Kakadu National Park – Jabiru (4 nights)

I am pretty sure the Kakadu is the most amazing place I have ever been!  Not just the natural environment with its range of plants, habitats, geological features and wildlife, but also the cultural and archaeological importance, we are talking rock art that is well over 20,000 years old.  We went to Park Ranger slide shows at the camping ground in Jabiru about what the Rangers do and the history of the water buffalos (they were introduced in 1830 from Asia and reached numbers near 200,000 until being culled back big time in the 1980s).  We also went on two Ranger walk/talks where they tell you about the rock art and its significance to the aboriginal people.  Without these brilliant insights it would be easy to miss out on some of the spirit of Kakadu.  The park is jointly run by the Northern Terrority Government and the traditional owners and they work together to ensure this World Heritage Listed site stays pristine, including the managing the issue of uranium mining which is a hot one!

Ubirr is one of the sites that features rock art and a climb to the top gives great views cross the wetlands, plains and distant escarpments.  It is located near the border of Kakadu and Arnhem Land (Aboriginal land with restricted entry) and the only East Alligator River crossing between the two areas is Cahills Crossing (a ford).  After the ranger talk at Ubirr we went down to the river crossing to see if we could spot a croc and we arrived just as a 4WD had followed a truck over the ford at high tide and had slid off the ford.  It was stuck in the middle of the river with the female driver screaming her head off, we then spotted our croc, apparently named Nigel-No-Friends, and the whole situation felt a bit tense!  People on the river bank where all yelling at her to stay calm and wondering what to do when a flat bottom tour boat came around the corner and o the rescue.  We found out that night at the ranger talk that they had dispatched their fire truck to make the rescue and that it happens quite often due to people not waiting for the tide to go out a bit.

The rescue taking place!

The view from the top of Ubirr 

Nourlangie is another extensive great rock art site and Ranger Annie gave 3 talks during the morning we visited, she had a really amazing grasp of the cultural significance, although she called it ‘kindergarten knowledge’ compared to that of the traditional owners.