk 200m on a flat surface to reach the pool. We cooled a little bit down before we started to explore the rock pools on top of the fall. The walk was a steady walk and we enjoyed some  wonderful views before reaching our destination. There are five different rock pools and we just used two and had company of several fishes. We could have investigated the gorge but we forgot our inflatable rings and didn’t dare to go adventurous. Then we had another night in Kakadu and returned to Darwin.

Some part of the Kakadu National Park is called “sickness country”. The Aboriginals believe that you get sick on entering these areas – it is said you disturb some kind of ancestor. And there is a scientific reason behind; these areas contain radio active materials like uranium which is mined.

Bye, bye

Tom and Anja

24. August – 9. September

Litchfield National Park

We decided to take some “loop-tours” around Darwin and the first one was to explore the Litchfield National Park just 100km south. The Park has three entrances (from the north and south via a gravel road and from the east via a sealed road) – we used the north entrance and had a first glimpse at some magnetic termite mounds. We had our lunch break at the Walker Creek. You have a possibility to swim in the creek and to camp close to the creek. Unfortunately the designated swimming areas were already crowded so we didn’t go for a swim. We didn’t stay for the night as the camp areas are walk-in only about 500 to 2000m from the car park away.

Our night camp was erected at the Wangi Falls and went directly for a swim. You can swim in the big plunge pool just underneath the waterfalls. This waterfall has water all year-round – of course during the wet season much more water is coming down and the fall itself should be wider. There are actually two falls but one was just more like a trickle. There are also two steps you could use to enter the pool. We named one the “ghost track” as you had to swim underneath several spider webs…  I don’t know how deep the pool is – it ranges from 30cm to some meters deep. The current is forming a “wandering” sandbank. It’s unbelievable that there is a current in a pool – but there is. The water is flowing in clockwise direction although the creek exists just to the right of one fall. The current increased the more water is in the pool which is one reason you should not swim during the wet. The other is of course the salties. Freshwater crocodiles, turtles, fishes and lizards all live in that area but we only saw the fishes.

It’s possible to do a 3.5km loop walk which we did in the morning. The walk starts at the viewing platform and meanders through the forest to a treetop viewing platform. Unfortunately you can’t see the fall from this platform but you’ve nice views into the surrounding. Continuing on the walk you reach the top of the plateau but still you can’t see the fall – it’s just possible to hear it. Then the walk continues down to the plunge pool.

The Tolmer falls can only be enjoyed by the viewing platform some 100m away. You can also look for miles into the open land west of the falls. We saw a big smoke cloud and were not the only ones to watch it. The ranges were watching it as well. Later in the afternoon we really saw the bushfire – it went uphill close to the road. All rangers were on fire alert and they had to cancel the slideshow… what a bummer.

We just stopped briefly at Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls. We just got a parking spot and then we had to walk a fair bit to reach the campground and the swimming area. At the Florence Falls you had to climb over 150 stairs. This means you really enjoy the swim but you need another one when you’re back at the car or tent (much nicer at Wangi Falls where the pool is just 200m away). We walked to the viewing platform and one bloke was preparing to jump the waterfall (of course you shouldn’t do it but boys like to impress ;-)) We’ve waited for over 10 minutes and he didn’t decide to jump just when we turned away we could hear the thud and the crowd.

Do you remember that I informed you about the Lost Cities in the Northern Territory? We had a look at another one which was reached via a 10km 4X4 track which was quite slow going. And then – the lost city was not as nice as the other one. It lacked structure! There had  been a crossroad to the other 4X4 track which goes to the Blyth Homestead and another waterfall – but this road was closed so we decided not to visit the Tjayerna Falls and not to do a 3km walk in the afternoon. Swimming was the much better option.

We had a look at the Magnetic Termite Mounds on the way out. There is a big termite field with hundreds of mounds – some might be as tall as 3m. But you can’t get close to them – only visible via the short boardwalk. Apparently these mounds a build in a north-south direction so they won’t heat up as much during the day. They only get the morning and afternoon sun which enables a steady temperature inside. These termites don’t have any underground walkways to avoid the heat.

Then we drove back to Darwin gathering more information about Kakadu and the Kimberly. We also learned that they fear the Wet Season will start earlier as it’s a “La Nina year” – the first big rain happened by end of August. Let see how many we’ll encounter while in Darwin… will let you know.

Bye, bye,

Tom and Anja

10. – 23. August

Now it was really time to travel to Darwin. We just stopped briefly in Katherine (we have to come across Katherine on our way west again) and then had to drive through a bush-fire  - was not the first and won’t be the last. It was unbelievable how hot and eerie it was. Suddenly the visibility dropped to 10m and you had some ashes flying at the windscreen. But I believe this fire belonged to “controlled burning” to reduce the risk and severity of wild bushfires later in the dry season.

When we arrived in Darwin we took care of the car and ourselves. The car got a wash (inside and outside) and a wax and we took time to go to the gym and relax in the swimming pool.

The freshwater springs were visited as well – you have to use every possibility to swim. The ocean is off-limits as there might be crocs around and stingers are not far either. The humidity can rise to up to 100% (normally just in the wet season although we had days with 60% humidity) so you start sweating just by being outside doing nothing. The pool in the Howard Springs Nature Reserve was closed due to renovations (I guess they have to work on the weir which was constructed during 2nd world war). So we could only watch the fishes and the turtles swimming around – this meant we had to find another freshwater swimming hole.

So we drove to Berry springs. This Reserve offers good swimming, walking tracks as well as wood-BBQ’s. This means as well it can get really crowded and you might have to come back another time. But we were lucky and could enjoy the water and the free massage of the waterfall. The swimming hole is fed by a waterfall as well as some springs.

As Darwin was hit hard during the 2nd world war (several air raids) you can visit a lot of war memorials and military museums. The war memorials are often airstrips which were constructed within months and plaques showing sunken ships… You could also visit the oil tunnels which were created to store the oil after the above ground ones were bombed. We had a look at the military museum at East Point Reserve which shows several machine guns (used by the Japanese and Allies), several ship models and some uniforms. In the outside area they had several guns including the 9.2” guns which were built to protect the coastline.  You could also see part of the anti-submarine-net which was erected across the harbour.

In the aviation museum a B52 is on display. This should be the only B52 display outside the US. The bomber covers the whole hangar and the other airplanes (spitfire, tiger-moth, helicopter and other smaller planes) are placed under the wings… You could also watch a video about the bombings of Darwin (which is luckily different to the one at the military museum) and one about the B52 itself.

Have fun,

Cheers, Tom and Anja