Home Billabong & Yellow Waters Kakadu

Arriving at Cooinda we organised a site for the night, booked a cruise on Yellow Waters and discovered that we could do a second cruise for $10. We jumped at this offer and so spent 4 wonderful hours experiencing both Sunset & Sunrise over Yellow Waters in Kakadu. There really are no words to describe the beauty of this place. Words do not do it justice. Beautiful, Majestic, Serene, Spectacular, Magical all only paint a very small part of the picture that is Kakadu.

Last time we were here the cruise left from Yellow Waters but with the water covering many acres of ground we had previously walked on it now left from Home Billabong just a five minute walk from our campsite. This means that you are cruising for a half an hour longer along Jim Jim Creek through an area of Mangrove forests that are just beautiful. The cruise takes you through an area the local people call Dingo Dreaming before you then go out into the South Alligator River. Here you look across the floodplains for as far as the eye can see and all around are birds and of course the star of the show - the Crocodile. We saw one at night and 3 of these fearsome creatures during the morning cruise.

A lot of the area you pass looks like the floodplains but is in fact floating grass. The roots of this grass can be up to 6 ft long and as the water deepens the grass appears to float on top. It is so thick and looks just like dry land and our guides told us some stories of how people have come to grief thinking just that. Another floating plant that looks amazing but is in fact a noxious weed is Salvinia. This is a free floating fern that can eventually choke waterways. It floats on still or slow-moving water and can grow rapidly to cover the entire water surface with a thick mat of vegetation. This shades out any submerged plant life and impedes oxygen exchange, driving out fish and other animals. Even a tiny fragment of the plant left behind can regrow and rapidly cause a major infestation under the right conditions. While on one hand it is chocking the waterways on the other it is providing homes for the Comb Crested Jacana known as the Jesus Bird as it looks like it walks on water. We found a family of these birds out on the South Alligator River, Dad was looking after 3 chicks and they were so cute. Still the spread of this weed is trying to be halted and hopefully it can be controlled in the future. During our sunset cruise we saw two Golden Tree snakes, a majestic White Bellied Sea Eagle, numerous kites, Great Egrets, 3 beautiful Sacred Kingfishers and lots of smaller birds. The little Flycatchers are just so cute. They look just like a Willy Wagtail but without the white eyebrows. The ladies are a beautiful rust colour and look lovely. Once home again we had dinner in the bar and I have to say the Barramundi was just delicious. The insects that we kept having to combat were not and it was a pleasure to get back inside that night.

An early start next morning for the Sunrise cruise was easy to do when you know how beautiful the destination is. It was so nice to be cool before the heat & the humidity had arrived as well. Like the night before the cruise was just magical and we were greeted by a hive of activity as the wetlands & floodplains came alive with birds. Flocks of Magpie Geese all arriving back from their winter homes were very noisy and they do look very strange sitting on trees. Not sure how they hang on with their webbed feet but they seem to manage OK. Spangled Drongos in the treetops and the pair of White Bellied Sea Eagles were just magnificent as they sat side by side as we cruised past. Egrets of all types were most prolific and the Flycatchers, Crimson finches, the very colourful Bee Eaters & Willy Wagtails were very busy as they hunted insects for breakfast. Another visit to see the baby Jacanas before it was time to turn around and head back to home billabong. And of course seeing the 3 crocodiles completed the Kakadu experience for many. It is amazing how quickly 2 hours can fly by when there is so much to see.

And the excitement didn't end with the mooring of the boat. We were visited at breakfast by 2 more Great Bower birds. Seems like they are following us. Bill took a walk with a local guide and found their bower a few hundred metres from the park. All to soon it was time to pack up and leave this wonderful little corner of Australia and it was as we were leaving that we had another adventure. Bill had left his thongs outside the van before getting in on the other side thereby leaving them at the campsite as we drove off. As our first stop was at the shop still in the grounds this was discovered very quickly and we returned to find just one thong sitting where two had been. A quick look around soon showed us that the little dingo pup we had seen the night before had absconded with the other one. Bill set about on a rescue mission for his thong and after a few minutes was successful but not before the dingo had chewed the toe from his prize. Still a chewed thong was better than none and 'the dingo's got my thong' story will keep us amused for a while.

We left Cooinda and drove straight back to Pine Creek where we stopped for lunch. One last look for those pesky parrots proved fruitless and as we had 'done' Pine Creek twice we decided we would keep going and stay at Hayes Creek. This is just a dot on the map with the one building incorporating the Pub/Petrol Station/Restaurant & accommodation. The C'van park is at the bottom of a hill below this building and we were the only people here. No worries about queueing for the shower. We had a great night with dinner at the pub with a couple of the locals making it a night we will not forget in a hurry. And still that Great Bower bird seemed to follow us again. The first thing we saw on setting up the van was another pair. They are lovely birds and fun to watch. It was a bit hard to leave this peacful place the next morning.

Still more miles to travel...........