Jim Jim Falls, Kakadu National Park

After visiting Twin Falls we drove back across the river and had a lunch stop under the trees at Jim Jim Creek.  From here to continued on taking the road to Jim Jim Falls.  The signage at the beginning of the track said 900 metres and showed a gravel track with some boulders so after our walk to Twin Falls headed off.

The track seemed to go on for ages - and the gravel track was short and from there it was a matter of trying to follow the orange triangle signs and clamber over the boulders.  After over an hour, with a few glimpses of the falls, we reach a point where the falls where to the left and the beach to the right and there was still many boulders to climb.

I had had enough - I hate to say it but I decided that I would stop and if Peter wanted to continue he could but I would head back.  I hate not making our destination but that walk was extremely difficult and it was very hot.  Connor continued on (and our German friends had gone on ahead of us), and Connor was able to have a swim (which is allowed as the crocodiles cages are controlled and effective) before coming back along the track.

 I was really disappointed but there came a time when sense had to prevail and I had to turn back.  Still we saw the falls from a distance and walked up the gorge.  This is the first walk that we have commenced and not finished - very disappointing. 

Jim Jim Billabong

The next place we visited was Jim Jim Billabong.  This was a short drive off the main access road through the national park and is a gravel road.  There wasn't a lot of signage and we took a left fork which took us across a small water crossing and then we came across another one.  Here we were beginning to wonder if we should have taken the right hand fork as my information didn't say anything about 4wd access only.

So Peter got out and checked the depths, being mindful that he couldn't walk the creek because of the presence of crocodiles.  Connor then had to provide his opinion which was "of course it is okay" with no real knowledge of how he reached that opinion.  We decided to give it a miss and turn around and check the other track before venturing further on.

The right hand fork was definitely the correct way and we soon arrived at Jim Jim Billabong.  It was a really large billabong and boating is allowed.  There is a camping ground with limited facilities and there were two or three groups camping.

Unfortunately those crocodile signs were out again so there was no swimming, especially for Connor who was dying from the heat!  The reflections on the water were pretty good.

Warradjan Visitors Centre, Kakadu National Park

Peter has done 99% of the driving on this trip and he is very patient when I say that I want to stop.  I try and research the various areas before we arrive using a combination of the internet and visitors centre where there is one.  Within Kakadu National Park there are two main visitors centres, Bowali Centre and Warrandjan Centre plus Bark Hutt Inn which has tourist information.  We have stopped at all of these.

The Warrandjan Aboriginal Centre has an excellent gallery which takes the visitor on a journey through the display and tells the story of the Bininj culture.  It is extremely well presented and well worth stopping to see.  The exhibition provides photos of various Aboriginal people and then gives a short explanation on hunting, their families, their gathering of local bush tucker, hand crafts etc.  There is also the customary gift shop but surprisingly no café or food store.  Visitors must be self-reliant as apart from the small township of Jabiru there are very few shops within the park, and we only saw one called Border store at the Cahill crossing.

Anbangbang Billabong, Kakadu National Park

From Nourlangie Rock we went the short distance to Anbangbang Billabong.  This is a large area of water, with lots of water lillies, and there was abundant birdlife.  We had initially planned to do the 2.5 km walk around the edge of the billabong but two things put us off.  One was that there was no shelter on the walk and it was really warm and the second confirmed our decision.

There was signage saying that crocodiles had been seen lurking near the walkway.  We don't take any risks nor plan to get in the way of the crocodiles so that ended any thought of walking around the billabong.

Nourlangi Rock, Kakadu NP

We have now spent five days in Kakadu National Park spending two nights at Merle Camp, then one night at Muriella camp and a further two nights at Madugal camp.  These are all managed by the rangers and offer unpowered sites with excellent toilet and shower facilities powered by solar.  They are popular camping areas as they are closest to the various gorges and falls etc. 

 While at Muriella we visited Nourlangi Rock.  This is a large rock which seems to appear without the normal gorge around it.  The rock has been an Aboriginal shelter for thousands of years.  We particularly wanted to visit the Aboriginal shelter which also contains a significant amount of art.  We were fortunate to arrive at the main shelter just as the ranger was giving a talk explaining the various paintings and traditions.  The interesting fact about the painting of the kangaroo is that this helps to age the painting as it is known that there have not been any kangaroo in Kakadu National Park for over 350 years.

The walk was not very long and although commenced with a series of steps was relatively easy after that.  Connor was keen to walk to the rim of the rock so headed off along the track but obviously took a wrong turning somewhere along the way and met us back at the ranger walk.  At least there was no difficulty in meeting up with him! 

