What time is it there?!

Just as we thought we had done all of our driving extravaganzas ... how wrong we were! Just a few hundred kms from Darwin is the Kakadu National Park and another of the World Herritage sites to tick off our list. We decided to go prepared for rough terrain and opted for a small 4WD, all of the real four wheel drive tracks around here are shut in the wet but we were hoping that we would at least be able to get around if it rained and we encountered any really BIG puddles! However, in the small print you are prohibited from really putting it through its paces ... although we did try!

The 'wet' is really wet, huge areas of wetlands which swarm with birdlife (although we missed the best of it) that for the rest of the year don't even qualify as a pond! It is amazing to try and imagine what it would actually look like in the 'dry' and I think we both probably failed miserably. The only way to really know would be to come back again ...... any excuse! The season also prevented us from reaching some of the parts that we would have liked to have seen but this gives us more excuses to return.

Our first experience was the Yellow Water Cruise, there is some debate as to why it is called this, there seemed to be two suggestions but nobody is sure, possibly something to do with local yellow flowers. We rose early and went on a boat trip through the billabongs and buffalo grass which for most of the year are dry. At one point the water depth indicator was almost up to 2 meters and at other points you could see the handrail protrouding from the water where the boat sets sail from in the 'dry'. We saw some interesting bird life and one solitary crocodile who didn't hang around long enough for a photo. Luckily we were in a substantial boat so he couldn't have us for breakfast!

A little later we braved the humidity and commenced a walk to Gubara Pools. This was only 3kms over fairly easy terrain ... water jumps aside! and gave our hiking boots their first real christening and tested their waterproofing to the max. We are pleased to report that both sets passed with flying colours. Wringing wet, we arrived at pure paradise. A secluded set of little waterfalls and pools set amongst lush forest and a perfect place for a picnic. Had there not been so many signs warning of crocodiles in the area, we may have gone for a quick dip but we both decided that we still have far more to see on our 'big trips' that we opted to stay safe and just dipped our hats in to help us keep cool on the trek back. We could have stayed there all day watching frogs and butterflies frolicing about but the mosquito's were a bit irritating and seemed unphased by the mosquito repellent that we were both wearing.

Then it was off to Nourlangie Rock which is an Aboriginal sacred site where history shows that their people have camped in the caves, many thousands of years ago. The main draw here are the rock paintings which are anything up to 50,000 years old, although no-one really knows! We did the best we could with our pictures but the angle of the sun and the walkways prevent anything spectacular and considering their age, some are quite faint. Wouldn't you be after 50,000 years? Anyway, we wouldn't describe them as particularly spectacular and they were no Picassos, but the fact that they are there at all is quite impressive!

More Kakadu pictures here.