Kakadu, Day 1

I'm going to break up these Kakadu National Park posts into days because we did so much.

We left for Kakadu at 7 AM Saturday morning. Our guide, Darren, pulled up in a Toyota Land Cruiser, and I wrongly assumed that there was a bigger car parked somewhere else for us to take. Apparently, the van we were supposed to take got in an accident with a water buffalo. So the 7 of us climbed into the 8 seater car, with all of the girls in the back. It was a less than comfortable ride.


We drove for about 2 hours until we got to our first stop, Jumping Crocodile Cruises. We boarded the boat and were warmly welcomed by the captain who informed us that if we fell in the river, we would die. I carefully approached the edge when the first croc was spotted. One of the guides dropped in some ribs tied to a string and when the croc got near she would lift it up to make them "jump."

You'll notice that this one doesn't have front legs because crocs tend to be cannibalistic.

After the cruise we had the opportunity to hold an olive python, and it was one of those things where you pretty much have to do it. I mean, when else are you going to be in Australia holding a python?

 That's most definitely a nervous smile.

We all piled back into the car to head to the next stop, which was Ubirr. But before I go over that, I'm going to rattle off some of the wildlife we saw that morning. Crocs (obviously), 2 wallabies (yes, they are adorable), Asian water buffaloes, a jacana bird with its babies (they live on top of the lily pads), kites (another type of bird) and tons of bats (they call them flying foxes here).

Like I said, the next stop was Ubirr, where there was a lot of ancient rock art, or rock culture as our guide Darren would say. It was pretty cool to be in the presence of something that has been around for thousands of years. The reason it's still there is because the Aboriginals painted on sandstone, which is pretty soft, and the pigments seeped into the rocks.

 This is one of their Creation Ancestors, someone they would tell stories about.

We also hiked up to the top of one of the many sandstone outcroppings that dot what is called 'stone country.' The views were amazing, you could see where the stone country stopped and the wetlands began. You could also see into Arnhemland, which is a self-governed Aboriginal territory, where the Australian government has no jurisdiction.

 

 Here I am thinking about how insignificant humans are compared to the vast wilderness...or wondering what's for dinner. 

After our long day we went to our campsite and had a dinner of water buffalo and kangaroo. The kangaroo was surprisingly good, I'm thinking I'll have to find some way to get it back in the states. 

Fun Story: To try and make all of us Americans feel at home at the campground, our summer school director bought supplies for s'mores. However, in Australia they don't have graham crackers or jet-puffed marshmallows. So instead we used two chocolate chip cookies, small marshmallows that are sold as candy, and Cadbury chocolate. The marshmallows didn't toast, so I just ended up eating the chocolate, which is so much better than Hershey's, it's unbelievable. 

It was a valiant effort Aussies, but leave the s'mores making to the Americans.

That pretty much sums up Day 1 in Kakadu. Day 2 coming soon!

-Haley