Waterfalls, Rock Art & Extremely Big Crocodiles

Monday, 28 May 2007

CROCODILES OF UNUSUAL SIZE
This is crocodile country and visitors get plenty of opportunity to contemplate the ‘this could happen to you’ warning signs. And every year it does seem to happen to somebody who doesn’t take enough care. Our prime crocodile experiences:

 

 

 

The jumping crocodiles of the Adelaide River – boat operators on the river have convinced the river’s plentiful supply of big crocs to leap athletically out of the water to grab a dangled chunk of pig.

Sunset cruise on Yellow Waters, Cooinda – an astonishingly beautiful stretch of floodlands with enough birdlife to satisfy any twitcher and plenty of crocs out for an early evening cruise.

Gagadju Crocodile Hotel – the biggest croc of them all – we stayed a night in the famous crocodile-shaped (from the air) hotel in Jabiru, the main centre in the Kakadu park.

 

WATERFALLS
The Litchfield and Kakadu park are both dotted with beautiful waterfalls. Kakadu’s Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls are the big attractions, but there are plenty of others.

Tolmer Falls, Litchfield – simply beautiful, this long fall drops into a gorge and a walking track follows the river through another gorge above the falls.

Gunlom Falls, Kakadu – there’s a big swimming hole at the base of the falls and a popular campsite nearby, but it’s even better to climb up to the top of the falls where the water collects in a series of idyllic pools before tumbling over the edge.

 

 

ROCK ART
Kakadu is famous for its wonderful collection of Aboriginal rock art. Don’t miss:

Ubirr – an amazing collection and the rocks themselves are beautiful, particularly cloaked and surrounded by end-of-wet season green. A lot of the art is simply a menu of ‘good tucker,’ tasty barramundi in particular.

Nourlangie – the rock art gallery is every bit as impressive as Ubirr, particularly the main collection at Anbangbang.

 

◄ rock art at Nanguluwur

 

Nanguluwur – we really liked this smaller collection, a short gravel road drive and a slightly longer walk to the site keeps the crowds away. We had it all to ourselves.