Darwin city was just coming to life as we waited for our AAT Kings bus to take us on our Kakadu day tour. As the sun was rising, the birds were up and about. The Black and Whistling Kites species are also known as fire stick raptors. From the burn offs they carry smouldering sticks in their talons and drop them to start other fires to scare prey into the open. Very clever, however, they can turn a controlled burn into an uncontrolled bushfire. Deb, our bus driver told us about all the fishing spots along the Arnhem Highway. They are fish mad in the Territory and have a million dollar fish off each year. It is said 8 out of 10 men in Darwin own a boat. She also told us that a hot political topic whenever the government changes is the speed limit and interestingly when there isn’t a speed limit the death toll is less! Another crazy law found only in the NT is that it’s illegal to ride a camel whilst drunk, but totally ok to ride a scooter along Mitchell Street under the influence.

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As we travelled the Arnhem Highway, the landscape changed to mostly wooly butt gum trees, pandanas trees and sand palms, occasionally broken up by areas of wetlands. I had visited Kakadu many years ago and my memory of it was that I was a bit bored. Travellers and friends I’d spoken to had said don’t bother and called it “Kakadont”. Am I glad I didn’t listen to them!
Our first Kakadu stop was at Nourlangie to witness the indigenous rock art. Deb, our tour guide was a wealth of information. She was not indigenous but her knowledge was incredible. In fact she was so well respected by indigenous leaders they call her sister. I had seen some of this rock art on my previous visit and was possibly underwhelmed. With Deb explaining the stories, it suddenly came to life. It made so much sense. To top it off, this rock art can’t be aged but is at least 6 thousand to possibly 60 thousand years old. Wow, here we are staring at it! Around the back of the escarpment, we climbed rock steps up to a lookout. There were 20 of us in our party and silence befell on all of us as we took in the breathtaking views of the valley and rocky cliffs around us. Whistling Kites flew above us and black wallabies were trying to stay anonymous in the nearby scrub. The yellow flower of the Kapok plant was flourishing. Deb’s storytelling had affected us and I’m sure there was a spiritual feeling in the air.

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Off the Kakadu Highway, we had lunch at Cooinda, one of the only two hotel and camping resorts in the National park. From there it was on to a cruise along the Yellow Water Billabong which also took us along the South Alligator River and it’s flood plains. It had been an exceptionally good wet season and the water was up higher than most years. This was in our favour and I’m pretty sure I can’t put it in writing the incredible beauty of both flora and fauna we saw here. The birdlife is abundant and includes ducks, geese, pelicans and too many other species to mention. There are 11 species of turtles and 55 species of fish that live here. We saw water buffalo wallowing in the shallows and sooo many crocodiles that they almost became a bit boring. That was until we came up close and personal to a 5 metre chomping on its prey. This croc is affectionately known as Van Gogh as he’d lost an ear. Even our guide said you don’t see that every day. All of this is framed by clumps of trees along the riverbank and vast fields of flowering water lilies on the flood plains. We both agreed that from all our worldly travels, this was the greatest natural beauty we have ever seen. It was pristine. Thank goodness for UNESCO naming it a heritage area and the traditional owners of the land protecting it the way they do.

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My next stop was the Indigenous Cultural Centre while Ruthie opted to take a 50 minute flight over Kakadu. As I walked the cultural centre, my mind had probably hit the wall from information overload but….. our bus guide and cruise guide had done such a good job that everything within the cultural centre made sense and consolidated my knowledge. I own some loss making shares in a mining company and have often thought that they need to push on with their uranium mining. The Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu has closed and I agree 100% it should have. This area needs to be retained in this pristine condition for all future generations. It’s taken a long time in my life but suddenly I feel a stronger connection to country and culture in this amazing land. I met up again with Ruthie at the Crocodile Hotel ( named that because it’s built in the shape of a crocodile.) Below is Ruthie’s ( special features editor) description of her flight over Kakadu:

We went up in a single engine aircraft manufactured by Gippsland Aviation at Latrobe airport in Morwell! It was an 8 seater aircraft including the pilot and me. I scored the seat next to the pilot. It was very tempting to touch all the buttons and steering wheel in front of me but luckily sense prevailed. From the air we could see the mythical rainbow serpent shape of the Alligator River slinking through the wetlands and some indigenous housing. Just like we were told they had their solar, water tanks, satellite dishes, fridges, internet etc. Onto the Arnhem Land stunning sand stone escarpment. Since visiting this magical place I’ve added a trip to Arnhem Land to my bucket list. The permits have become harder to get during Covid for very good reason. One poignant story that will stay with me was a several thousand year old rock painting we could see from the air of an eyeball had started to leak calcium 40 years ago which looked like it was crying. Coincidentally, this the same time the Ranger mine started mining uranium here in this pristine land. The lease expired this year and the mine is now closed and the owners must return the land in the same condition they found it. We flew over Nourlangie Rock where we had walked this morning. The orange rock was breathtaking. Even the burning we’ve been seeing was interesting from the air. Whereas I only saw smoke from the ground, I could see the flames from the air. It’s a controlled burn done in the indigenous patchwork pattern.

Then onto dinosaur land (meant to look like dinosaurs but I couldn’t see it). Eventually, we flew over that mine from the air which showed the depth of destruction they cause. Then over the town of Jabiru built to house miners and nearly deserted now. The mine used to provide the utilities but new service solutions are being discussed at all levels. The Mirrar people, government at local and federal levels and Energy Resources of Australia are all involved in a future master plan for Jabiru. Finally, over the Crocodile Hotel which was clearly shaped like a crocodile from the air to meet Johnny and hear all about his cultural experience. During the whole flight we were listening to indigenous music through the head set which enhanced the whole experience. The memories from this magical, spiritual land will stay with us forever.

Ruthie – Special Features Editor

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