Part 3
1st of June 2021
New title as we really do not fit into the Grey Nomad Club!
This morning up early to enjoy the Bitter Springs to ourselves, was it worth it? So so nice, pure meditational, as we floated down stream to nothing but the birds chatting away, highlight so far!
Back to the van for a cooked breakfast, sort the washing out, domestic day. Chilling and back for another float in the afternoon. We’ve become surrogate grandparents to Toby and Louis, whom we met with their parents along the way in Kings Creek Station, Georgie and Darren from Castlemaine. I’ve made the mistake of offering a snake 🐍 lolli, so now the kids are my new best friends!
Another session down at the springs for another float, a couple of cool kids smoking doobies. I think that would make floating down the river next level relaxation! Back at the van dear Toby and Louis back over to visit and try their luck for another snake or two! They helped their new poppy Pete assemble our new cooker stand, for a steak over the fire.
After dinner tonight we went over to the Mataranka Resort for the Whip show, with Nathan Griggs. Peter soon found our friends, Verity and Adam from Daley Waters, so they joined us at our table. Great band on first, and the atmosphere was really fun, kids running around, dancing to the band before the whip show, which was well worth staying up for! Great fun night!
2nd of June!
Trying to leave early for a long drive to Kakadu today. Saying our goodbyes to The Caselmaine family, as I had promised the kids a goodbye snake the night before. So apparently they where planning what colour they would choose all night! As we pulled out our mates from Devils Marbles pulled in. I had told them how good it was and to choose our site. So a quick hello to Fi and Pat, and a guide from Peter onto the site we finally left Bitter Springs.
Today a long drive, we called into the United petrol station for fuel. Pulling out here, Peter clipped another cars mirror with our van. Not a fun moment, so a delay here in our journey sorting that out. Next incident for the day a rock in our windscreen from a car on the opposite side. Add to this caravan brake problems. Not our best day!
So we’ve arrived in Kakadu at the Cooinda lodge resort/caravan park around 2:30pm. It’s VERY hot 🥵 35deg, great site and so it should be at $89 for a powered site! The most expensive site maybe in Australia? But who cares look where we are! Peter is sorting out the brake issue on the caravan, while I made a run and jump into the pool. Now by the pool writing up my blog, listening into other travellers tips.
Peter eventually turned up at the pool, which is very nice!
We had a drink at the resort bar and ordered a delicious Barramundi meal as you do in the Northern Territory. Back to our van for an early night, as we have a sunrise yellow water tour in the morning.
3rd of June 2021
1/st Activity for the day – Super excited this morning, we where up at 5am for The Yellow water sunrise tour. The bus picked us up at the resort at 6:15am, to take us to the boat.
This tour was pure joy, crazy amount of different birds waking up, crocodiles 🐊 water buffalos 🐃 with the most beautiful water lilies as far as you could see! It felt really like you were on a safari, stunning and worth every cent! The camera went crazy today, and a new interest in birds! My absolute favourite was the Jabiru, even though we are not allowed to call it that anymore, now known as a Black necked Stork.
After our tour we had breakfast at the resort, before deciding on our next move. At the moment in Kakadu a few Gorges, and water falls are closed. They are saying they need to control the crocodiles after the wet season. Jim Jim falls and Gunlom falls the two I was most looking forward to, very disappointed 😢 Also Ubirr is also closed to respect an important Elder that has passed away.
2/nd Activity for the day, a stop in at the Warradjan aboriginal cultural centre, where we learnt a little more about the aboriginals of Kakadu.
3/rd – A four wheel drive to Sandy Billabong, which was a very long narrow overgrown track, into a beautiful billabong with more water lilies and bird life. As this morning I’d seen a fair few crocodiles 🐊 and we were the only ones out here, a little frightened of getting out of the car!
