Kakadu

We only had one full day in Kakadu so we had to decide on one place we would go and see. When in Katherine we had heard that Yellow Water was a great place to see animals; birds in particular, so we decided to focus on that.

Yellow Water Sunrise Cruise
At the tourist information centre in Darwin we booked into the Yellow Water sunrise cruise; departing at 6.45. This meant we had to be at reception for the bus (we stayed at the caravan park - Gagaju @ Cooinda - which ran the tours) at 6.25am. We knew it would be cold so we dug our warm clothes out of the bottom of our bags.

The view from the boat when we got on board. If you look carefully you can see the reflection of the stars in the water.

A jacana walking on water

Never smile at a crocodile, especially a big salty like this!

...or this

I never knew Azure Kingfishers were so tiny!

White bellied sea eagle

Rufous Night Heron - a very shy, and statuesque bird.

The birds don't bat an eyelid

whistling ducks...they really do whistle and quite a lot

ibis and egret

Jabiru, with Magpie geese (breeding trio) and egrets

The vastness of the landscape. Three months earlier these grasses were completely covered in water.

Burrungui and Anbangbang - Nourlangie

The place commonly known as Nourlangie was named incorrectly by white settlers when it was mistaken for a nearby area. Burrungui and Anbangbang are the correct names for the land in this area. On maps of Kakadu you will see the name Nourlangie but when you arrive there there is a sign which asks that the proper names be used. The main reason to visit this area is to see an aboriginal rock shelters (traditionally used in the wet season) and rock art. It was also conveniently close to Yellow Water!

A small section of the area that was used for shelter

somewhere to grind seeds into flour 

like to dance?

Fishing Yellow Water

We were considering going on the sunset cruise to see the billabong at a different time (would have been cheaper) but in the end we decided to go fishing instead. It was the best decision. On the boat was the three of us (Maddi left us in Darwin) and our guide/boat driver. This meant that for three hours we were able to enjoy Yellow Water Billabong and river without all of those pesky tourists getting in our way, and standing in front of our photos.

our private vessel

Liam got to drive

Neil caught a barramundi (which was too small so we had to throw it back).

Libby and Liam caught some weeds

We saw more birds...

...and crocodiles (this one was massive)

and we watched the sun set!

This video was taken just after the sun disappeared over the horizon so the quality is worse than usual, however, it gives you a sense of the activity, and peacefulness, of the place. Enjoy.