It is the height of the tourist season early in the dry so there are plenty of visitors about.  We are often amazed at just where some of the overseas tourists head off to in their Britz or Apollo campers.  They certainly cram a lot of sightseeing into a short time and often they arrive into the camp grounds very late in the day, after dark, and head off before I am out of bed in the morning. 

The first photo in this series shows the walk around the various paintings at Nourlangi Rock.  I have included another painting of a kangaroo - we have been told that the white and the yellow ochre lasts much longer than the red colouring and this was quite evident.  We have many more photos of various paintings, far too many to include here, but you can tell we were very interested in this.

And just to prove that we were really there, a photo of Peter and Connor beside some of the paintings.

The temperatures have been very warm, mostly in the early 30's with humidity around 60%.  Walking in the coolness of the rock was great but it was a different story as soon as we were out in the open. 

The actual rock at Nourlangi was really large and quite severe with sheer rock faces of various colours.  There is a walk to the top as we saw the sign saying twelve kilometres (but too far and too difficult for me so we didn't venture along the track) but we never spoke to anyone who had actually completed it.  Connor thought that rock climbing the face of the cliff would be easy, and he may be correct, but we were uncertain what he was basing this statement on.  There are no commercial rock climbing adventures within the park.

The Ghan passes Adelaide River camp, NT

The Ghan, which is the passenger train which runs from Adelaide up through
Central Australia to Darwin, passes
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5103 The Ghan passes Adelaide River camp, NT


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Another lesson for Connor

Connor has spent a huge amount of time with Peter during the time he has
been with us. He has learnt how to connect the caravan to the car, put down
the jacks, connecting the hoses and power and heaps more.

We had decided not to buy diesel while in Kakadu as it is quite expensive
and as we carry fuel it was time to refuel. We stopped off at a rest area
and with Connor on the roof it was time to siphon the fuel. Peter decided
that Connor needs some more lessons on that task and soon took over and had
me at the side of the car holding the inlet pipe.

We are now staying at Adelaide River

Good bye Kakadu

On Friday we packed up and commenced our trip out of Kakadu National Park.
We have really enjoyed our visit and although we hadn't visited every
tourist spot we had visited the main areas.

Kakadu National Park is jointly owned and operated by the traditional owners
and the Australian government. The area is now a world heritage site and
this has been awarded mainly because of the Aboriginal art.

Twin Falls, Kakadu National Park

After the rock climbing we commenced our own boulder climb back to the boat
- it was more than enough for me. The trip back up the gorge is pretty
spectacular itself and as it was after midday it was very warm.

There is a crocodile cage on the edge of the river in an attempt to catch
any crocodile that swim up the gorge and may prove dangerous to visitors to
the falls. Apparently the age is baited with a large leg of wild pig to
attract the crocodile. We were not close enough to see inside the cage but
we were pretty confident there were none in it.

Twin Falls, Kakadu National Park

Once we were at the falls Peter and I were happy to stand and look at them
and enjoy the surroundings. Connor however was still full of energy and we
agreed that he could climb the rocks to the left of the falls but only to a
particular ledge. There was no telling him twice and he was soon off
scrambling like a mountain goat.

Our German friends were not to be outdone and they decided to follow Connor
and soon joined him. Not us, we were happy to stay at the bottom and take a
few photos.

Twin Falls, Kakadu National Park

To reach Twin Falls there is a boat shuttle taking visitors part way up the
gorge, and then there is a bush and boulder walk the balance of the way.
There is a cost of $12.50 per person to go on the boat (this is the only
access to the falls so there is no choice) and the boat ride is quite short
and only takes about 5-7 minutes each way. On the way we passed a small
crocodile (about a metre and a half in length) laying in the sun on the bank
of the river.

The boat ties up at a pontoon and from here there is a walk to the base of
the falls. This took about twenty minutes each way - once the gravel track
ran out it was a matter of following the small arrows and clambering over
the boulders. I have never been very coordinated and worse now so not ideal
for me but we made it. Just before the falls there is an iron bridgeway
across the edge of the water. They obviously expect walkers to be hot as
there is a cold water shower at both ends of the walkway (I meant to take a
photo but I was too busy ensuring that Peter didn't drench me!).

The falls are very high and without turning the camera I couldn't take a
photo showing the full height. Unfortunately there was no swimming in the
pool due to the crocodiles.

Jim Jim Falls Road, Kakadu National Park

On our last full day in Kakadu National Park we visited both Jim Jim Falls
and Twin Falls. The road to the falls is suitable for four wheel drive
vehicles only and is gravel initially before it deteriorates more.

