Week 26 (18th - 24th September)

Thanks to the non-delivery of a yet-to-be-identified part needed to complete the repairs to our fridge, a part that was meant to arrive from Queensland over a week ago, we were unable to leave for Kakadu as intended. Instead, we were subjected to an interminably long and costly wait, partly offset by us moving from Hidden Valley to Shady Glen. We selected a site that looked like an absolute cinch to get into. However, getting the wheels of the caravan aligned just off a concrete slab that serves as a patio, proved quite another matter. After four different attempts, help kindly offered by our neighbour and nearly knocking down a palm tree after reversing into it, it almost degenerated into another of those awful scenarios witnessed by Paul and Saxon at the Red Bluff caravan park! Advantages include a bit more wildlife around, including a resident dragon lizard. However, the proximity of this park to the Darwin Airport runway also means that as each plane lifts off with its engines at full throttle, our cutlery starts to rattle and fall into the sink!

WAITING in vain for the fridge man to phone we at least had a couple of funeral services to watch on TV. Peter Brock was given a State Funeral on the Tuesday morning and Steve Irwin’s Celebration of life was broadcast on the Wednesday morning. His eight year old daughter, Bindi was inspiring with her confidence and flawless delivery, so much so that Lea found it heartrending.
By the end of three days sitting around in the heat we again escaped to the movies to see “Jindabyne”. Australian made films are very different to Hollywood! Not only is there a quirky storyline, the reality of characters have to be seen to be believed.
Late Thursday afternoon the Technician arrived and five minutes later the fridge was all done and dusted.

Freedom Friday - We were on the roll bright and early and keen to stock up on sun ripened tomatoes available at a smallholding outside Darwin – pick your own $2.00 a kg rather than the supermarket price from $5.00.
Having bumped into the Poffley’s at Mindil Market (Sandra is the Nakara School bursar) they had given us an open invitation to visit their fruit farm near Humpty Doo. Since the time was right we gave Mike a call and discovered he was literally around the corner from the tomato farm. Mike grew up in Wankie (Hwange) hence the affinity and we found him waiting at the entrance of his tropical paradise. A verdant oasis within the dry open woodlands of outer Darwin! Thanks to a plentiful supply of water their beautiful 4 bed roomed home surrounded by a deep shady verandah, looks out in every direction onto a garden that resembles a luxuriant rainforest. Mike happily showed us around his well kept plantation trying to talk us into buying the property which recently went onto the market. Tempting… we loved it and could not help thinking it was an attractive proposition for an immigrant requiring a business. George was intrigued to learn how the yield of each mango tree is improved by stressing it, either by ring barking or applying a string soaked in herbicide around the trunk. Sadly no mangoes were ready for the picking.

The Poffley's homestead

Entering Kakadu National Park (World Heritage Site) the first signs of change were no entrance payable and the swathes of fallen trees making us think the area had been devastated by elephants. However, this was the aftermath of Cyclone Monica who swept through Park in April, this year. By mid-afternoon we pulled into the camping grounds of an Aurora resort near the South Alligator River. The informal layout gives a feeling of bush camping. The site we selected displaced a number of hot crows (ravens) who were sitting in the shade of a fig tree with their beaks gaping and wings splayed as if damaged. Once we’d settled in their place we filled a bucket of water to provide them with a bird bath and ourselves, with hours of entertainment. Most Australians hate crows. We, however, were once adopted by a pair - Croaky and wife living in a gum tree in our Perth garden and we have had a soft spot for crows ever since.

Campsite Croaky having a bath

With all the crows taking turns to bathe we decided to do the same and went in search of the swimming pool. Thankfully, we immersed ourselves in a pool set within a wide expanse of green lawn happily watching Agile wallabies feeding and blue-faced honey-eaters darting in and out of a palm tree.
Towards nightfall we were glad to spot some dingoes trotting nonchalantly back and forth along the periphery of the camp ground and even gladder, when on three occasions during the night we were startled awake by the amazing sounds of collective howling. We concluded the dingoes were having a choir practice.

With no good reason to leave the crows or dingoes we remained at South Alligator for another day - last minute decisions being one of the joys of having no fixed plan or schedule. After breakfast we took the 4 km Gungarre Monsoon Forest trail and at one point came to a standstill trying to ascertain what could be making the strange sound ahead of us. George thought it sounded like a cockatoo being strangled by a python! Lea thought it was an animal warning signal as each step forward seemed to correspond with another outcry. Eventually, after searching every branch in the canopy above us we realised the noise was coming from within a dead branch. From its resonance we decided it must be a tree frog.

Gungarre Monsoon Forest walk

Sunday morning found us on the edge of East Alligator River with the intention of taking the walking trail through the riverine forest we had previously enjoyed while living in Jabiru. The damage wreaked by Cyclone Monica had resulted in its closure. In the past, we had failed to find any signs of the salt water crocodiles that inhabit this river. Hence, as we made our way up to the famed Cahill’s Crossing we were mighty surprised to see our first saltie resting up, seemingly unconcerned, on a mud bank exposed by the low tide. This tidal river is renowned for flowing in two directions and in the process frequently washes vehicles off the causeway. Coming here, inevitably tweaks our sense of horror. At Cahill’s Crossing, a foolhardy fisherman lost his life wading across on a rapidly rising tide. He lost his footing and slipped over the edge of the causeway and was decapitated by a crocodile in front of a crowd of tourists and fellow fishermen. The other haunting tale is that of a woman out bird watching in a canoe, upstream. A saltie deliberately began bumping her canoe. In disbelief, she decided to jump to safety using a tree on the bank. The croc leapt up and grabbed her between the legs and began a series of death rolls to drown her. If the water had been deeper she’d have drowned. Amazingly by keeping her wits about her she managed to escape but again the croc hauled her back into the water to undergo another bout of rolling. Third time lucky she escaped to tell of this shocking ordeal. Nightmare stuff!

East Alligator - Cahill's crossing

With the hottest time of the day upon us we retired to Merl Campground to take full advantage of the massive amount of solar energy being generated by the panels on top of Getaway to write up our blog. As evening set in we drove down to Ubirr, only 3km away, to catch the “large ball of fire” drop out of the sky. We climbed to the top of the largest sandstone outlier with its superb 360° vista over the Cahill Plains, the East Alligator floodplain and the stone country of Arnhemland. The cool breeze brought welcome relief as we beheld what is commonly regarded as the best view in Kakadu. Significantly, we have sat in the same place with our children.