Kakadu Part 3 Animal Tracks Safari

The day after our Jim Jim Falls trip we were lucky enough to go on amazing tour called the Animal Tracks Safari. It is a whole day (1 pm til 8pm) spent with a local Aboriginal lady called Patsy on the Buffalo Farm which is located a few km from Cooinda. It is owned by the local aboriginals. It is predominantly used as a source of food for those doing it tough in the region and they drive to Katherine and other areas once a week and share out the buffalo to those who aren't getting enough to eat. So it was good to know that the money we spent on the tour is going to a good cause as well as being a great day out for us.
Our first stop was to pick up some of the meat we would be cooking up for our dinner. No pre packaged steaks here....



Just some freshly shot Magpie Geese! Our next stop was on the banks of a water hole watching Patsy and her sister Jennifer find lily flowers for us to try. We got to try the stalk which was a bit like celery and also the seed pods which reminded me of sunflower seeds.









Couple of other inhabitants of the waterhole. Apparently Patsy has caught a 6 metre croc with a hand line so as long as she was closer to the edge than us we weren't too worried!

The next part of our dinner we had to gather were freshwater mussels. We dug these out of the mud with digging sticks.




Then Patsy and her sister Jennifer whipped up a basket for us to carry them in.






We stopped to collect some palm fronds for a basket weaving lesson later in the day and had some afternoon tea - green ants! They actually taste a bit like lime.


Patsy grabs the nest out of the tree and crushes them up in her hands.

The last stop before dinner was to find water chestnuts. This involved bashing at clods of dirt with a hammer to try and find the chestnuts. It definitely gives you an appreciation of how hard the hunter gatherer lifestyle is and why so few young aborigines want to live like that.

We stopped for dinner on the edge of some wetlands and the kids got involved in preparing the geese for cooking. They helped pluck them, watched them being gutted, then Patsy put them onto the flames to singe off the down. Jack then gave them a brush and they were ready to be put into the ground oven with some buffalo meat, a whole barramundi and some damper.









The boys watched as Patsy fed the goose guts to the whistling kites.



We then sat and watched the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.








These photos look fake but that is really what it looked like. Even the kids were quiet watching it.




We then got to eat all the food we collected. Michael enjoyed his barramundi and the kids liked the buffalo and the goose. Charlie liked the damper!
On the way home we listened to Patsy tell stories of what it was like for her growing up and Sean the tour guide also told us more about her life. Overall it was a really special day. We all learnt so much about the lives of the bush people and their culture and why the elders find it so hard to keep the younger generation in the bush. It is much easier to go to the supermarket when you are hungry, that's for sure!

Kakadu Part 2 Jim Jim Falls

We decided that today was the day to tackle an off road trip and see what the Landcruiser was capable of. Our destination was Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls, both of which are located about 50km off the main road. The first part of the drive is easy, just gravel and in much better condition than the Meerenie loop that we drove on when we went to Alice Springs. However after 50km the wide gravel road turns into a rough track complete with multiple creek crossings, deep sand, large corrugations and plenty of bumps. Needless to say the kids enjoyed every minute! We went with the Walker family who we had met along the way and the kids enjoyed using the CB radio for the first time to talk to them. Apologies to any truck drivers who had to listen to the inane drivel! We made it to the Jim Jim Falls car park without any trouble and began the 900m walk to the Falls. Every so often there was a sign warning of how difficult the walk is and they were absolutely right. It took Charlie, Michael and I about an hour to get there. Toward the end of the walk you had to climb enormous boulders but it was absolutely worth it. What a magnificent place. It must be unbelievable in wet season watching all that water but even with just a trickle it was still stunning.

























Charlie managed to walk the whole way back to the car on his own which was a super effort. Jack and Tom also did a great job making it to and from without complaint. The only complaint was that we had to leave in order to check out Twin Falls.
This drive was something the boys and Michael had been excited about for a while since it meant driving across a croc infested river!
Michael did a great job and although I found it a bit hair raising, everyone else had a ball!


















Unfortunately once we finally made it to the Twin Falls carpark, we had missed the last boat to the viewing area by about 10 minutes which was very disappointing.
But aside from that we had a really great day.

Kakadu Yellow Waters Boat Cruise Photos Part 2

Location:Kakadu Hwy,Kakadu,Australia

Kakadu Yellow Waters Boat Cruise Photos Part 1

Trying again to put some photos up of the boat trip.

