Day 23: Black Rock Wallaby at Nourangie Rock

He was soo cute and we have never seen a Black Rock Wallaby before!!

Day 24/ 25 (June 22nd/ 23rd 2015): Gunlom at Waterfall Creek, Kakadu

Today we moved to our last campsite in Kakadu (for this trip anyway) - to Gunlom. 

This has been a place I have been looking forward to coming to the whole of our excursion in Kakadu NP. 

We have noted in our journey through Kakadu that quite a few of the rivers contain Alligator in their name e.g. South Alligator and East Alligator Rivers. We thought this odd since we do not have Alligators in Australia. The rivers were apparently named way back in history by a young man who had visited the Americas and seen Alligators - he thought our crocodiles were Alligators. Many maps had been drawn up with the rivers so named before the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt (a naturalist) travelling through the area noted that they were actually Crocodiles. They were therefore never re-named.

Gunlom is 39km off the Kakadu Highway. Once you leave the highway you are on a dirt road that although not designated as 4wd is pretty badly corrugated in places - especially the first 7 km-10km. Trying to stay to the prescribed speed limits on this road was troublesome as once you slow down the corrugations have a greater impact on the level of comfort for travelling and the poor ute gets excessively shaken.

We got to camp, set up for our stay, then set about enjoying a nice relaxing lunch. Not long after arriving we noticed that some Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos were settled in the trees near us. Of course they became quite noisy - but are quite beautiful in flight with the red section under their tail feathers.

I set off scrounging around the campsites to see if anyone had left any wood behind. I found one really decent piece but not much else - so we had to look a bit further afield at the back of the campground and found lots of small bits of what I think was "gidgee" branches. It certainly burnt really hot and we managed to produce enough hot coals to be able to cook some snags on my little bbq. They cook just perfectly this way and we were pretty excited to again be having a fire - albeit a small one.

We a also excited to have left the mozzies behind us at Cooinda.

The early afternoon we spent some time at the plunge pool of Gunlom Falls. This is quite a large plunge pool and accessed via a short walk from the campground. It was refreshingly cool water and from the pool you can of course see what is just a trickle of water coming down the face of the waterfall. This waterfall, as does many in Kakadu, dries up pretty much completely in the dry season months.

The bonus with this is that the upper pools are very accessible at this time of year - and it is these I am really excited to be visiting.

At $10per night / adult we thought this was a pretty good NP campground as it had flushing toilets and hot showers and drinking water. The ranger comes around each evening to collect from the campers.

We had noticed around the campground and day use area a lot of, what we thought was, horse poo. When the ranger came the first evening I asked him about this. Yes it was certainly horse poo as he told us there are lots of wild brumbies around this area and they are a nuisance. 

He encouraged us to write and complain about them - he said he would like to move them further into the park away from the campgrounds (as it would make life easier for him) but nothing is being done about it.

Early hours of our first morning here we hear the brumbies moving around the campground - and wake up to see quite a few of them still around the general area and more evidence of their presence everywhere (lots of horse poo) - at least it doesn't seem to make the campground smell.

Up early we get breakfast over and head off with cameras and swimming gear to climb up the steep trail that takes you to the upper pools of the waterfall.

Here are some of the views on our ascent to the pools - 

We were up there by about 8.30am - before many others got there and also before the sun had really hit the pools 

 --  so my first dip in the waters was a very cool one.

Besides not many others being here at this early time - there was the added bonus of the low light on the some of the pools and magnificent reflections.

Up here you have the ultimate "infinity" pool - as from the pool near the top edge of the waterfall you have sweeping views of the Southern Kakadu region.  

A lot of photos taken for promotion of Kakadu have been taken at these pools and a scene in Crocodile Dundee was shot at this very location.

We ended up staying up at the pools about 2 hours - photographing and chatting.

We did lots of dips In quite a few of the pools and by the time we left there was quite a large group of people up there.

I did not want to leave this stunning spot. I would have happily stayed all that day I think and even another night to do the climb up again the next day and enjoy these pools all over again.

This for me has been one of the huge highlights of this trip. It is high up there as one of the best places I have visited in my travels in Australia to date.

And I am feeling pretty relaxed!'

Day 23 (June 21st, 2015): Nourlangie Rock Art site

Our last day at Cooinda,  we backtracked a bit, to check out Nourlangie (the second of Kakadu's most famous rock art sites) - which has a walking track that takes you past an ancient Aboriginal shelter, providing refuge from the weather for 20,000 years for locals who whiled away the time by decorating the walls and overhanging rock with their stories - as well as several other rock art sites.

There is also remarkable views from the top lookout, Nawurlandja.

We were lucky enough to see a Black Rock Wallaby!!!! - photo to come in next blog update.

It was on our visit to this site that we saw a notice posted outside the toilets at the carpark indicating that a rogue buffalo had been sited of late in the area surrounding and warning people to stay clear of it and to advise any sitings of the animal. Just another bit of danger to worry about!!

Close by here we also went to look at Anbangbang Billabong - a very large and very attractive billabong. There is a walk around this billabong - but the walk is fairly close to the waters edge and I was not too keen on it as there were signs advising to beware as there had been sitings recently of Saltwater crocs along the track. I have to say this framed me out a bit and we just drove around the billabong stopping at various carpark spots and checking out the billabong from the relative safety of the picnic tables. Yes that would be from atop these tables!!

I did get a nice closeup here of the very pretty Rainbow Bee-Eater - these are prevalent around the top end but are usually darting here and there always on the move - so I was lucky to get this one.

Even though it was a bit expensive for unpowered camping we actually ended up staying 3x nights at Cooinda. We did love that pool for cooling off and relaxing with a book. 

