Campsite # 138 - Kakadu National Park

Kakadu... Finally!! All of this time I've been so excited to go to Kakadu. I wanted to get a true feel for Kakadu. I couldn't wait to see all of the wild animals I had only ever seen before on TV, saltwater crocodiles, Jabirus, water buffaloes, birds that I never even knew existed. I couldn't wait to just feel like I truly was in wild country fearing for my life at every step. I'm an Australian, I have lived in Australia all 26 years of my life but something inside of me felt as though I had only truly reached Real Australia when I drove through those gates... into the wilderness of Kakadu National Park.


Firstly, the Rock Art in Kakadu is INCREDIBLE!! I would say Kakadu rock artists are the Picassos compared to anything else we've come across in our travels. What makes the art work so incredible isn't solely about their appearance. It's the lessons behind the stories told in each piece that makes it so intriguing...


Meet Nabulwinjbulwinj. He is the dangerous spirit who eats females after striking them with a yam. Not 100% sure on the lesson to be learnt in this one... probably not a great one to start off with. 

The figure on the right is - Namarrgon A.K.A "lightning man," who is responsible for the violent electrical storms. He uses the stone axes that are mounted on his head, elbows and knees to split the dark clouds and strike the ground, creating lightning and thunder. The band around him is said to represent a band of lightning that looks like antenna. His children are said to be locusts who appear before the wet season who call to their 'father' to come to them. The aboriginal people use this as a sign to move to high ground before the wet.
The figure on the left is Namarndjolg. Namarndjolg and his skin sister broke the incest laws, when the others found out he was turned into a Ginga, a saltwater crocodile.

Mabuyu was dragging his catch on a string after a fishing expedition when a greedy person cut his string and stole his fish. That night, Mabuyu waited until the thieves had eaten his fish and were camped inside a cave near the East Alligator River. Then he blocked the cave with a huge rock. "Next morning, they never came out. Because they pinched it they got punished. Kids, Ladies, Men all dead - finished". 

The bones of this person have been swollen as a sickness contractible if you disturb the stones of a sacred site.

Turtle...

Busy educating myself...

They use different coloured orche as their paint. 

The abrasive nature of sandstone was used to grind down softer materials such as ochre or to sharpen weapons. This left little holes in the sandstone referred to as "Grinding Grooves".

Hahahahahahha. The lady was getting mad at the man because they lost each other on the 1km pathway to the top of Ubirr rock. Hahahahahaha they were quite the sight

Shady pit stop half way up Ubirr as we watched the funny couple having a little tiff. hahahaha

Top of Ubirr rock!! Just breathtaking. 

The termite mounds are getting even bigger!!

And BIGGGGGGGER!!!

We just couldn't help ourselves. We were desperate to see more and more of Kakadu. What better way to see it than from the sky. For $120 per person for half an hour we flew up 1500 feet to circle over Kakadu. Being up there looking down really put it into perspective of how huge Kakadu really is and how diverse its landscape can be from swampland to wetland to grassland to escarpment to the Arnhem plateau... we saw it all!

The Ranger Mine... Uranium mine...

The Archway...

Crocodile Hotel. One guess how it got its name...

Now how's that for a campsite photo...

There was just one catch. Somehow, over the last few months I have seemed to develop motion sickness. Let's just say I spent the last ten minutes of a thirty minute flight, desperately concentrating on not being sick. Thankfully, I wasn't. But stuck in that tiny little plan with Tom and six strangers with no fresh air left me feeling very sorry for myself. I couldn't get out of there quick enough...


As soon as we got back to camp, the was only one thing in the world that would put me right...

It worked! But just incase, we thought it was best to have dinner there too... and another beer. And a giant chip...

Site : Kakadu Lode, Jabiru
Rating : 10 / 20
Facilities : Quite reasonably priced which was a pleasant surprise - $13p/p for unpowered site. Camp kitchen with free barbeques. Great pool with adjoining bar and bistro. 


This dingo was loving all of the attention from passer-bys...

We found a lovely birdwatching observation deck. I was desperate to let off a shotgun just to see the hundreds of birds escape from the grass and fill the sky...

Urgh! Snake skin...

Now that's the face of a very happy man...

And I would like to finish this blog post on a very important note... Gentlemen, this photo is not to be taken lightly...

CAMPSITE # 137 - Personal hygiene standards have been lowered.

All of the way from the last time we saw each other off at the Spirit of Tasmania terminal in Melbourne in March, our paths were to once again cross with our friends, Jess and Dave, who we spent a good 2 weeks exploring Tasmania with (see Campsite #67, Campsite # 61, Campsite # 60, Campsite # 59, Campsite # 58, Campsite # 56). After a very quick catch up, we learnt that Jess and Dave had come up through the centre via Ayers Rock after they worked for three months at a Sheep Station in central South Australia.

They were heading north towards Darwin via Litchfield and Kakadu and then venturing off to the road we'd just travelled in WA. There was so much to catch up on which meant Kakadu was put on the back burner for another day for us and we were tagging along with them to Edith Falls in the Nitmiluk National Park.


I'd hate to think how many places as beautiful as Edith Falls we'd driven past without stopping to camp at. But not this time, thankfully we didn't miss out on a divine waterhole at perfect swimming temperatures followed by a intriguing bush walk along the creekbed.

A 3 hour walk for the four of us provided a great excuse for catching up on our tales of the last four months and as you can imagine - there's certainly a lot to talk about!

During our drive to Edith Falls, Tom and I were have a funny chat about all of the little things you seem to get away with when you're camping. The types of things that you'd never do at home but it's almost as though different rules apply when you're on the road...

• You'd never just wear a pair of clothes once and then throw them in the washing pile. Oh no, when you're camping it's almost as though there's an unspoken challenge to see how many wears you can get out of your clothes before they HAVE to be washed. Failing any obvious stains or smells, you're good for at least another 3 days. Underwear excluded of course, well... for girls at least.
• Please excuse the following toilet humour but I'll try and put it as delicately as possible... what I like to refer to as "Popping a Squat" for the ladies is as common on the road as a fella finding a bush to take a squirt.
• Showering more than four times a week is as good as staying at the Hilton.
• Brushing your teeth behind a bush and finding a garden tap to wash it all out is totally ok.
• You can feel free to join your neighbour, in their living room, providing you BYO chair.

It a nut shell, person hygiene standards are somewhat lowered to a point of borderline 3rd world country standards. And we love it! (So long as we remember to hike our standards back up when we return to the real world!)

Site : Edith Falls

Rating : 10 / 20

Facilities : Flat area. Some shade - if you get a good site. $9 per person. Hot showers & flushing toilets. No fires. 2 minute walk to watering hole.

Oh, and I just thought of one more to go on the list... apparently men don't need to shave when on the road (another one for the personal hygiene colomn).