Kakadu National Park
During our trip to the Northern Territory, we visited the Kakadu National Park driving first to the Jabiru region. The park covers nearly 20,000 square kilometres and is a UNESCO cultural heritage. In the language of the Aboriginal people, it is called Gagadju. We first stopped at the Fogg Dam Conservation Area where we were not allowed to walk on the dam due to the danger of saltwater crocodiles.
But, we observed Black-necked Storks with 2 metres wingspan and Straw-necked Ibis with up to 75 cm size.
I let me drone fly to get some nice aerial shots.
Afterwards, we went to the crocodile feeding tour with jumping crocodiles. We learned that the crocs have a heart with four chambers, so they can never bleed to death. If a crocodile gets his arm or leg bitten off by another croc, he’ll just shut off that chamber, go somewhere quiet and secluded and simply wait for it to heal over. Crocs can survive for up to 12 months without food! It’s almost impossible for them to catch or get an infection even if they do graze their knee and then get a bit of dirt in it. They never stop growing; as they get older they just keep on getting bigger. When they snap those jaws that’s two and a half tons of pressure striking!
Then, we bought some dinner for a picnic and Ubirr Rock at sunset. The park has a lot of aboriginal art, but as it was getting dark, we could not enjoy these paintings.
In Jabiru we stayed in the Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel that is built in the shape of crocodile.
On the next day, we started to explore the Aboriginal heritage. Kakadu contains one of the greatest concentrations of rock art sites in the world and constitutes one of the longest historical records of any group of people. Archaeological excavations in the Park have revealed some of the oldest occupation sites in found in Australia dated at 50,000 years old. We visited some of this great aboriginal art at Nourlangie Park. The actual name is “Burrunggui” and “Anbangbang”. A sign describes that the aboriginal people live privately elsewhere in the park and leave this place for visitors to see now.
After enjoying a tasting plate with Buffalo terrine, picked Crocodile, Emu pate, smoked Kangaroo, Buffalo mozzarella, Davidson plum pickle, muntries chutney and damper at the Kakadu Lodge Cooinda....
... we enjoyed a walk near the edge of the one of the waterways hoping that the crocodiles are unaware of us eating one of their buddies only an hour earlier.
We stayed overnight at the Kakadu Lodge Cooinda where we saw a snake near one of the cabins and a gecko running up and down the door or our room.
Next morning, I flew the drone ...
... and took some aerial shots of Jim Jim Creek in the early morning light.
Then, we participated in a flatboat cruise from Yellow Waters Cruises on the South Alligator River near Yellow Water.
We saw birds like the Rainbow Bee-Eater, Swifer, Snake neck bird, Purple swamp hen, Sacred kingfisher, Blackneck stork, jabiru and many crocodiles.
One of the crocs was hunting fishes in the shallow waters of the swamps. We learned that there are three native species of bamboo in Australia.
More pictures here.