We took a 4 day Intrepid “Kakadu, Katherine & Litchfield Adventure” tour from Darwin. With our experienced, knowledgeable and passionate guide Paul leading the way we really enjoyed experiencing the waterfalls, waterholes, gorges, wildlife and rock art.
He kept us entertained on the long drives between the National Parks. 1800km in 4 days, I was glad someone else was driving.
Litchfield National Park
Saturday 31 July 2021: Litchfield National Park, covering approximately 1500 km², is about an hour’s drive south of Darwin. The park is filled with waterfalls and waterholes surrounded by monsoonal forests.
Up to 100 years old, these “magnetic” termite mounds are unique to the northern parts of Australia Their thin edges pointing north-south and broad backs facing east-west, thermo-regulating the moundsBuley Rockhole, perfect for a cooling swimFlorence FallsSandstone cliffs near Tomler FallsCycads unique to this area were only described in 1978Wangi Falls, another great swimming holeFreshwater crocodile in Fogg Dam which was built in the 1950s for a failed rice farming projectNow Fogg Dam attracts thousands of birds including these Whistling Ducks
Mary River National Park
Sunday 01 August 2021: The Mary River is 225km long but in the dry season it becomes a series of billabongs. It is the most crocodile infested water in the world, definitely not a swimming place.
Corroborre Billabong on the Mary River is full of wildlife especially during the dryJabiruSea eagle, Whistling ducks and JacanaLotus grow in the billabongSwimming in the Mary River is not a good ideaThis guy is over 4 meters longPandanus growing in the open savannah lands of Kakadu National Park
Ubirr
Ubirr is a rock formation within the East Alligator region of Kakadu National Park. Traditionally, people camped beneath Ubirr’s cool rocky shelters and rock art depicts their food, medicine and stories over thousands of years. It is among the best rock art in the world. For us, It was the highlight of our trip.
“A Lesson in Good Behaviour” tells a story which warns against stealing. “X-ray” fish paintingWallaby – the sandstone has absorbed the dyes and become part of the rock“Boss Man”: a white fella, big boots, hands in pants pockets and smoking a pipe Probably a buffalo hunter from the 1880sTasmanian tiger, which became extinct on the mainland more than two thousand years ago, gives an idea of the age of some of this artThe rock faces at Ubirr have been continuously painted and repainted since 40,000 BCE although the paintings have not been accurately datedLong-neck turtleMullets are always painted without their headsCreation ancestors: the Rainbow Serpent painted on the rock to remind people of her presence As she crossed the land, she “sang” the rocks, plants, animals, and people into existenceThis painting is a warning of the consequences of disturbing the stones on the East Alligator River Controversially claimed to represent a person suffering from radiation poisoning from the uranium soilsLooking out at Nadab floodplain from the Kakadu escarpment – come the wet this will be an inland seaNearby at Cahills Crossing, people are still getting into the waterA 3.5 meter croc, mouth open, catching fish at the Crossing Our truck and campsite at Jabiru in Kakadu
Maguk
Monday 02 August 2021: Maguk is accessed from a 14km four-wheel drive track off the Kakadu Highway, followed by a one kilometre walk through monsoon forests, crossing Barramundi Creek along a rocky path. Described as a “delightfully secluded sensation”, there was a lot of people when we were there.
Kakadu has six different seasons, defined by the skies, rainfall, plants and animals We are at the end of the “cold weather season”, burning time, where daytime temperatures are only 33°CThe road to Maguk was a bit bumpy!Pond in Barramundi Creek on the walk to MagukArcher fish in the clear pond water They shoot darts of water into the air to stun insectsMaguk (Barramundi Gorge) Plunge Pool, another refreshing water holeOur guide Paul (Meatloaf) beside a giant termite moundFlowers of KakaduWe stopped at the historic gold mining town of Pine Creek on the way to Katherine This is the old bakery from 1889
Katherine Gorge
Tuesday 03 August 2021: The Nitmiluk Gorge (Katherine Gorge) is made up of 13 separate gorges. This maze of waterways has been sculpted from the sandstone over the millennium. We took a two hour cruise through the first two gorges. In the wet season, water races through here at 40kph – 45 minutes one way, 5 minutes back.
Green Tree Frog in the dunny at our Katherine campsiteA Katherine sunrise There is a colony of 250,000 bats living in the trees of Nitmiluk National Park At the beginning of Gorge number oneReflections of Gorge number onePalm growing tall on the sandstone cliff“White mans ways – have books to tell stories. We Jawoyn (local custodians) have paintings that have always been there for us”This rock face featured in Jedda, the first Australian movie using Aboriginal actors A freshwater crocodile sunning itself on a rock in the Gorge“You’ll Never Never Know, If You Never Never Go” Tourism Australia commercial 1994A White-bellied Sea Eagle high above the riverThis boab is endemic to Australia, related to those native to Madagascar The beautiful northern salmon gum is only found in the Northern Territory and WA
Leliyn (Edith Falls)
On the way back to Darwin we stopped at Edith Falls for a swim.
People enjoying the cold waters of Edith Falls on a 35°C dayThe water from Edith Falls runs away along this crystal clear creek Gender signs on the toilets painted in the local cross hatched style