We also treated ourselves to a couple of meals at the restaurant  - as they had good food at reasonable prices. 

We did this because of the one downside with Cooinda (mind you it did not stop us staying 3x nights) and that was the prevalence of mozzies. So the less time we spent outside at our campsite In the evening the better. 

We even got out the mozzie coils here and had one going whenever we were at our campsite. Over at the pool  and the cafe/restaurant they were not around at all. 

It was on our last night at Cooinda that we could again hear howling dingoes and also what we think was probably feral pigs in the bushland close by the campground. 

Day 22 (June 20th, 2015): Maguk Plunge Pool.

The staff at Cooinda are very friendly and knowledgeable about the area and what there is to do. It was from the girl at Reception that I decided what we might do for the few days we were there. The best recommendation she made was to go to Maguk - which is where the staff and locals go to swim. 

Yes - this is one of the few places in Kakadu where it is relatively safe to swim.

We did the drive and walk to Maguk on our second day staying at Cooinda. It was a really shiity corrugated road to get in to the start of the walk. 

There was then a pretty 1km walk along the creek side over rocky terrain. 

Then you reach the most magnificent plunge pool I have ever seen anywhere. The water was crystal clear - clearer than we have seen anywhere else in our travels. 

Not a bad dive for an old girl!!!

This is truly one of Kakadu's hidden gems and the bit of effort and the shitty road makes it one of Kakadu's lesser- visited plunge pools, but it is absolutely gorgeous to swim in and the waterfall still had quite a good flow. It was surprising to us that this plunge pool was not cold at all getting in - not sure why this is - as it was quite different to what we experienced at all the other plunge pools we had visited on this trip and previously in the Kimberley's of WA.

Another day talking with a young guy in the bar (whilst I was getting coffee to have poolside) I found out that the staff are offered lots of free talks and tours so that they are able to discuss and chat with with customers about what is available to do in the area. 

Yes we were having coffee poolside!! - a very decadent thing for us to do on this camping trip. The Cooinda Lodge has a terrific open / indoor / outdoor restaurant/ bar complex right next to the even more magnificent pool. 

Day 21 (June 19th, 2015): Cooinda and Yellow Water, Kakadu

Today we are headed for Cooinda Campground, in the Southern end of Kakadu. This is situated in what they refer to as Yellow Water Region of Kakadu.

Yellow Water Wetlands is part of the South Alligator River floodplain. Following wet season rains, a sea of shallow water spreads out for hundreds of square kilometres. As the flood plains start to dry this time of year (the beginning of the dry season) the water birds and crocodiles seek refuge in the remaining wet areas such as Yellow Water and Mamukala wetlands ( the billabong with the bird hide that we visited a couple of days ago). 

We decide to treat ourselves and stay at Cooinda Lodge campground which was pretty expensive at $36 per night unpowered - but we did need a laundry to do some washing and this place also gave us easy access to Yellow Water wetlands.

When we arrived at Cooinda we enquired about the wetlands walk - a 2.6 km walk across the flood plains to a viewing platform on Home Billabong. However this walk has apparently been closed for a couple of years as there are currently too many feral animals that are breeding across the floodplain each year when the water recedes and it is too dangerous to open the walk. I guess they have not yet been able to reduce the population of troublesome feral animals. 

But we could go along a boardwalk out along the billabong for about 500 metres - it was very nice and we saw a Saltwater croc from here.

We also saw a couple of whistling kites just sitting on a tre and practically posing for us fairly closeup - 

That afternoon we ran around doing washing and also getting in a swim the gigantic awesome pool at Cooinda. Then a quick shower and ready to leave for the 4.10 pm shuttle bus to where the boats leave from for the Yellow Water sunset cruise we had booked on arrival today.

It was soooooo awesome!!  We saw lots of "Salties" and they were not as skiddish as the ones we saw in the previous cruise we did at the Corroboree Bilłabong. Our guide was able to cruise along next to them whist they stil just swam along not seeming too bothered by the boat. 

Yellow Water is said to be the most famous of Kakadu's billabongs and the boat cruise takes you across it's swathes of floodwaters, half submerge red paperbarks, pandamus and water-likes whilst the crocs cruise beneath.

Our cruise boat guide was excellent - very informative and very attentive to ensure everyone had a chance to see and photograph the crocs and birds we were viewing on this cruise. 

i really cannot describe how good this cruise was - and we felt it was money well spent. 

This one was even smiling for us!!

We saw a Darter catch and swallow this fish - after he tossed it in the air and caught it. Once he caught it the right way round it was just swallowed whole in a flashing his neck looked very swollen.

There were the Whistling Ducks - yes they do not quack - they whistle!

Juvenile Rufous Night Heron

Egrets!

A little Forest Kingfisher

We also saw quite a few wild horses (brumbies) that still roam Kakadu. The traditional owners will not allow them to be killed but they are becoming a nuisance and are not good for the wetland environment as they flatten and eat down a lot of areas where native birds and animals live and nest.

The traditional owners have an affinity for the horses due to their previous role as stockmen in times gone by. So whilst they allow and encourage killing off of pigs, buffalo and cats they will not approve the killing/culling of the wild brumbies.

And of course we had yet another gorgeous sunset out on the billabong before we came back to shore.

Because we did not get back to camp until well after sunset - we decided to treat ourselves to a meal at the cafe/ restaurant. It was a lovely meal - 1x of kangaroo and 1x of Barraumundi. 

The other reason we treated ourselves is that the campground at Cooinda has lots of mozzies and we were not looking forward to starting and eating dinner at our campsite in the dark. They didn't seem to be too bad over at the outdoor cafe.