March 11 – Kakadu National Park

Today we left Darwin to go into the Adelaide River coastal wetlands and the Kakadu National Park. 

Our first stop was at the Windows on the Wetlands. Here we got our introduction into the life in the Adelaide River coastal floodplain of Northern Australia.  In this area there is six months of heavy rain and six months of drought.  The wet season starts in November and ends in April.  During this time the rivers and creeks will overflow their banks and flood the flat plains and swamp the roads. This results in a wide variety of animals, birds and vegetation residing on the floodplain.  It seems strange that during the wet season, you use a boat to get around but during the dry season it is easily accessible by foot.

At one time, it was thought this would make a great place to produce rice.  Unfortunately, the birds ate all the rice and the project was terminated.

We stopped for lunch at roadhouse that had a saltwater crocodile named Brutus. Brutus was a rescue croc and the owners thought he needed a female partner.  He killed and ate the four female crocodiles that were introduced to him. After that they left he alone and he was quite content.

We then went to Nourlangie Rock.  Here we got see some ancient Aboriginal rock art.  One of the drawings was of some evil spirt that had a rather large male organ.  We were told not to take pictures because according to native mythology,  this would release this evil spirit and women would be placed in grave danger.  

We then went up to the lookout, where we got to view some very stunning vistas.

One of the locations near Nourlangie Rock is called Anbangbang Billabong.  It is pronounced “An Bang Bang Billy Bong.”  I’m sure there must be some novelty song from the 50s about this.

Our next stop was the Yellow Water Cruise.  Here we took a boat cruise over the flooded plain and through the Yellow Water Billabong.  

Here we got up close with two “salties” and multiple birds.  Our guide told us the temperature of the crocodile eggs will determine the sex of the crocodiles.  Unfortunately, very few of the eggs will hatch and the remaining crocodiles will very rarely mature into adults.  On average there are three deaths per year from crocodile attacks.

Our guide also told us that the Barramundi fish changes sex during its migration up rivers. It starts moving inland as a male and then turns around and becomes a female and heads to the ocean.

There is a tree in the wetlands called the Wooly Butt tree. Its bark protects it from fire. It is a type of eucalyptus tree and its hard wood is used for many purposes such as furniture and decorative paneling.  An interesting fact about the eucalyptus tree is that during a fire its seed pod will explode and the seeds will then germinate with the heat of the fire.  This means that the burned out area will quickly regenerate its growth.  This was very evident on Kangaroo Island.

During the day we saw a golden dingo, water buffaloes and many wallabies on the trip into the national park.

Tonight, we stayed at the Kakadu Crocodile Hotel.  It is shaped like a giant crocodile.  Unfortunately, the rooms need a major refresh.  The bathrooms left a lot to be desired.