About 100km north of Katherine on the Stuart Highway we drove into Pine Creek, an old mining town. We had morning tea at the lovely water gardens in the centre of the town. This old butcher shop was transported to the town by its Chinese owner because no building materials were available locally.
At Pine Creek we turned right onto the Kakadu Highway and proceeded north-easterly and into the Kakadu National Park. In 1996 the Jawoyn people were granted ownership of the land and they leased it to the Australian Government. The Kakadu National Park and World Heritage Site was created. We stopped briefly at an unmanned ranger station near the entrance to the park where we picked up some maps and information about the free ranger talks which are a feature of this park.
We set up camp at the Mardugal Campground near Cooinda and started exploring.
Our first stop was the Gagadju Resort at Cooinda where we purchased our Park Passes, $25 each, valid for 14 days. Then it was on to the nearby Warradjan Cultural Centre where we learned about the peoples indigenous to the area. This calendar explains the six seasons of the area. We are in the hot, dry, Gurrung season.
The next morning we embarked on our first ranger talk and walk with Annie at Nourlangie Rock. There are a number of reasons to visit Kakdu - birdlife, crocodiles, aboriginal culture, magnificent scenery and aboriginal rock art, to mention a few. This talk took us to two of the Nourlangie rock art sites and also to a shelter where people lived for periods up to 50,000 years ago. We could see where the rocks had been worn by grinding stones.
Some of the rock art is new and some is old. Culturally it is not acceptable to "touch up" someone else's art work, but it is OK to paint over exiting paintings so much of the art work is "layered".
After our 2 hour walk, we called in at Jim Jim Billabong on our way back to camp for lunch.
In the afternoon we drove the 40km north to Jabiru, the nearest township. Within Kakadu is some of the world's richest uranium ore and it's mined here at the Ranger Uranium Mine. Just before we came to Jabiru, we stopped at the Bowali Ranger Station. This is where the Park Headquarters are, and there's a good display about the park and its history as well as a bookshop and cafe. The geiger counter next to this lump of uranium ore was ticking furiously.
We spent Saturday morning cruising the Yellow Waters from Cooinda. We cruised the South Alligator River. The three main rivers are the South, East and West Alligator Rivers. Ironically named because there are no alligators here - only crocodiles.
We saw plenty of birdlife as we slowly cruised along. Birds are not the favourite food of crocodiles so they live fairly close together in a sort of harmony. The crocodiles prefer to eat fish and mammals - they can't digest feathers so get the equivalent to a cat's fur ball, only it's a feather ball.
Whistling ducks were around in great numbers. These migratory birds come to Kakadu in the dry season to mate and nest. They don't quack like other duck, but they do whistle. It's been estimated that at least 4.5million of these ducks come to Kakadu each year.
There are plenty of red lotus lining the waterways. They are not native and the seeds are bought by the birds. In the wet season, the plants die by drowning so they never become a nuisance.
One of the reasons people come to Kakdu s to see salt water crocodiles in their natural environment and we've certainly seen plenty. We were under strict instructions to keep all body parts well inside our boat - and we complied.
We saw about 25 different crocodiles on our 2 hour cruise, although it's been estimated that there are about 25 per square kilometre in the rivers and billabongs so there were plenty that we didn't see!
Later in the afternoon we drove back to the Nourlangie area, this time to Nawurlandja for another ranger talk and walk with Annie.
After a walk to the Anbangbang Billabong and a talk about bush medicine, we climbed to the top of the Nawurlandja rock to see the sunset. We heard that bush medicines appear at the time they are needed. So if it's the season for infections, parasites, allergies etc, the correct remedy will be available.
At the top of the rock we sat quietly and watched the sunset. Then we walked back to the car park before the mosquitoes emerged.
After 3 nights at Mardugal Campground, we packed up and drove 80km north to Merl Campground in the Ubirr region. This region is where Kakadu borders with Arnhem Land. Arnhem Land is almost entirely owned by traditional owners and permits are required to travel and camp there.
The landscape here is quite different to that we've been in. It's more humid as it's closer to the coast. It's also more rugged with many ancient rocky outcrops. The sandstone here is some of the oldest on the planet, having been laid down before there was any life on earth.
There are also plenty of mosquitoes! We had been warned so we were well armed with plenty of repellent.
The ranger talks in this area are given by indigenous Njanjma rangers. Our outing took us to the art sites at Ubirr Rock and our guide told us several stories about the paintings and the area. Paintings can be made for many reasons. To illustrate a story, to give information, or for any special reason.
The scenery we walked through had us taking many photos. All of the floodplains in the area are under water during the wet season. It's easy to see where the floodplains end - it's where the trees are in the distance.
Back at the Border Store - the only place to be, known for it's Thai restaurant, we waited for a demonstration of weaving to be given by some aboriginal women.
Before the demonstration, Anita prepared some bark which would be used by one of her sons to paint on. First she stripped the bark and then she flattened it by placing it on a fire until it opened up. When it opened up enough she placed it on the ground under a big, flat rock to cool. We found out that the women knew the artist of our bark painting (which we've had for over 40 years) before he died. We only knew that he came from Arnhem Land so it was a thrill to meet someone who knew him.
Then we watched as the women stripped and "delaminated" pandanus leaves. Like most things, it's not as easy as it looks and despite many attempts few were able to peel away the thick spiky layer from the leaves. The women were doing it at a rapid rate - something they learned to do as young girls. 
Roots were pounded to make a yellow dye and leaves and fruits were used to make green, red and black dyes. The dyed pandanus leaves were strung up on a tree to dry out. They would be wet with water later to become pliable for weaving. Unfortunately we didn't see any weaving as it was getting late, but at least we saw how the pandanus was prepared.
One of the things to see here is the crocodiles fishing at high tide at Cahills Crossing. The crossing is a causeway from Kakadu to Arnhem Land. The East Alligator River is tidal here and at high tide the water rushes upstream over the causeway. Crocodiles surf over the roadway as they move upstream ready to catch barramundi which travel upstream with the tide.
On the upstream side, crocodiles cruise around with their front legs held out to maximise their sensory perception of the fish. We saw several crocodiles catch fish and we were amused by their "hands" sticking out of the water at the end of their outstretched arms. When the tide turned, the crocs surfed back downstream. We had a very entertaining couple of hours as we picnicked nearby and watched from the lookout.
While this was all going on, the traffic continued through the crossing!
We've had a fantastic 6 days in Kakadu and it's definitely on our list of "places to come back to". Today we've driven almost 300km - a long way for us - to Berry Springs, about 30 minutes south of Darwin. We'll be here for a week.
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