Kakadu National Park Tour

Monday April 5^th. Kakadu 4wd Aventure Tour

We woke up at 5:30am in order to catch the bus by 6:00 am. We were up before the front office had even opened so we missed out on our free breakfast. It is a good thing that we bought food from the grocery store the night before. We paid $453 each for the 2 day tour. When we arrived at the pick up spot they charged us $25 each for a park entry fee and $20 each to rent sleeping bags. We were a little pissed that those were not included in the entry fee. Turns out the park entry fee was included and we had to talk and hassle the guy. Unfortunately, we paid for the fees with a card and he would reimburse us the next day. So we were the last ones on the 15 passenger bus. I sat in the front row next to a guy named Luke and Matt had to sit up front with the tour guide. And then we were off! Everyone fell asleep.

Our first sight was Fogg Dam. It was built in order to help create flood plains and produce rice. They did such a good job that it attracted A LOT of migratory birds that nest in the flood plains and eat the rice. The area also attracted crocodiles. So the rice fields idea was dropped and the dam stayed up. We drove across the dam and were did not stop because of crocodiles in the area. So we were unable to get pictures. The dam was really a road that was built up about 2 meters above sea level. It was a lot like Lindburg Rd in West Lafayette.

These are the flood plains from Fogg Dam.

Our next stop was an aboriginal walking tour. It was too hot and too humid. We think it was about 35-37 C (high 90’s F) with 70% humidity. The aboriginal guide welcomed us buy putting water from the near by billabong into his mouth and then spitting it on our heads!!! He said that we were lucky because other tribes spit on a newcomer’s head AND take sweat from their armpits and wipe it on the newcomer’s arms! YUCK!

After the welcoming ceremony he showed us different plants that were used for medicinal reasons, food, and poison for the tips of spears. We also got to see a tucker. Some people in Australia will call a microwave or an oven a tucker. This originates from the aboriginal “tucker” which is a hole in the ground layered with rocks. They heat the rocks up with fire fed by iron wood (lasts for a whole day) and lay the meat on the rocks to cook. The cooking meat is then covered with paper wood (think long and wide pieces of bark) to keep smoke/ heat in and bugs out.

We were then taught a lesson about how they make didgeridoos, painting (they have added black for a total of 4 colors of paints), clapping sticks, and beating sticks. If there was ever an argument between two individuals they would take these sticks (bigger and heavier than baseball bats) and alternate hitting each other crossed the back until one would fall. This did not establish a victor but ONLY settled the dispute.

We also learned the process to making baskets, plates to eat off of (the bottom of a basket), seats (a bigger and more decorative plate), and dilly bags (bags to put their collected food in).

Last, they taught us how to make and throw spears.

After the aboriginal walking tour we traveled to Margaret River within Kakadu National Park and boarded a boat for a Jumping Croc Cruise. It was pretty freaking cool. The boat guide had a long stick that he tied a chunk of buffalo meat to. We then rode up and down the river and when we would see a croc we would stop, slash the meat in and out of the water, and the croc would come up to the boat and then jump up into the air to retrieved the meat. We were informed that females will be smaller than 4 meters long and males will be greater than 4 meters long. We got some pretty good footage. The crocs were massive! Here is a video of a croc that is 4.5 meters long (13.5 feet!) At the end of the boat ride our guide took the scraps of buffalo meat and called over falcons to the back of the boat and fed them.

After the crock cruise, we traveled to Ubirr Rock. This is a place of some of the oldest aboriginal paintings dating back to before 20,000 years ago! These paintings tell of stories, lessons, and of food that the aboriginies ate. The paintings are protected by the silicon in the rock and then over hangs from the rock.

Here we are climbing the last top third of the rock.

When we climbed all the way to the top of Ubirr Rock the view was so gorgeous that pictures would not do justice. So here is a 360 degree video of what we got to see and admire. We also took about 50 pictures. It was absolutely breath taking. Here you can see the flood plains, rocks, forests, and mountains in the distance.

It also rained while climbing Ubirr Rock and we could not have been happier!!! It was so nice to get drenched and cool down.

After Ubirr Rock we climbed back into the bus/truck and headed to camp.

The campsite was a permanent camp site. So the tents were on wooden platforms and came with 2 twin beds and mattresses. The camp site itself was really nice. We got there right at sun down and were not able to get any pictures. Sorry. Matt was super excited though because the campsites came with showers!!! The showers and toilets were lined with big spiders and tons of little white geckos. Luckily we were able to borrow some bug spray. That night is was so hot that we just laid on top of our sleeping bags. We still sweated like crazy because there was no breeze on the tent. It did rain again in the middle of the night. The rain actually came through the tent and soaked us. Not sure how rain made it through 2 layers of tent and not a single bit of wind did. But we were ecstatic because it cooled us down enough to the point where we could fall asleep.

We are part of a tour of 15 people and 1 guide. The people are from a variety of places including London, Melbourne, Germany, Canada, and Japan.

From the tour bus we were able to see a few snakes along the road and a blue winged kuckaburra in flight.

The aboriginies also informed us that if we ever go swimming and a croc is in the water coming towards us, we should dive down under the water. Crocs can't open their mouths under water because it fills with water. They only eat above the water.