Australia 2009 | George Filev

Crocodile Rock

20 Apr 2009 11:38 Filed in: Australia 2009
Michael and I decided to holiday in the top end and see what the Northern Territory has to offer. You can't visit Darwin and not notice crocodiles. Over the course of the week we were there, the daily news headlines read, "Man eaten by crocodile", "Hunt for Croc", "Two large Crocs killed", "Darwin to cull Crocs within a 50 km radius of town", "Croc hunters wanted", "You thought the crocs were big, look at the fish (giant Barramundi caught)". There was also this interesting one too, "My dog ate my G-String", which was the talk of the town that day.

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We first visited a friend, Ainsley, who took us fishing on the Mary River. I managed to catch a cat fish and a Tarpon but both aren't the best eating so we released them.

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It was a fun day and let's just say we weren't the only Mary's on the river.

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Since swimming was not advised in that area, we cooled off in Ainsley's pool. VERY NICE !!!!

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Next stop KAKADU, as you do, to check out some paintings that were 20,000 years old.

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The first place we visited was Ubirr and the rock art was spectacular.

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This painting of Mabuyu reminds Traditional Elders to tell a story which warns against stealing. A greedy person stole Mabuyu's catch and in retaliation he killed every man, woman and child of the clan. Think he had a bit of a temper.

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We climbed to the top of Ubirr and got a great view of the flood plains which fill up with water in the wet season.

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We stayed in Coolinda and went on a Yellow Waters Cruise to have a look at the wildlife that migrate and live in the area. Up at dawns crack and it was stunning.

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Saw heaps of birds from all over the world that fly from as far away as Russia to breed here and even got to get close to a wild crocodile.

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The next day we visited Burrunggui (Boo-rong-goi) and Anbangbang (Arn-bang-bang).

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This is Nabulwinjbulwinj (Nar-bul-win-bul-win) who apparently was a dangerous spirit who eats females after striking them with a yam.

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Then there was Namarrgon the Lightning man with axes on his knees to make the thunder.

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Kakadu is an amazing place steeped in aboriginal customs, law, art, life, culture, nature and history. It left me with a profound appreciation for the aboriginal people that have lived in this wild place for thousands of years.

Both Michael and I felt like outsiders, like we were trespassing in the home of others, yet we were still in the country we call home. It was fascinating and educational. Aboriginal people think of the land as their mother or brother so they don't own it, they are part of it and it is part of them.

One of my images of Darwin was to go swimming in a pond under a water fall amongst cliff faces and surrounded by forest. Nearly everyone we talked to advised us not to swim in any river or ocean due to the risks of being eaten or stung. This was disappointing and the urge to jump in a creek on a hot day was overwhelming at times. A chlorinated pool just doesn't cut it.

When we heard that Litchfield Park had swimming holes we jumped at the chance and I got to have my wish fulfilled. On the way we saw magnetic termite mounds. The termites build these homes in alignment with the north / south poles. It's bizarre but has a use in creating less surface area for the sun to heat up the mound.

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The other type of termite mound is called a cathedral mound, for obvious reasons.

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It wasn't long before we found Florence Falls.

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Much to my delight, swimming was permitted here, so I jumped in and swam under the waterfall.

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Heaven,

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Just beautiful, the waterfall isn't bad either.

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We spent that afternoon laying in a crystal clear stream and cooled off with no crocodiles in sight and started to wonder if the danger of crocodile attacks were all hype.

We visited Crocosaurus Park, in the centre of Darwin, to see some BIG crocodiles and find out what all the fuss was about. Here is a cute old fellow called Snowy, an albino crocodile.

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They seem friendly enough. Bert even scratched my back for me.

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We were lucky to arrive at feeding time.

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They look tasty!

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Yes, for a fee of AU$120 and an advance booking of 2 months, you too can get lowered into the pond of a huge crocodile.

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We decided to spend the money on something much more enjoyable.

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If you have thought of going to visit the top end, we say go for it. You won't be disappointed and if the crocodiles don't eat you, you can always eat them.

See you next month in Russia.

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