I have been informed by my son that I have become less verbose in recent posts. This is the first time in over 30 years he (& many others) has ever accused me of not saying enough, he is usually telling me to shut-up! My only excuse is that it is hard to type & drink at the same time.
I will try to be more loquacious.
On Thursday after safely ensconsing Billy at “Helgas Kennels” for the duration we headed off to Kakadu.
On the way we stopped in at the Adelaide River Jumping Crocodile Cruise. As you can see from the photos you certainly get your monies worth. Lots of crocs. We met Brutus who is over 5m long. He is missing front right leg after a fight with a shark a few years ago. David Attenborough & his crew are filming with them all this week.
We stayed at the caravan park at Cooinda Lodge. As it was hot when we arrived the best place to be was in the pool with a beer.
The next day we booked a full day excursion to Twin Falls & Jim Jim Falls. Two reasons we did the tour was that I was sick of driving & to get to Twin Falls you have to broach a creek nearly a metre deep. We had a great time but we were shattered at the end of the day. A lot of the walking was actually climbing over huge boulders to get to the base of the falls. We went to Twin Falls first, takes 90 minutes on rough track, then a boat ride up gorge & the tough 30 minute walk. Unfortunately you can’t swim in the pool because the Riginals (Aboriginals with the offensive Abo taken off) say that they never swam in it so they don’t want white fellows swimming in it.
We had lunch & drove for another hour to Jim Jim Falls. An hour in & an hour out of walking & climbing over boulders in 36 degree heat nearly did Ulrika in, but she made it. We could swim in this pool. Unfortunately as it is the end of the dry season the falls weren’t running. Did I say there are crocs around? A 2 hour drive back, a few beers & to bed.
Next morning we did the sunrise tour on Yellow Water Billabong which is part of the South Alligator River system. Lots to see & interesting that there are so many feral animals in a National Park. We saw pigs, cattle, buffalo & horses. As we found out later the Riginals that own Kakadu keep them in the National Park & do a cull every now & then to earn some “pocket-money”.
Great sunrise & lots of crocs.
Also lots of birds.
We then went for a drive (100k tar, 50k dirt) to Gunlom Falls. Pretty spot & we were about to go for a swim & spotted Croc in middle of pool. Not sure if it was Freshie or a Saltie but was big enough to ensure that we (& others) stayed out of the water.
Visited Jabiru as well, strange place, all new buildings & well planned but nobody about. Suppose if you have a Uranium mine down the road you probably don’t go out to often!
Stopped off at the Humpty Doo Pub for beer on way back to Darwin.
We both agree that whilst you have to experience Kakadu, Litchfield is much nicer & easier to get to. Having said that we would like to see Kakadu just after the wet. It would be a different place.
So we have finished our tour of NT & are about to head west. We have seen lots, weather has been hot but not too humid & looking forward to the next part of the tour.
P.S. Â I have already picked out my next vehicle for when we do all the off-road tracks after this tour. Not sure Ulrika agrees yet.
Hi Pete
Great photos and story. Our interdistrict match at Arundel went really well. Course was dry but quite ok with the greens being tricky. We were 20 all with Brisbane so they retain the trophy. Can you recommend any quality Senior (over 50) players from Arundel? GA less than 4 would be nice. I possibly have a spot or two in our seniors team.