Back to Kakadu

Returning to Kakadu for me is like returning to the suburb I grew up in. Loads of great memories, a tinge of embarrassment, and a lot of curiosity about how- or if it has changed.
Kakadu is where I was formed as an expedition guide. For a few years in the late 90's I had to sink or swim as a solo expedition guide running Kakadu and Arnhemland trips. I had a troopie, trailer and a camping kit and 8 punters in the Top End Wilderness for 8 days or more. There was no sat phone, no epirb, no GPS and even if these existed, no real backup either!  I loved every minute - from meeting Traditional Owners for a chat and a rollie beside the track, to guiding groups up the epic scrambles of Freezing Gorge. The remoteness and self-reliance kept me very focussed, while allowing freedom to create some awesome experiences for the clients.

Coming back was always going to be interesting, but with my family in tow it was also go to be a joy to share it with them. We had carefully avoided the school holiday crowds and arrived in Kakadu with perfect conditions and plenty of room to move. A couple of nights at Gunlom to start things off, with walks, waterfalls and exploring some of the old haunts. A walk to the Yurmikmik lookout was a wake up call. Descending the rocky track, Aurora took a bad fall. We soon had the first aid kit out and trying to cheer her up - but there was no smiles from the little one. Instead she went quiet, her skin cool and clammy - she was shutting down and her system was in shock! Lisa's nursing experience kicked in and we put her in recovery position - just in time for a vomit on my backpack. Thankfully it was a fairly accessible spot and I was able to jog back and get the 4wd and pick them up at a trailhead. A timely reminder that even though our girls are up up for most adventures, little Rory is still  only 6  and big fall with deep cuts is no small matter.

Heading north to Barramundi Falls, we opted to take the 'unmarked route' to the upper falls. It was funny to see some things don't change, as a backpacker group were there when we arrived, and the guide did all the classic show pony stuff for the benefit of a following of young international ladies, and fellas tagging along.  In the plunge pool below the backpacker guides rock jumping bravado was belittled by a girl who seemed very comfortable with deepwater free-soloing and big rock jumps (see photo).










We missed seeing the World Expeditions crew at Djarradjin Billabong and went up to Garnamarr for a couple of nights to check out Jim Jim and Twin Falls. A morning walk to Jim Jim was perfect, no one around and the kids loving the rock-hopping that is part of every Kakadu Gorge walk.

There was no water flowing at Jim Jim at all, after the dry dry wet season this year. This did not diminish the spectacular nature of this place.

After Jim Jim we headed over to Twin Twin. The 4WD track and water crossing were supposed to be a little tougher, but seemed pretty tame to us after what we had already seen in the Gulf Country. Back in the day they used to paddle Lilo's up to Twin Falls - but not anymore as the Crocodile numbers had made this creek a little bit  sketchy. For this reason a commercial boat transfer took us a short distance up river, safely. The falls are awesome but without much activity of getting there, Twin Falls was a little underwhelming.

The Rock Art Nourlangie is always impressive, although most of the interpretive signs are over 20 years old and are getting hard to read. It would be good if Kakadu could invest in some renewal of some tired infrastructure around some of the biggest attractions in the park. 

We headed up to the East Alligator because Ubirr really is the most amazing art site, we also chose the Gulyambi Cruise as it offset the best cultural experience combined with great cruise and always heaps of crocs.

Our guide Robbie was a natural and confident presenter. He really painted a vivid picture of Arnhem Land culture, our girls have been lucky to enjoy some amazing Aboriginal cultural experiences already - and they really started to get in to it. The presence of many large crocodiles always helps add and edge to a tour. Big kudos to Gulyambi Cruise for making short tour always fresh and engaging - highly recommended.

After almost two decades of involvement with Kakadu I have probably too many opinions on what is and what could be. However after this visit I can still confidently say its one of the greatest destinations on earth. There is so much you can do, culture, wildlife, active adventures. Its a safari destination that defies the usual pigeonholes. Having spent years of my life in Kakadu, I feel very privileged to have explored most of the well known sites and they are very worthy. Having been a guide back in the 90's and been lucky to enjoy a time of exploration, I will keep close my memories of places that very few have seen, places that hidden, extremely rugged and more than a little spooky. There is much in Kakadu that is officially now out of bounds and forgotten by the rangers and tour guides - but the Traditional Owners know, Kakadu is special country!

Yes that stripy creature is a Tassie Tiger - that means this painting is at least 20,000 years old

This art is a bit more recent. Contact era, with double barrelled shotgun. Not sure if this contact experience was a good one!

Litchfield - without the crowds.