At the beginning of the road there was a young couple parked beside their
hire van. We were uncertain if they had broken down so Peter pulled over
and they were after a ride out to the falls as they were unable to take
their vehicle. So we sorted out the car and in climbed Julian and Joanna
from Germany who are visiting Australia during their gap year.

As the road deteriorated it was obvious that we would have to let air out of
the tyres. This was a new experience for Connor and our young travellers.
Julian and Joanna were keen to "help" and after a lesson from Peter were
soon letting out the air. Shame they didn't listen to the full explanation
and adjusted the air gauges!

We decided to visit Twin Falls first and this required us to cross a number
of small water crossings and then a much larger crossing - Jim Jim Creek.
This was about a metre deep and the recommendation was to have a snorkel on
the vehicle. Unfortunately the couple ahead of us didn't have a snorkel and
as they were German tourists and unfamiliar with driving through water they
stalled part way across. Crocodiles are in this water and I am sure there
hearts were beating fast. Fortunately after a number of attempts they were
able to get the motor going and inched their way across. (As we returned
from the falls someone was attaching a snatch strap to their vehicle and
towed them across to avoid a similar incident).

We went across the river with no problems and it was a highlight of the day
for Connor and our visitors.

Yellow River, Kakadu National Park

After Jim Jim Billabong we decided to pay a quick visit to Yellow River
(which we understand has a yellow colour to it after sunset but it wasn't
yellow when we saw it). There are boat cruises on the river but at $81 a
person we decided we will give it a miss.

The river area was once used for rice growing but this no longer continues.
The river is great for fishing we understand. There is a walk from the boat
ramp to Cooinda Resort but the heat of the day had zapped us so we drove the
two kilometres.

The resort is really nice - there are a numbered of powered sites plus
cabins and motels. The best thing was a large swimming pool, and bar area
so while Connor swam we relaxed.

Emailing: 5060 Jim Jim Billabong, Kakadu NP (2)

The right hand fork was definitely the correct way and we soon arrived at
Jim Jim Billabong. It was a really large billabong and boating is allowed.
There is a camping ground with limited facilities and there were two or
three groups camping.

Unfortunately those crocodile signs were out again so there was no swimming,
especially for Connor who was dying from the heat! The reflections on the
water were pretty good.

Nourlangi Rock, Kakadu NP

The actual rock at Nourlangi was really large and quite severe with sheer
rock faces of various colours. There is a walk to the top as we saw the
sign saying twelve kilometres (but too far and too difficult for me so we
didn't venture along the track) but we never spoke to anyone who had
actually completed it. Connor thought that rock climbing the face of the
cliff would be easy, and he may be correct, but we were uncertain what he
was basing this statement on. There are no commercial rock climbing
adventures within the park.

Nourlangi Rock, Kakadu National Park

The first photo in this series shows the walk around the various paintings
at Nourlangi Rock. I have included another painting of a kangaroo - we have
been told that the white and the yellow ochre lasts much longer than the red
colouring and this was quite evident. We have many more photos of various
paintings, far too many to include here, but you can tell we were very
interested in this.

And just to prove that we were really there, a photo of Peter and Connor
beside some of the paintings.

The temperatures have been very warm, mostly in the early 30's with humidity
around 60%. Walking in the coolness of the rock was great but it was a
different story as soon as we were out in the open.

Nourlangi Rock, Kakadu NP

We have now spent five days in Kakadu National Park spending two nights at
Merle Camp, then one night at Muriella camp and a further two nights at
Madugal camp. These are all managed by the rangers and offer unpowered
sites with excellent toilet and shower facilities powered by solar. They
are popular camping areas as they are closest to the various gorges and
falls etc.

While at Muriella we visited Nourlangi Rock. This is a large rock which
seems to appear without the normal gorge around it. The rock has been an
Aboriginal shelter for thousands of years. We particularly wanted to visit
the Aboriginal shelter which also contains a significant amount of art. We
were fortunate to arrive at the main shelter just as the ranger was giving a
talk explaining the various paintings and traditions. The interesting fact
about the painting of the kangaroo is that this helps to age the painting as
it is known that there have not been any kangaroo in Kakadu National Park
for over 350 years.

The walk was not very long and although commenced with a series of steps was
relatively easy after that. Connor was keen to walk to the rim of the rock
so headed off along the track but obviously took a wrong turning somewhere
along the way and met us back at the ranger walk. At least there was no
difficulty in meeting up with him!

It is the height of the tourist season early in the dry so there are plenty
of visitors about. We are often amazed at just where some of the overseas
tourists head off to in their Britz or Apollo campers. They certainly cram
a lot of sightseeing into a short time and often they arrive into the camp
grounds very late in the day, after dark, and head off before I am out of
bed in the morning.