August 29th- September 4th, 2011- Kakadu Lodge- Jabiru, Kakadu

As noted previously we packed up Monday midday from Merl and moved into Jabiru. We settled at the Aurora Kakadu Lodge and were able to negotiate a fairly good weekly rate. The campground is beautiful and green with full facilities. It is a bit of a strange layout as it is laid out in circular rings with the Pool, Bar, Restaurant area at the Centre. The pool area is wonderful and large which will be great for keeping cool. It is a very large park but not that busy as the high season seems to have slackened off over the last few weeks. Once setup we ventured to downtown Jabiru to explore. Not very much to explore I'm afraid although they do have a reasonably sized grocery store. Quite expensive and not that clean when we were there. Stopped at bakery on way back to camp to buy a couple of sweets for afternoon tea. Not bad!

Tuesday morning John, Sandra, Carol, & Stephen were up  at 6:30am for an all day 4WD tour. We got picked up at our caravan park and taken to Cooinda by our tour guide, Lisa, where another lady, Sue joined us. Because there was a small number in our tour group we took the Landcruiser instead of the big truck/bus 4WD. It was great with the small group as our guide decided to add a few extra surprises into our day. We headed some 55Km down the Jim Jim Falls Road before stopping for morning tea at Budjmi Lookout. This was one of our surprise locations. There was a bit of a climb to a rocky outcrop that had a great view of the Arnhemland Escarpment. We had a lovely cup of tea/coffee and some nice Apple Strudel.

From there we ventured some 9Km on a rough 4WD track with a fairly deep river crossing to Twin Falls. A short walk got us to a small ferry service that transported you up the gorge where you walked another 10-15 minutes to the base of the Twin Falls. The colour of the water in the gorge was Amazing and the Falls were quite impressive with a lot of water flowing. There was a beautiful white sandy beach at the base of the falls. No swimming here as possible crocodiles. We enjoyed a 15-20 minute break at the falls (mostly alone to our small group) before returning to Landcruiser re walk and ferry ride.

We then returned to the Twin Falls parking area and then onto Jim Jim Falls via a very rough 4WD track. Not recommended for anything other than high clearance 4WD preferably with a snorkel. Stephen and I were glad we hadn't tried to take either of our vehicles. Lisa distributed our lunch bags in the parking lot and we were off on a very vigorous and strenuous 900m walk. I know it doesn't sound like much but it is very rocky and not suitable unless you have at least a basic level of fitness and agility. It was of course very hot (35 degrees) and Lisa made sure we kept drinking water to hydrate ourselves. We arrived at the base of the falls around 1pm. The falls escarpment is huge and steep but there was only a trickle of water because it is near the end of the dry season. Would be magnificent in the wet season or early dry season. You were allowed to swim in the plunge pool at the base of the falls which Stephen & I took advantage of. The water was cold (18 degrees) but it felt bloody beautiful after our walk and the heat. You could float on your back and stare up at the escarpment surrounding you on 3 sides. Beautiful! The other great thing about this stop was the lunches supplied by the tour company as part of the fare. Stephen's and mine were great with lots of food including fruit, dessert, lollies, and a nice wrap. The great news however was Sandra and Carol's Gluten Free lunches. We had been mildly surprised and a bit dubious of the quality when the tour company agreed to provide the  lunches for the girls. Often they don't understand what can be provided or they are just plain terrible and tasteless. Well much to their surprise the lunch was delicious and large. They enjoyed every last bit and we even got to keep the little cooler bags they came in. We enjoyed a relaxing hour eating lunch, swimming, and taking in the beautiful view before setting out again for the Landcruiser. The walk back was tough but uneventful. The heat and the dehydration were the worst of it. Lisa provided us all with a Powerade back at the car to replenish our fluids and sugars before setting off again. If anything the trip back was even rougher. It was Lisa's Friday as she had Wednesday/Thursday off so I think she may have been in a bit of a hurry to get back. We had lots of laughs as Carol and Sandra especially got tossed around in the back seat on our return journey. Lisa took us on another short 4WD track which was the back entrance to the Cooinda airport where we raced down the runway in the Landcruiser before returning to Cooinda Lodge. It was a wonderful day with a superb guide. Another man took the four of us back to our caravan park in Jabiru. We really enjoyed ourselves but we were all buggered by the time we got delivered back to our campsite at 6:30pm. We definitely had an early night!

Jabiru. In desperation I dialled overseas and after some difficulty got a hold of one of the guys that used to work for me in Fort McMurray. Peter Walsh spent an hour and a half on the phone with me patiently trying all sort of things. Finally got me into a point where at least I could access some information. I will owe him big time if he ever makes it over for a visit. Many frustrating hours later I seem to have restored everything. You certainly realize how much you rely on the Internet to do anything with a laptop these days.