Location:Kakadu Hwy,Kakadu,Australia

Kakadu Part 1

We arrived at Kakadu National Park around lunchtime and checked in at a resort in Cooinda. It was very hot, about 32 degrees, so we spent the afternoon in the very nice pool.
We got up at 6 the next morning to go on the Yellow Waters sunrise boat trip. It was absolutely beautiful watching the sun rise over the billabong. The water was perfectly still and all we could hear were the birds, predominantly the whistling ducks. And Charlie whining occasionally. The bird life was amazing, so much to see and the tour guides were fantastic at pointing everything out and making sure we had ample photo opportunities. For all the bird watchers out there we saw egrets, kingfishers, whistling ducks, whistling kites, brown falcons, cormorants, ibis, sea eagles, jabirus, magpie geese, brolgas, jacanas and a few others I have forgotten. But of course the one thing we were looking for was crocodiles and once the sun was up we saw plenty of them. The whole trip was really enjoyable and it really felt like such an untouched place. I am having trouble uploading photos so will try again later.

Location:Kakadu Hwy,Kakadu,Australia

Edith Falls

From Katherine Gorge we drove into Katherine and surprise, surprise, spent the morning at some more hot springs. These were about 5 minutes out of Katherine and were really lovely. We then treated the boys to McDonalds for lunch as it has been a while since we had any fast food. I have to say I enjoyed my Big Mac!

We then drove about 30 minutes north of Katherine and turned off to a place called Edith Falls. Both Mum and a friend from school had recommended this place and we were not disappointed. It is absolutely lovely here.

The big boys all had a swim in the afternoon, even though it was a lot cooler than all the hot springs we had been in.

The next day we all went on the Leilyn Falls loop walk which was about 2.8km. We walked with some friends we have made who are travelling in a converted bus. They also have 3 boys and we got to have a look at their bus and it is very impressive. Big kitchen, big bathroom, outdoor entertainment system etc etc. I think we are all a bit envious!

The walk was pretty rough and steep in some places and Charlie nearly gave up a few times but it was well worth the effort. We made it to the upper falls which were so beautiful. Even I had a swim, it was really lovely. We saw a snake too, hopefully harmless!













The afternoon was spent in a blow up boat floating around Edith Falls. It was really hot today but we are all enjoying it!

Daly Waters, Mataranka and Katherine Gorge

We left the mar-balls as Charlie called them by 8 and drove to Tennant Creek. We stopped to check out a problem with the water pump which Michael solved and to refuel. There is nothing to see in Tennant Creek so we kept going, aiming to get to Daly Waters pub for the night.

When we got the map out last night we couldn't believe how far north we have come in less than 3 weeks. We are now as far north as Cairns.

We spent the night at the Daly Waters pub which was a very interesting place. Lots of memorabilia hanging everywhere including loads of undies for some reason. We had the famous "beef and barra" dinner which was great then listened to the resident comedian Chilli's act. I had heard that he was ordinary but the boys enjoyed it so much they even bought his CD. We are learning quickly that you can't believe everything people tell you about things to see. Better to check things out and then make your own judgement.










Charlie trying out a bit of whip cracking.

The next morning we had a short drive to a place called Mataranka which is known for it's hot springs and also the place where they filmed the movie We of the Never Never.

The hot springs were fantastic. The temperature was so perfect even I dusted off my bathers and got in!





The kids pretty much spent the whole day in the springs.

The next morning we had a quick look around the replica of the Elsey Homestead and drove to some more hot springs called Bitter Springs. These were a lot more natural than the ones at Mataranka and the boys really enjoyed snorkeling around looking at the fish.



We stopped about 30km south of Katherine to have a look at the Cutta Cutta Caves. These are 350 million year old limestone caves. The word cutta means stars in the local aboriginal dialect and cutta cutta means many stars due to the sparkling calcium carbonate deposits in the caves. The caves are home to snakes and bats and we saw both!






Back in the car again and onto Katherine Gorge for the night. I have to confess I was not very impressed with Katherine Gorge. There is not a lot to see when you get down to the water from the Visitor Centre. I think to appreciate it you need to take a boat trip. That would have cost over $200 for the 5 of us so we decided to save it for a boat trip in Kakadu.
There were lots of fruit bats to look at!


There was a beautiful pool at the caravan park and the weather has really warmed up so we had a lovely evening sitting around the pool.