Kakadu

Three days ago we rode from Litchfield to Kakadu. The ride was short yet exhausting and utterly mind numbing. I call it an early night soon after arriving at the campsite.

Which is just as well because I'm awake at 5:30am the next morning for the famous Yellow Rivers Boat Tour. The boat is another one of those stupid aluminium crocodile feeding platforms. But this time they're vicious saltwater crocodiles! Over 250 of them!!! The tour guide jokes about the futility of the life jackets and the captive audience titters dutifully. I am not laughing! Get me off this thing.

Unluckily for me the boat has left the dock and I'm trapped for the next two hours. Almost immediately we are spotted by a gigantic Nathan-eating crocodile which swims right up alongside the boat. Argh. The tour guide tells us that only last week this very same crocodile leapt out of the river and snatched a bird off a tree branch. Double Argh. The croc stares up at us, no doubt thinking we look somewhat like a tin of sardines. I try my best to appear unappetizing while snapping photos.

The rest of the tour is mostly bird watching. It's interesting in small doses and I did enjoy the spectacle of 5000 ducks simultaneously taking flight from the wetlands.

The next day is another early start for the 4wd tour out to Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls. Dave had considered (or at least joked about) riding here and I'm glad common sense prevailed. There's a road only by the very loosest definition imaginable. It's actually more like two rough ruts where 4wd vehicles have previously driven.

It takes two bumpy hours, a short boat ride, and more rock hopping to reach Twin Falls. It's a serene environment; the red cliffs, the green foliage, the blue river, and the crashing white water. Even during the dry season the falls are active; it's not what I expected from this hot, dry region.

Jim Jim Falls are even harder to reach as there is far more difficult rock hopping involved. The tour guide promises a great swimming hole under the falls called the Plunge Pool. The falls actually stop flowing for the dry season and the water in the plunge pool receives almost no sunlight so it is freezing. Four people, including Dave, dive into the pool, howl in shock, then clamber quickly out before hypothermia starts. The tour guide has a good laugh; what a rascal!

The guide shows us to the real pool which has a tiny sandy beach, so it's called Beach Pool. Why are park rangers so unimaginative when naming? The water is very warm and crystal clear. The pool is bordered by 100 metre cliff faces and sits within natural rainforest; I couldn't ask for a better location. The relaxing swim is pure bliss after the exertion of getting here.

Ahh, Kakadu is good.