Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks.

Rather than go on a tour to Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks we decided to drive ourselves as they are on the way back down to Katherine. The only problem is that they are nearly opposite each other and it meant driving up and down the same road a couple of times. We decided to do Kakadu first which with hindsight was probably not a good idea as it meant more driving up and down the same road than if we’d gone to Litchfield first.

After passing Humpty Doo our first stop was at Adelaide River Crossing where we joined a Jumping Crocs cruise. There was only one other couple on the boat so it was quite personal. We hadn’t even left the jetty when the first saltie (salt water crocodile) was spotted. Apparently he turned up a few months ago and has made himself at home. Of course it does help that he is enticed to stay by being offered a bit of buffalo meat dangled on a string over the side of the boat to encourage him to jump out of the water. You would think that he had been trained as he performed on cue every time. We left him in peace and went off down stream in search of more crocs. And more we found and each time they were persuaded to jump for their dinner. They were also joined by sea eagles and whistling kites that were also quite happy to swoop over and grab a bit of meat given the chance. I would also tell you about the huge cobwebs and spiders at the side of the riverbank but I had my eyes closed at that point. We journeyed on and stopped for the night at Jabiru to plan what to see and when.

Our first stop the next morning was at Ubirr where there are a lot of Aboriginal rock paintings and a look out over the wetlands of Kakadu. We then went on to the Ranger Uranium Mine which seems at odds with being in the middle of national park. And then on to Nourlangie Rock for some more rock art and another lookout over the rock itself. We couldn’t visit Jim Jim Falls or Twin Falls as we do not have a 4WD so will have to save them for when we come back. The following morning we were bright and early for a cruise on Yellow Waters where again we saw salties but these were bigger and left to cruise up and down the river as nature intended. The bird life was amazing including sea eagles, whistling kites, jabirus, egrets, kingfishers, herons and darters.

We left Kakadu and then headed back up the Stuart Highway to Litchfield. Litchfield is much smaller than Kakadu and is easily visited in one day and most things are on sealed roads. Litchfield consists of gorges, swimming holes and waterfalls and no crocs so it is safe to swim. Considering that the swimming pools here are usually warm it was nice to get into some cold water for a change.