4/th Stop The Anbangbang Billabong for a quick stop at yet another beautiful billabong. Nearby the Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) a 1.5km in 35deg humid heat, walk that takes you past an ancient Aboriginal shelter and several outstanding art sites. Then onto Kunwarddewardde lookout with views of Kakadu’s escarpment and extensive savannah woodlands below! Great walk just very hot and humid.
Along the way we called into the Jabiru rangers office for some advice about Cahills Crossing. We had a drive around the Jabiru township, then had to call into the Mercure Crocodile Hotel for a quick drink. Aboriginal happy hour here at the resort, with a couple of super nice funny gay guys from Parramatta, with mum working the bar. Who told us a few stories and places to go and see.
5/- A 40km drive from Jabiru to Cahills Crossing, arriving at 4:30pm for a half an hour look, before getting back on the road before all the wildlife. Cahills crossing was interesting to see, all the guys fishing fearing the crocodiles and someone do a river crossing. On the way home we had two wallabies jump out and one near miss water buffalo. Our very last stop for the day was at the Yellow Water boat ramp for the sunset across the river, beautiful! I will be dragging Peter back there tomorrow night! Birds, crocodiles and a sunset, pretty spectacular. There was a photography group at the end of the jetty, their photos where simply fantastic, as was the guides tips, now another something on my wish list.
Today was very special, Peter actually said pinch yourself on our boat tour this morning. Very very Grateful today / Kakadu 2021 when no international tourist’s are here, this is the place to be! As is everywhere we’ve been so far! The best thing to come out of Covid, is for Australians to see their own country together.
4th of June 2021
Today started with a sleep in and cooked breakfast is the van, due to the plague of Mosquitoes here!
On the road by 10am for first a four wheel drive track into Maguk falls. A two kilometre return walk through a forest and along sandy and a very rocky creek leading to a beautiful waterfall. The water was just my temperature, warm but still a little scary looking out for crocodiles 🐊! Hardly anyone at the falls when we arrived, just a really nice guy who befriended us and told us it was safe to swim up to the falls. He swam up with us and took a photo of us at the falls, with many travel tips too. Great morning, this is how I imagined Kakadu to be!
After a lovely swim in a beautiful waterfall, we made our way back to the resort to chill by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Met a few interesting people in the pool, one lady from Byron Bay with a house in the south of France 🇫🇷 very chatty, happy to have her as my new bf! Tonight we had dinner at the resort bistro, and I have to say there was a really good vibe of happy Kakadu explorers, all Australian. So for all the knockers out there, saying to us why would you go this year, it’s going to be so busy??? Well your wrong, it’s not to busy, people travelling are all Australian and really happy 😃 to be experiencing a time to enjoy it together. All ages of people, young families, us in betweener’s and grey nomads. Except here at Cooinda in Kakadu the bloody mosquito 🦟 population is out of control!
5th of June 2021
Kakadu to Darwin This morning we where on the road by 9am. Our first stop for the day was at a billabong for a spot of bird watching. You cannot tell in my photos again just the sheer amount of gorgeous water lilies. Not many birds as it was mid morning by now. Worth the stop along the way.
Back on the road by the Adelaide river we stopped as I saw a lot of other caravan travellers. Wondering what was the attraction here, I went over to see what was happening here, it was the Jumping Crocodiles 🐊 boat cruise. Well you know me, miss Fomo, ran in and lucky a cruise was about to start, so two tickets later! On the cruise we saw lots of hungry crocodiles, happy to chase the boat for a jump and a reward!
We got back on the road and arrived at our Darwin caravan park, the Oasis by about 4pm. Quick set up as the caravan park owner guides you onto your site, which I love! Then into the pool to meet more people, a guy who owns another crocodile boat tour company, who happens to know Robbie Dungar an old friend of Peters from Flinders. Then our neighbours asked us over for happy hour. Wow 😯 three English couples, living their retirement on the road. All in amazing set ups might I add, one couple a top of the range Zone caravan (my dream van) another on a mega motor home called Monte Carlo, complete with Suzuki runaround car. Really interesting couples, leading an interesting life’s! Love who you meet along the way for sure.
