DownUnder Tour Week 7

"Here's lookin' at 'ya kid!" Much of this week involved crocs; both admiring them from afar and trying to ensure they stayed there!


There are two types of crocs in Australia, those they refer to as "freshwater" and those that are "saltwater" or "salties" for short. This is a bit of a misnomer since the "salties" can inhabit both fresh and saltwater, even travelling as much as 100 kms offshore. Crocs have been around for 200 million years and are very well adapted to survival, eating anyone and anything that moves. They have no conscience, are very aggressive, surprisingly fast (18Km per hour for short distances) and people in the Northern Territory are killed by them every year. Reportedly they remove 200 per annum off the Darwin beaches, not very enticing to those who may want to take a dip.

The beginning of the week we left Mataranka and went to Katherine Gorge, which is actually a series of 13 or so gorges, some of which were still inaccessible due to the high water levels. This area is another one of the national parks that has been turned over to the local aborigines and leased back on a 99 year lease and fortunately we can still get access because this is a beautiful spot! There are a couple of ways to view the gorge, from the elevated positions and from a boat. A two hour tour is not cheap and will set you back about $50 per head, or about $160 for a family pass good for 2 adults & 2 children. With 60+ people per boat and four trips per day, it is a very healthy business! The tour covered two sections of the gorge and saw some great scenery as well as this freshwater crocodile, pictured right. The freshwater crocs are typically not as aggressive as salties but we kept our distance all the same. Note the difference in both the colouring and the jaw shape between the two species. As we travelled the gorge you could also see where other crocs had been up and down the beach as the foot / tail prints are quite distinctive going up the beach and coming down the beach they leave slide marks as they move down into the water.

Upon departing Katherine Gorge, we detoured through the town of Katherine for supplies, stopping at their hot springs for a dip while there, (pictured right). We entered the water with trepidation as there were croc warning signs but we were comforted by the fact that there were a number of other people already in the water who we thought could not move as fast as us. :) These springs were not as hot as Mataranka but had a terrific flow and small waterfall, (another impediment for hungry crocs).

We then moved on to Edith Falls, which has to be one of my favourite places of all the spots we have been thus far. They have a waterfall fed lake that was pretty cool after the warmth of the springs in Mataranka and Katherine, but the scenery was incredible and there were BIG fish in the lake. (Fishing is banned and the fish know it so they just swim right up to you.)


The following morning we set off to do the hike up to the top of the falls, and were we ever rewarded! The views are astounding and once one gets to the top, there are waterfall fed pools that you can swim in. Even better is that due to the elevation and terrain, you (reportedly) do not need to worry about the crocs. There is a broad diversity in this area in many ways, from terrain to water features to the variety of plant life, as it has a mix of the foliage we saw in the Macdonnell Ranges (near Alice Springs) as well as what we later saw in Kakadu National Park. (Given that this is also a national park we refrained from digging for witchetty grubs for the BBQ.)

The next stop was at Cooinda in Kakadu National Park. There is a nearby river, "Yellow Waters" which is connected to a number of other rivers, most of which are branches of the Alligator River. Yes, that is right, not "crocodile river", but "Alligator River". This river was named by a foreigner (probably from Florida) who thought the crocs that inhabit the area are alligators. Once again we took a boat tour of the area to see the wetlands and of course, many crocs. If you have a look at the picture on the left you may not notice the 4 meter croc under the branches of the tree. The photo on the right offers a closer look. This fellow was twice as long as I am tall and about 7 times my weight. They can reach 6 metres and over a tonne in weight. Imagine coming across one that size! They have had trouble with them from time to time attacking and capsizing boats but when that occurs they usually relocate them to either a more remote area or to a croc farm to be used as a breeder. We were told that crocs from the wild are never (intentionally) killed. During the wetlands tour we saw crocs attacking their prey and they are lethal. One jumped from the water and picked a snake off a low hanging tree branch and another lunged out and grabbed a bird who ventured a bit too close to the water's edge.


The tour was interesting, with some remarkable birds such as Australia's second largest bird of prey, the sea eagle, who happened to have a nest we saw, and the whistling kites, also known as "bully birds" because they wait until other birds catch food and then terrorise the birds until they leave the food. They even do this to the sea eagle, (pictured left), whose defence is to take to the skies and then flip upside down to use its talons to attack the underside of the whistling kites. Amongst the other birds we saw was the black-necked stork, also known as the Jabiru bird, pictured right. The tour operator mused that though it is called the black necked stork, the neck is actually a very dark green, and can appear to be blue if viewed from the right angle.

