Day 35 - Kakadu to Garig Gunak Barlu National Park

George, Lexie and I had a swim while Justin and Phoebe finished packing. They joined us for a welcome refresh after the dusty heat of the campsite. I have been surprised at how dry the ground is for such a tropical environment. They run the sprinklers all night here to maintain a semblance of grass covering the earth. Metres away from the waters edge the environment seems dry and harsh to me. We fuelled up and got provisions in Jabiru, as Garig Gunak Barlu NP has no facilities apart from the Ranger Station, toilets and basic showers.

 

Jabiru is a mining town, the entrance has many temporary housing units set up. They look like the office boxes set up at large construction sites. The town is small, and prices are elevated. You can see from the photo above the kind of happening town it is. We posted off half our Winter gear back home as the nights are warmer up here. I hope to never experience the cold like our night in Silverton. Melbourne is warmer at night, possibly Hobart as well.

 

We headed for the infamous Cahill's Crossing at East Alligator River, subject to tides even though it is 50 km inland, thereabouts. These affect the height of the river. As does the wet season of course. You also have the flow of the river out to sea to contend with. We are fortunate as at this time of year it is late in the dry season, therefore the water level is low and we can cross at any time . Otherwise you can wait a half day for low tide before you can cross. Nevertheless we had a look at what we were up against before lining up to cross. Note in the photo above, again, the decoy fisherman placed for your safety. And true to the YouTube clip we looked at from the safety of Melbourne, there were crocs in full view, on the bank and in the water. No pressure getting us across Juz!

 

In Melbourne Justin organised the special permit to travel through Arnem Land. You aren't allowed to stop on their roads unless for emergency. We forgot to lower the tyre pressures, so we categorised that as an emergency. Three cars passed us at that time, but no one stopped to check our permit or what the emergency was. The land through here is a bit dry and wooded. We saw the below creek, it seems more beautiful because of the temperature drop and the contrast to the rest of the landscape.

 

There was the odd wrecked car along the way. This car had a note on its steering wheel. "This car will be towed 17th August". It had the owners names and a mobile number as well. Because it is so remote hadn't been stripped. There was even a spare wheel in the back still. We're not sure what went wrong with the tow, as that date has passed.

 

 

We arrived about 7.30pm, and left a note for the Ranger that we would be in campground 2. We then proceeded to find the campsite furthest from the swamp visible. We had eaten enough during the trip so the girls had another biscuit then got ready for bed. Justin and I weren't far behind them, driving can be exhausting.

Posted with Blogsy