Mid July has always been peak season in the Top End, the dry coincides with school holidays and everybody heads out to make the most of it. While the Territory is a huge place, for most visitors its all about those oasis among the savannah. Whether is is the hordes of grey nomads with their giant Jayco's or the backpackers in their Wicked Campers - they are all heading for those stunning crystal clear waterfalls and plunge pools. When it comes to waterfalls, Litchfield is king, the higher rainfall and the sandstone sponge of the Tabletop Range ensure that there is an amazing waterfall, plunge pool or waterhole at every creek, ripple or river as it falls of the edge of the Tableland.



Our challenge was to get the best possible experience, without having to be squeezed in with the aforementioned Jayco and Wicked Camper crowds. Thankfully a dry, wet season meant river levels were down and I expected the Reynolds River Track might be open for an approach from the less visited South West side.



Check out the video edit here





After our Arnhem Land Expedition we needed needed a night in Katherine to restock and get sorted, however it was the car wash that took the time and dollars from us. The rain in East Arnhem had caused an inch thick coating of dark red bauxite mud on every surface, both mechanical and personal. Leaving Katherine and driving to Edith Falls was different, very different - the vehicle was...... shiny! We felt clean, there was no grit or grottyness - it was...nice! The key to success at Edith Falls was to arrive at midday to ensure we scored a much sought after campsite. A long afternoon paddling and swimming in the sun was the perfect follow up to the big drive from Gove.

Driving North from Edith Falls on the Stuart Highway, we soon diverted west to the Douglas Daly region, and southern entrance to Litchfield - The Reynolds River Track. The sign said open to 4WD only - and so we we went. The good thing about NT Parks is that when they say 4WD track they mean it, its not just a gravel road, but the sort of track where you need a proper 4WD and know how to drive it. The South West of Litchfield is really distinctive and varied, open plains, magnetic termite mounds, pandanus and sand palms. We pulled up at the small Surprise Creek campground and decided to set up on on of the few available sites. A short walk to the falls revealed a nice surprise, a smooth rock slab with a couple of deep potholes carved in it. We were so relaxed at this stage we forgot any sort of camera and so Surprise Creek Falls only is recorded in our memories.

The 4wd track from Surprise Creek offered a few more challenges, with some major creek crossings The Mistake Creek crossing has steep rutted approaches and some deep holes in the creek bed. I think at this point the extra clearance and articulation of the Old Man Emu suspension paid for itself. Next was the Reynolds River itself, a crossing that was long and deep - and a chance of crocs - so no walking it first to check it out. Just put it in low range and trust the snorkel and hope we dont get stuck in a hole!

We arrived at my favourite, Sandy Creek around the middle of the day so we scored a good campsite (there are only 6 spots - very exclusive!) A walk up the gorge revealed the falls in good flow and crystal clear water - and all to ourselves - perfect!

We are getting used to Litchfield being a remote wilderness with few others around - and then we went for a drive to the main attractions. As we drove out from the 4WD track on to the black top and we saw the sign - Reynolds River Track - 4wd Only, no trailers campers or caravans. No signs like that at the other end - so we happily took it on and our trusty AllTerrain Camper was up for it.

At Tolmer Falls we struggled to find a park amongst the buses and hundreds of cars, vans etc. But it is a spectacular waterfall and worthy of all the visitation. At Buley Rockhole we lucked in to a car park, next to a sign that said "If car park is full the Buley Rockhole is very busy, try coming back later!" Its the only time i have seen a sign like this in a National Park.

After a glorious night camped at Sandy Creek, we headed a short distance up the track to the Blyth Homestead, a historic settlers hut still wonderfully preserved in original condition. Parks had put in a journal with many of the stories from the family who settled there, the girls ignored the tales of hard frontier life and loved the story of the kid who had a pet crocodile (probably because he had nothing else to play with!) 

No visit to Litchfield is complete without seeing Wangi Falls. Its just stunning and no surprise that it is the most popular National park Attraction in the NT. It even has a free wi-fi hotspot so visitors can upload their selfies in real time and keep marketing the Territory via social media.

East Arnhem Video Blog

An impromptu mission to East Arnhem Land was called for to avoid the school holiday crowds in the Top End. We found an idyllic beach to ourselves for several nights
and explored from there.

We didn't pre book anything so we missed out on a few possible experiences, but having this coast virtually to ourselves was pretty much priceless.
Actually the cost was a 10 hour drive each way on the Central Arnhem Road - our biggest drive yet but totally within our capabilities!

I will write more later - but check out the quick video blog of or adventures !

The Gulf Country

For those  that don't have the attention span to read - check out the short video - this what it was all about

Our journey literally changed direction when we swung out westward, away from the green (read damp) wet tropics of Atherton and out to the Undara Lava Tubes. Suddenly we felt like we had some space around us, a lot of space! The humidity disappeared and the light varied from harsh and bright to warm and golden. A couple of gorgeous nights camped at Undara were what we needed, Having spent a few years guiding in the Top End, I felt back at home again amongst the Savannah.

