Our last few days just seem to be getting hotter - although now we have left Darwin it's not as humid.
Not too bad for me at the moment though as I sit here by the pool catching up on the blog. It's nice and shady and the pool is a pretty nice place to hang out.
We nipped out after setting up and having lunch to check out the South Alligator River and Mamukala wetlands just up the road from where we are staying - at the Aurora Kakadu Hotel campground - for a couple of nights.
The South Alligator River is quite large with very muddy banks.
Everywhere here now it is difficult to get a good view up the river as you are warned to stay at least 5metres from the waters edge for safety from the "Salties" (saltwater crocodiles that inhabit all of these waterways). To take the picture of the river (above here) we had to pretty much stop on the bridge - very quickly - watching all the time as the speed limit is still 130km per hr here (as it is along most major roads in NT) and a vehicle can come up on you quickly.
No one can say they are not warned about croc safety - as there are signs everywhere pressing the danger and the need for vigilance.
Since there are not many places to take a dip in Kakadu - we are having to stay in caravan park type campgrounds so that we can cool off in a pool on these hot days.
The Mamukala wetlands we visited was lovely and the large bird hide there was a fantastic hideaway from the heat of the day. We saw quite a few different birds
The Magpie Geese were there -
- and we helped a young lad with spotting little frogs in the shallows just out from the bird hide.
The campground here is very basic but it is very cheap for Kakadu (at $20 per night) - the amenities leave a lot to be desired and they have no insect screening or anyway to keep out the frogs - and that means that the snakes - who like to eat the frogs - can also get in.
We did see lots of the frogs in the showers and toilets but fortunately for us no snakes - but as you might imagine I did a pretty good check of every shower cubicle before I entered any for my shower.
The best part of this campground is the pool. It is huge - but it would have to be the noisiest pool we have ever been to - as a huge mob of cockatoos seem to hang out there all day - in the palms around the pool perimeter.
Thank god they have shade sails covering most of the pool otherwise it could have perhaps been a bit unpleasant for swimming.
This is the first campground on this trip that we have seen a dingo hanging around the grounds - we also hear them howling at night here. So we have had to make sure that we leave no rubbish - or shoes outside - as they are likely to take off with the shoes.
The Hotel organised an outdoor screen for the State of a Origin match the day we arrived - and a BBQ - so we rocked up and enjoyed a big feed of meat and chicken and salads, Schooners of beer for $5 and then the big game outside. It was a great game but sadly NSW were the victors.
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