Kakadu

At various times on the journey I’ve been asked the question “What’s been your favourite experience?”

It’s not a question I’ve found easy to answer. There have been lots of highlights, but none that has stood out above all others.

Until we spent a couple of nights camping near Jim Jim Falls in Kakadu.

It’s difficult not to have high expectations of Kakadu. It’s the largest national park in the nation, the first to be declared a world heritage area and its name is synonymous with cultural and natural significance. Much of the many kilometres of driving through Kakadu is not all that spectacular – spindly gums above an undergrowth of palms and dry savannah grass. On our entry into Kakadu we crossed the wide South Alligator River and were greeted by another of the park’s famous attractions – a massive crocodile sunning itself on the river bank.

Our first night of camping was near the border of Arnhem Land. We sat by the banks of the East Alligator River watching the fish jump and the crocs eye them off greedily before we set off to Ubirr. This location, along with Nourlangie Rock (which we visited the following day) contains the most remarkable Aboriginal rock art I have ever seen. Underneath the massive rock ledges which provided dry shelter during the wet season and cool shade during the dry, many generations of Kakadu’s original inhabitants have recorded their stories, experiences and myths in amazing detail and quantity.

I rose early the next morning to see if I could compete with the crocs in search of barramundi. As it turned out I was no threat, with the many snags in the East Alligator River claiming victory. After reluctantly packing up camp, we explored Nourlangie before driving on to the iconic wetlands area of Yellow Water. It is true to say that Kakadu caters for all tastes. As beautiful as Yellow Water is, it is full of tourist buses and is home to a popular resort, Cooinda. We enjoyed a welcome cold drink from the bar before deciding to venture 50km down a rough dirt road towards Garnamarr, the camping area closest to Jim Jim Falls.

Jim Jim, and its partner Twin Falls, are located on an incredibly picturesque escarpment in one of the most remote, inaccessible areas of Kakadu. The drive from the campsite to Twin Falls was along a rugged 4-wheel drive track that had everything from corrugations to sand to stony creek beds and finally a river crossing so deep we now have wet carpet in the car. The less than encouraging signs at the start of the crossing contained a now-familiar crocodile warning, so stalling in the middle of the river was clearly not an attractive option! I was very pleased that we had made the expensive decision to replace our car tyres with a rugged set of all-terrain treads!

Our first activity for the day was to embark on a reasonably tough climb up the escarpment to the top of the falls. In addition to the amazing views across this part of Kakadu, we were greeted with a series of crocodile-safe pools at the top in which we swam and splashed about for at least an hour. As the day continued to warm up we made our descent, had a quick lunch, and boarded a ferry for the short trip into the Twin Falls area. The majesty of the falls, descending down a massive cliff into a series of beautiful blue-green pools is one of the many sights and experiences on our trip that photos will never adequately capture.

Our final destination (back down the track and through the river) was Jim Jim Falls. After walking about a kilometre into the gorge and over rocks that prevent crocs entering, we reached the most majestic of the swimming areas we’ve visited thus far. From the warm waters of the “beach pool” (where one could jump from rocks so high that it hurts your feet to enter the water) to the much cooler water of the “plunge pool” (where I swam about a hundred metres to the base of the waterfall and stood on the rocks looking skyward at the natural shower emanating from the top of the massive escarpment) it was a magical experience.

Each evening Marilyn and I dutifully record what we have done each day, how many kilometres we have travelled and how much we have spent. Our day at Twin/Jim Jim Falls was, for me, the most remarkable experience of the trip thus far. It also happened to be the first day on our trip in which we didn’t spend a cent (although it certainly cost plenty to get here!). The irony of this was not lost on us.