This area reminds me so much of the Everglades in Florida, with the canals that open up into broad marshlands with a vast array of wildlife.

We saw a few fishermen on the water in small tinnies and according to the tour operators those from the Northern Territory have a tendency to become a bit casual about the presence of the crocs, which is often what brings them undone. To their credit, National Parks post signs near virtually every waterway, boat ramp, etc warning of the presence of saltwater crocs and reminding people that encounters have resulted in death. Pretty clear really.

We covered a lot of water during the tour, so much that the operator got a bit tired and Mariah took over at the wheel, (pictured right), and did a very capable job. (A chip off the old block.....)

It is admirable the way the Aborigines learned to use the land (& water) for survival over a period of tens of thousands of years. Even the water lilies provided food and tools for them. They eat the flowers and roots and then use the tube as a straw, not for drinking their milkshakes but as a snorkel to go along under the water and grab the magpie geese by the legs. I am not sure how they avoided the crocs, but perhaps they were not so numerous back then when they were routinely hunted.

One way to avoid swimming with crocs is to use the expansive pool at the Cooinda campground. Have a look at this! We thoroughly enjoyed the area with many water games in the pool leaving us all well worn and getting good sleeps.

Another "must see" sight closer to Jabiru is Nawurlandja Rock overlooking the Anbangbang Billabong. It is a short climb that Christian struggled with, which is why you only see Maree and Mariah in this photo, with the billabong in the background.

From there it is only a short distance to Nourlangie Rock, which is actually two rocks. The upper rock's correct name is Burrunggui while the lower area is Anbangbang. This is a beautiful area geologically as well as being an Aboriginal art site. The art is hard to date because artists used to paint over previous paintings and all that can be dated is the ochre (paint), which is not necessarily indicative of the date of the artistry.






The artwork is in a number of different areas and the walks between are easy and scenic. For many of the artworks there are signs outlining the meaning of the art. In any such situation one bears in mind that this message is from the interpreter, not the artist.

That evening we ventured out to Ubirr to watch the sunset from Ubirr rock. It took some doing to get there with the motorhome needing to do 2 creek crossings to get to its destination but in the end we made it. The climb is steep in areas as can be seen in the picture to the right, but the views are worth it. What was a little concerning is that the park closes at sunset and, according to the signage, they impose a $5,500 fine if you are not out at park closing. The logistics of this are that if one is on the summit at sunset, as we were (reference picture at left), how can they be out of the park at the same time? Once we got to the summit I realised that either I had nothing to worry about or I would be in very good company in receiving a fine, as there would have been more than 50 other people on the summit as well and certainly we could beat them getting down the mountain and out of the gate...


We left Jabiru and headed toward Darwin stopping along the way to take another boat ride, this time where they feed the crocs and show just what they are capable of when hungry. Have a look at the photo on the right for an idea of how well they come out of the water for a feed and the picture at the left gives you an idea of how brazen they are when people are around. When the croc boat goes out to entice them, they come from everywhere, from massive 5 meter ones to small ones, only a meter in length. I was embarrassing Christian by repeatedly asking him to come away from the side of the boat, where he would eagerly hang over the side so he could get a good look at any crocs!

At the end of the day, you just have to give these critters wide berth. They are surprising fast, very agile, and can come out of the water pretty much their body length if they want to. They have big teeth, powerful jaws, and will never go hungry.

Another great find near the crocs is a snake or two. Mariah once again had the chance to get acquainted with an "Olive Python" and Christian seems to be warming to them as well. I know Mariah will be a bit disappointed but I have already informed her that she will not be getting one of these for her birthday as they require a license to keep them in captivity. (Thank God for small favours.) Perhaps they are better than Christian's preferred pet at the moment, but more on that next week when we feature our arrival in Darwin. Just a sneak preview follows...


Just who is that in the chair of the Speaker of the House in the NT Parliment?

and...



Who are those children at the Governor's mansion with the NT Governor, the Hon. Ted Eagan?

Details to come in next week's DownUnder Tour update!