Kakadu National Park - Jabiru

 15 – 19 June 2022

When we arrived at Jabiru, it was still a bit too early to check in to the caravan park, and almost lunchtime, so we headed down to the lake for a picnic at the very nice picnic area. After lunch we checked in to the caravan park and hit the pool as soon as we were set up. Later in the afternoon we drove down to the Bowali Visitor Centre so Mick could look for a particular bird that might have been there – it wasn’t.

Yet again we were up early, this time so we could get to Ubirr and start the walk before the day became too hot. Ubirr has a number of art sites along the walk as well as a lookout with views over the floodplain. The walk is easy and even the lookout section is only moderately steep and just a few hundred metres. The rock art is a fascinating insight into Australia's past with one well-known piece clearly showing the extinct Thylocene - Tasmanian Tiger. 

After our walk we made coffee before driving to Bardedjilidji Walk. This walk is about 2.5km and meanders through sandstone outliers and along the now dry creek and also the river. From there we went down to Cahill’s Crossing – famous for the croc watching opportunities. We arrived about an hour before high tide and watched as the water rushed in over the road – and a few crocs started to gather to catch a feed. At this time of year there were only a small number visible, but later in the dry they gather in large number. We’ve seen videos and it is quite a sight. We stayed until the top of the tide, amazed at people taking photos on the road at the edge of the water, oblivious to the man-eaters they couldn’t see under the water. We were happy with the elevated vantage point we had chosen.

On Friday we decided we had been up early too many times in the last few weeks so we had a day at “home” catching up on housekeeping and editing photos, and swimming too of course. We made one last trek out to Nawurlandja Lookout at the end of the day and this time Mick was rewarded with a good sighting and photos of the Chestnut-Quilled Rock pigeon. We expected to find them on the rocks near the lookout and had almost given up when we heard their distinctive call – like a frog – and saw a pair wandering about nearby.

Friday was Mick's birthday so he chose a visit to another wetland as his birthday treat! Mamukala Wetland has the biggest bird hide we have ever seen, but there weren't many birds around, and the sun was in the wrong position to take advantage of the hide. There is also a short walk which did prove to be quite productive with a number of finches and other birds to be found. We returned to Jabiru and went down to the Marrawuddi Art Centre for a look around and a coffee.  

Late in the afternoon we returned to Nourlangie Rock in search of Banded Fruit Dove. Mick had information suggesting that they might be found about 500m along the Barrk Track. This track is a 12 kilometre loop that circles Nourlagie Rock and is rated difficult. We hoped the start would be relatively easy - but wasn't. The track was quite overgrown, steep and rocky in parts. I bailed out after about 250 metres and found a rock to sit on while Mick continued on. Unfortunately he didn't find the birds - but I did. I saw one fly amd then heard it calling from nearby. I spotted it on a branch across a gully. I was able to watch it for a while to be certain of the identification. No photo, but a positive ID I could put on my small list of bird sightings.

We were up early on our final day so we could revisit Mamukala Wetlands, before calling in to the boat ramp at South Alligator River for morning tea. The tide was out and we could see a large crocodile sunning itself on the far bank. We stopped again at the Mary River Day Use Area for a picnic lunch before continuing on to Corroborree Park Tavern for the next two nights.

 

Kakadu National Park – Cooinda

 12 – 15 June 2022

We had booked three nights at Cooinda so we could go on the early morning cruise on the billabong. Cooinda is another of the spots we stayed at on our round Australia trip in 1991 and we had always wanted to return. After settling in and locating the pool, we stumbled across happy hour in the bar. We decided it would be a lovely way to finish quite a long day.

We seemed to be making a habit of early mornings and on our first one in Kakadu we headed for Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) Rock just as the sun was starting to rise. Burrungkuy is the name for the upper section where rock art can be seen, and Anbanbang is the lower section and surrounding area. We weren’t the first ones there, a fellow birder Mick had made friends with in Darwin was there already. The short loop walk takes in a number of rock shelters and art sites. The art sites are evidence of continued occupation of the land by the Bininj and Mungguy people. There was a not too strenuous climb to the lookout with magnificent views and then an easy walk back to the start along a paved pathway.

After leaving Nourlangie Rock we turned off to visit Anbangbang Billabong, just a few kilometres down the road. There is a walk all the way around the billabong but we walked about half way then turned back because of the position of the sun.

Back home for lunch and a swim, then we drove to the famous Yellow Water (Ngurrungurrudja) Wetlands for a walk along the boardwalk where we saw a couple of crocodiles and lots of birds. We also drove down to Mardukal Billabong for another short walk. There is a large campground at Mardukal and a couple of walks. The one to the billabong is 500m each way, and there is a nice picnic spot by the water.

We were up even earlier the next day to go on the sunrise Yellow Water Cruise. We were picked up at the bus stop just outside the campground and bussed the short distance to the billabong for a two hour tour. Our tour guide, Adam, was knowledgable and engaging as well as being quite the comedian. We watched the sunrise and set off to explore the billabong and floodplain. There were lots of birds, as well as crocodiles, and we even saw feral pigs and buffalo.

We relaxed the day away – a swim and a then reading in the shade by the pool. Later in the afternoon we visited the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre then we drove back out towards Nourlangie Rock to the Nawurlandja Lookout Walk. This walk is fairly short with a moderately steep 300 metre climb up over rock. The view was magnificent but there was so much smoke in the air from seasonal burning.

We returned home and had an early birthday dinner for Mick at the bistro. We shared a very nice pizza that was just the right size for two people. In the morning Mick returned to Yellow Waters Billabong for a short while, before we finished packing up and moving on to Jabiru. As we needed to kill some time, we stopped in again at Nourlangie Rock and completed the walk again – still looking for some elusive birds. Because it was later in the morning when we arrived, there were lots more people there.

We continued on to Jabiru, where we would spend the next 4 nights.