After what was probably the best night's sleep on the trip so far, we reluctantly got out of bed, packed up and began the 250km trip to the town of Jabiru located within Kakadu National Park. The road leading there (Arnhem Highway) was pretty good despite being single-laned, albeit there were stretches of roadwork which forced us to stop for a while. At the 150km mark, we entered the park and the scenery alongside the road changed dramatically. We were now driving alongside bright green forests, but just as quickly as the scenery had changed, it was now blackened burnt forests. As we continued to drive, the road up ahead was getting hazier and hazier, with thick plumes of smoke above the trees. Clearly there was a fire ahead. What was I to do? Keep driving? Turn back? There were no warnings or evacuations occurring so I just assumed it was all ok and drove on.
As we drove into the haze, it was like entering another world. The sun was blocked out, and everything was bathed in earthy red tones. Then out of the corner of the windscreen, I saw flecks of red and orange. We had reached the fire! On both sides of the road were little spot fires - we weren't really sure if they were a result of backburning or not, but we couldn't see anyone nearby at all. I continued to drive, all the while expecting there to be a giant wall of fire ahead but alas, nothing dramatic happened. After about 500m or so, we emerged from the haze and back into the bright world of the unburnt. In the end, we concluded that the fires probably start on their own and die on their own - the vegetation here in Kakadu was probably used to the intense heat and fires, and were able to regenerate pretty quickly. But it was a cool experience to drive through a fire per se, and my first thought when the sun was blocked out was "this must have been what the dinosaurs experienced when the meteor hit". Random I know.
Anyways, we reached Jabiru, had a quick bite to eat at the famous Kakadu Bakery (#1 on Urban Spoon in Jabiru...out of 4), got some groceries and were off to Nourlangie (Burrunggul is the correct name in the original language). At this site, there were many rock and cave sites decorated with Aboriginal artworks, many still intense in colour and detail. It's amazing that after all these years, they're still around, perhaps even as vibrant as before. A short climb later, we were enjoying the views from atop Nourlangie. In the distance we could see the smoke. Another fire. No dramas. Just another day in Kakadu apparently.
Turns out sunset at Ubbir was a common thing, there were about 50 other people up there hogging all the spots on the edge. In the end, we jumped down from the edge and enjoyed our own private little area on a lower ledge in front of the rock (we weren't on the top of the rock but at least we were the closest to the sunset and had unimpeded views). The sunset was magnificent. The colours were so vibrant, and I think I actually liked this sunset better than the one at Uluru. We sat and watched the sun slowly set beyond the horizon and then quickly scaled the rocks down, trying to make our way to the bottom before it was too dark to see.
On the drive back to our accommodation, we managed to catch a glimpse of a dingo running alongside the road. Another animal ticked off the list! Our accommodation for the night was at Anbinik, and we had two bush bungalows, nestled in the forestry of the campground. No air con, but the fans were decent. A quick dinner, and then it was off to the pool for a cool night-time dip. Water battles, diving lessons, underwater handstands and chilling ensued. Such a good night.
Our final day on the road. We awoke to screeching noises which turned out to fruit bats perched conveniently in the trees directly above our bungalows. We had another encounter with wildlife when one of the girls found a frog in the toilet. Just casually sitting on the bowl before sliding into the water. It's great living in the bush isn't it?
Our last stop before we left Kakadu was the lookout at Mamaluk, where we saw the birdlife teeming over the wetlands. Signs indicated that there were crocodiles around, but unfortunately we didn't see any. Obligatory photos done, we hopped back into the car and it was back to Darwin.
I'll admit, we didn't really make the most of our time in Darwin, so I think this post will be pretty short. We got in around noon and had lunch on the waterfront lagoon at Chow, a Vietnamese restaurant. It was then off to the beach at Casuarina for a nice stroll before a quick dinner at a famous food van called Jetty and the Fish, famous for their fish tacos. It was now only 6pm and we had until midnight for our flight so we killed some time at the shopping centre and the cinema (like a bunch of high schoolers).
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So that's
another part of the world done (to an extent). I will probably have to make my
way back to Kakadu one day with a 4WD and really see everything. And Darwin
too. But for now, with work and all, it's hard to take too much time off to
travel.
This trip
ended up costing me $1700 for eight days. Here's the rough breakdown:
Flights -
$300
Buses - $50
Accommodation
- $140
Car hire -
$225
National
park fees - $50
Alice to
Darwin tour - $360
Sounds of
Silence dinner - $190
Canoeing -
$40
Eating out -
$60
Groceries/snacks
- $90
Alcohol -
$100
Miscellaneous
- $100
I know it's
not as extensive a cost analysis as the one I did for my last Eurotrip, but it
still gives you a general idea of costs. The NT (more specifically the outback)
is a pretty expensive place, given its remoteness. It's certainly not a cheap
holiday, but I would definitely recommend it. Some of the sights out there are
amazing, and worth the time and effort to go see them.
But for now,
that's another area of Australia ticked off my list, and it's back to work to
save up money (and annual leave) for my next trip!
HBL signing
out from Canberra, ACT.
Previously: From Alice to Darwin, and every disco I get in...
My next My
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