Last Wednesday evening, before we left Darwin, we joined friends at the casino for the State of Origin match, and of course I have to mention this because we are very happy that after an 8 year drought, NSW won the series…..and no, we haven’t yet changed allegiance to the mighty maroons. It was an excellent night, outdoors in 25 degrees, with another stunning sunset followed by excellent entertainment, just watching the fans, who all had a great night.

On Thursday we left Darwin around 8am and the beauty with no fixed plans is that you can change them as you go! Instead of going straight to Jabiru, we travelled only 100kms, stopping at a super little camp ground at Mary River Wilderness Resort and Caravan Park near the Mary River National Park. There are only about 26 caravan/motorhome sites, although they do let campers go to other areas in the green grassed park if needs be.  The hosts, (not the owners as we didn’t really meet them) Geoff and Deb are delightful people. The area is well set up and very close to the Mary River. We only intended to stay one night, but ended up being there for 3. We had a lovely time. Of course, seeing that there was a 4.30pm river cruise, we were in….and we were not disappointed. The river has the highest concentration of crocodiles in the world!

Saltie croc on sand island in Mary River

They say elsewhere there are 5 crocs per sqkm, and here there are 18 per sqkm, and I think we saw more than our share. Of course we expected to see fresh water crocs, and like most waterways in this region, there are salties as well, and these were big blighters, around 4m. We ventured down the river about 5kms croc spotting and snapping away madly, before then going 1km up the river from our entry point. Given its dry season we got to see lots of crocs and other wildlife. Further into the dry season the river will dry out more so that it becomes akin to a series of billabongs. In the wet season though, the water rages through the riverbed, up to 9m higher than we were boating. Under the road bridge there are huge tree trunks caught under the spans, demonstrating just how much water cascades through here in monsoon season.

Whilst at Mary River we went into the national park and visited Wildman Wilderness Lodge, an upmarket resort nestled away down an 8km dirt road, accessed by car, plane or chopper. This is a place to stay if you want some luxury and pampering whilst enjoying the treats of Kakadu and the region. Further into the park is Shady Camp,

Shady Camp Water Crossing

with a river crossing where the salt water meets the fresh water, and both crocs and barramundi congregate at high tide. Its a great croc watching spot on the Mary River, with a special viewing platform if you want to sit, watch and wait quietly. We didn’t see any crocs, but did see lots of fish close to the crossing.

We made the most of our time here, and hired a boat for 3 hours and decided to try for an elusive barramundi. Alas, its still elusive and sadly swimming around with a lure in its mouth. My rod was bent into a u-shape with the pressure, the line took off and then with the pressure it snapped. A chap caught a 1.5m barramundi in the river just days before, perhaps this was the twin that got away. We did though enjoy ourselves, albeit we were very watchful the whole time with crocs on the banks in may spots along the river.

There were several walks on the Resort grounds, both good exercise and rewarding with wildlife and lots to see. The short 1.5km wallaby walk did indeed reward me with wallabies, and the 8km walk which we both enjoyed meanders along the riverside, inland alongside billabongs and through a bamboo forest.

On Sunday morning it was time to head to Jabiru where we are now. We have been in the Kakadu Resort caravan park. Now there have been many who have said Kakadu isn’t worth a visit. We can’t agree with them. Certainly Jabiru is a nothing town, thankfully though at least it has an IGA. The history here is that this is in fact a mining town, set up for and by the Ranger Mine in the 1970s. Ranger mine is a uranium mine that at one point supplied 12% of the world’s uranium (I’m not sure if that is good or bad!). Yesterday we enjoyed a fantastic scenic flight from Jabiru Airport with Kakadu Scenic flights. Its very hard to get any sense of perspective of the scale of the part, or to see any more than 100m either side of the road when driving around. This flight really does provide real perspective.

The East Alligator River from the plane

We flew over the huge Ranger Mine (the open cut mine is being filled in due to a pending change in legislation to underground mining of uranium); along the East Alligator River, one of the main rivers in this region; over the huge escarpment that runs down the length of the park and then up onto the plateau that forms Arnhem Land; over the Magela Wetlands, full of bird and fish life; and along the Minkinj Valley. The park is 20,000 sqm (half the size of Tasmania, and the whole of Switzerland). This flight covers just a corner but what an amazing corner, it is majestic and stunning and showed us just what many talk about but cannot be seen without a lot of time on the ground, or a flight like this one.

We also visited the Mamukala Wetlands yesterday. Now we had no expectations given our experience so much of the time with wildlife. Well, this time there was an abundance of birdlife. As well as the walk, we sat in the watch for half an hour and just watched – all different types of wetland birdlife.

Today we visited Ubirr. What a magic, spiritual and stunning place this is. The drive to Ubirr features wetlands and huge sandstone escarpments and then once at Ubirr there is a small walk to some of Australia’s best rock art displayed in 3 main natural galleries, set amongst rock outcrops that sit on the edge of the Nadab floodplain.

Rock art

At the top of the Ubirr rock there is a panoramic view across the floodplains, the East Alligator River and the escarpments. We sat at top quietly taking it all in, appreciating just what makes this such a special place for the aboriginals who lived here for so long, and today’s custodians of this very special place. Whilst out in this area we also walked the Bardedjilidji sandstone walk through rock formations some 1500 million years old. This is a 2.5km walk through and around outcrops and escarpments and along the side of the East Alligator River. Today has been a thoroughly rewarding and enjoyable day.

From Ubirr Rock down onto the wetlands

Tomorrow we will move to Cooinda as a base, where we will visit Maguk and Yellow Water Billabong. Sadly, that elusive crocodile is still in Koolpin Gorge, so no tenting whilst in Kakadu.