17. The one with lots of crocs

Total distance travelled: 12482km (+1,533km)

We briefly considered skipping Kakadu NP in favour of moving into WA on-schedule, but decided we couldn't have come all this way to miss out. An added motivation was the huge, inviting pool at Cooinda Lodge, which would provide respite from the oppresive heat and non-functional air-conditioner in our van. So, we departed from Katherine for a short visit.

The drive was a relatively short one (approx 3 hours), which left the majority of our first afternoon to soak in the pool. Following a relaxing first day, we packed an abundance of sight seeing into the second. It commenced with a drive out to Maguk (Barramundi) Falls. Once there, we expected a nice, easy 2km round walk, but as it turned out, the walk included clamouring over huge boulders and thongs were

found to be a poor choice of footwear! Thankfully, we made it to our destination without incident, however, Josh’s blistered feet did cause him a fair bit of grief. Despite the warning signs at the falls, many people went in for a dip in the large ‘plunge pool’ and climbed up the surrounding cliffs, only to jump back into the water.

The afternoon was spent exploring the Ubirr Rock Art site and visiting Cahills Crossing. Unfortunately, many of the indigenous artworks have faded with time and exposure to the elements. Due to the indigenous beliefs that touching up an artwork destroys the spirit of the art, they will never be restored. Despite this, the site itself was breathtakingly beautiful. The rocks were almost as vast as those at the Devils Marbles, although completely different in colour and shape. The scenery too, was completely different, reminding us of an African savannah, with wetlands off in the distance. Matt commented that he felt like elephants and giraffes should be wandering across at any moment!

Cahill’s Crossing is best visited when the water is at high tide, as this is when the crocs are most active due to the abundance of fish. Unfortunately, we did not make it at this time, but we were still able to see 2 crocs popping their noses and eyes above the water to check out the delicacies on offer. We concluded our busy day with a

delicious dinner at the restaurant at Cooinda Lodge, to celebrate our wonderful Matt for Father’s Day, which was a real treat.

The next day was much quieter, visiting the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre and enjoying another afternoon in and by the glorious pool.

We arose before 6am the following morning to enjoy a sunrise cruise on the Yellow Waters. Our tour guide, ‘Dennis with 2ns’, was throughly entertaining in his vibrant explanations and warnings of death, should someone plunge from the boat into the water, inhabited by 30 crocs per km! Needless to say, we saw plenty of crocs on the cruise. It was incredible being among them in their own habitat, albeit a little intimidating!

Immediately after the cruise, we left Kakadu to head for WA. Despite entertaining the idea of going back to Darwin to get the van’s AC sorted and the car a much needed service, none of us could quite reconcile with the idea (all still a bit traumatised by Matt’s poor health while there previously). So, we set our sights instead on Kununurra, just across the WA border.