 My least favorite moment was when Telstra Technical Support (?) advised me to download the latest updated Mobile Broadband Manager software to resolve my Internet problem. I pointed out that if I could get on the Internet I wouldn't bloody well need the updated software and I certainly wouldn't be talking to them. She then kindly suggested that I go to my nearest Telstra shop for assistance. When I indicated this was 300km away she had to go consult her supervisor. Obviously he/she was a technical genius as the final suggestion was to go next door to my neighbours house to download the updated software. The fact that I was in a caravan park didn't seem to register. I loved the fact that she asked if there was any thing else she could help me with and to please stay on the line to complete a service satisfaction survey when I told her she was of absolutely no help. It certainly makes me fondly miss (NOT!) working with Telstra on a daily basis back at home with Viatek.

Oops! Sorry about that little venting of frustration. Back to  the good stuff! Wednesday afternoon saw us travel the 50Km back to Cooinda to enjoy the sunset cruise at Yellow Waters. It was with the same company, Gadadu Dreaming, as the 4WD adventure. We loaded on the boat a 4:30 for a 2 hour cruise on the Yellow Water Billabong and South Alligator River. Another great experience with lots of bird life, 20 more crocodiles, and a beautiful sunset. Highlights were watching a Sea Eagle eat a freshly captured turtle and a crocodile eating a large piece of meat which the guide thought might have been part of a wild pig. We then travelled back to Jabiru for a late dinner and a fairly early night.

 

Thursday morning all of us except Terry loaded in the car and drove to the Jabiru Airport for an early morning scenic flight. We went on a half hour flight with Air Kakadu. The morning was a bit hazy from controlled fires in the park but the flight was very smooth and wonderful. The pilot commented a few times how smooth it was; as apparently it is usually quite a bumpy flight with strong thermal currents. You really need to see Kakadu/Arnhemland by the air to appreciate the vastness and diversity of it. As the tour audio pointed out if you travelled every single road and track in Kakadu/Arnhemland you would only see 1% of the total area. The pictures probably don't really capture the vastness or diversity that well; but trust me, it is amazing! We debated long and hard about the half hour or one hour flight but in the end I think the half hour probably showed you almost as much for almost half the price. You saw a good portion of the Arnhemland's Escarpment including the Archway, vast Magellan Wetlands, East Alligator River, Ranger Uranium mine, and a number of smaller Aboriginal Outstations. We all thoroughly enjoyed it! The rest of the day was fairly restful with lots of swimming and relaxing at the pool. I had some further success with my computer and was able to upload our photos and update some Blog posts.

Friday morning the Ransleys and the Bewells drove out to the Nourlangie Rock area. We did a 1.5km walk around the various Aboriginal Art Sites there and the Lookout. The artwork had been repainted and was clearer than some that we had seen at Ubirr. That being said it still isn't our cup of tea. As Sandra says much of it looks like it could have been done by a preschooler. Probably not politically correct but that's just our opinion. We enjoyed the walk and the lookout.

 

From there we drove a short distance and walked the 2.5km walking trail around the Anbangbang Billabong. It was a nice walk with lots of bird life. You just wonder how amazing these billabongs would be in the wet season. We returned to the campground for a nice cool swim and a relaxing afternoon.

We drove back out to Cahill's Crossing and Ubirr late Friday afternoon so we could experience the Sunset from the Ubirr Lookout which was highly recommended. We stopped briefly at the crossing where the tide was going out with great force and was quite high for the few vehicles we saw travel across. We then did the 20 minute climb up Ubirr to enjoy a beautiful view and another wonderful sunset. Returned to campground for another late dinner.

Saturday and Sunday have been very hot with us all kicking back, relaxing, and spending lots of quality time in the pool area. Lots of great food to go with it. The Ransley's fridge/freezer quit on them early Saturday morning but Stephen and I were able to perform a temporary repair on it that will get us back into Katherine, where it can be looked at. We will be glad to get back to civilization, Katherine, soon to replenish our supplies as they are getting low. We are almost completely out of fresh fruit and vegetables and even more seriously, Terry has run out of beer. Being the kind hearted team player that I am; I sold him a six pack at a huge markup (Just Kidding, but he would have paid it!). We had a big Bacon and Eggs Breakfast this morning to celebrate Father's Day. Sandra has been busy cleaning and killing ants in her spare time. I swear she does hand exercises at night just so she can get that little bit of extra distance out of the insecticide spray. I'm pretty sure I heard her do a Clint Eastwood "Come on, make my day, Punks!" growl at some ants yesterday. Regardless she appears to be winning (or at least holding her own) against them and we are ready to set off in the morning. We have really enjoyed Kakadu and although we probably didn't need all 7 days in Jabiru it has been very relaxing and enjoyable. I don't think Kakadu rates as high as some of  the other wonderful sites we have seen but it is definitely still worth a visit. I think you need to get out and explore it a bit and see it from different perspectives (air, 4WD, boat, walking) to truly appreciate it. A bit more effort required then some tourist destinations but well worth it in the end.