An active day begun with a mountain bike exploration of the trails,then a drive out to Kalkani Crater for a brisk walk to circle the rim of this recently extinct small volcanic Scoria Cone. 

Then the guided active tour, through a couple of the tubes. I was surprised by the scale of these geological marvels, but credit to our guide for highlighting the unique set of conditions that allowed their formation. The Undara Experience tour business was impressive, having only been created in the early 90’s. As with my own experience in developing the Larapinta Trail, it confirmed the value of being the first operator and establishing a quality business that is almost impossible for competitors to replicate.

A big driving day was required to match the scale of the country and so we set the controls toward Normanton up on the Gulf of Carpentaria. The gold rush history of the region was surprising, with amazing wealth generated in the late 1800’s. After many hours behind the wheel we got a wake up call when we came across a recent accident, with a camper trailer and bikes similar to ours completely squished beneath the bull bar of a road train.  We don’t understand what happened but it appear the 4wd clipped the road train and the camper trailer met a nasty end while the 4wd somehow escaped without damage!

Another big drive took us to Mt Isa and a visit to Lisa’s cousin Anna and husband Rob and kids Emily and Sammy. Setting up the camper in their backyard felt like being at home, the kids naturally connected, as only relatives do. Time for a restock and re-set was punctuated with a visit to the mine. Charlotte and I went underground for an awesome tour of the Hard Times Mine, with Charlotte happily putting the overalls on and hardhat and having a go at drilling and driving a loader. I hadn’t been down a mine since studying geology a couple of decades ago but again I felt remarkably at home, however no regrets on my part that my career ended up in tourism and the outdoors rather than geology and and mining.

Continuing west and north we aimed for our most remote objective yet, Lawn Hill National Park (Boodjimulla). After a few hundred kilometres the blacktop gave way to a gravel road that seemed ok, rocky but not too corrugated or washed out. The World Heritage Riverleigh Fossil site was a great experience in the middle of nowhere. Having seen the museum in Mt Isa, the kids knew what Riverleigh was about, but the short walk, bountiful fossils and excellent interpretive signage brought some long dead beasts back to life. The girls became junior palaeontologists and found many fossil crocodile teeth and Thunder Bird bones. The abundance and exceptional preservation of the fossils highlights the the importance of the site.

As we were leaving Riverleigh another vehicle pulled in, and with so few travellers out here we had a chat, the driver mentioned how rough the road was and how he had just lost a tyre. We heeded his warning and took it easy on a gravel road that looked ok - but soon after - there was horrible sound of disintegrating rubber. Out here the sense of isolation suddenly becomes very real when you realise that there is only so much rubber between you and a road like a cheese grater. A changed tyre and we were starting to think, do we have enough spares for where we are going? 

We made it to Lawn Hill Gorge without further incident and lovely swim in the gorge. Soon it was discovered we had excellent range and outstanding internet which was timely for Charlottes Birthday and all the grandparents and Aunties and Uncles to call in on Skype and face time. A bizarre contradiction that the most physically remote place we had been was also the best connected! 

An awesomely active day at Lawn Hill Gorge began with a dawn trek to the upper Gorge. Our girls happily walked 3 hours of outback exploration at breakfast time to be reward with stunning views and rich colours of this oasis. Back at camp we were lucky to our Allambie Heights friends had recommended we introduce ourselves to Debbie and Jason who had taken their family to Lawn Hill and the challenge of managing the National Park Ranger Station. Our kids and their kids  were soon riding bikes around and learning about growing up in the remote outback and we had a great chat to Jason and Debbie about their life in Queensland’s remotest National Park. An afternoon kayaking on the gorge was the perfect end to a very active day. The sort of outdoor adventuring that we came out here to share with the kids. The very helpful workshop at nearby Adels Grove campground remarkably had a spare tyre in stock and so we could resume our planned journey through the remote Gulf Country with a full quota of spares.

The drive to from Lawn Hill to Hells Gate was uneventful except for the notable lack of good roads or traffic. The only other people we saw at a roadhouse sported an impressive set of facial tattoos, enough to send Mike Tyson back to jail for some more tattoo inspiration. We opted out of remote free camping and chose to camp next to a roadhouse and about about as remote as we can get. Probably 1400km to Darwin and 1000km back the other way to Cairns and bugger all in between, love it!

Lorella Springs was a mission to get to, but worth it. A Gulf Cattle Station that has opened to tourism, like a mini private run Kakadu. Not much of a wet season this year so it was pretty dry, but we still found some joy at the main Lorella Springs and the more remote Nannys Place. A few nights were required here before took on the drive west toward toward the Top End again - more on that in later posts!