Map of the Northern Territory
Australian Walkabout |
Last modified January 5th 2001
At the Barkly Roadhouse campsite we meet three
Israelis (Aya, Maya and Tal) who we will keep
bumping into across the Northern Territory over
the next few weeks.
Not much vegetation in sight as we enter the
Northern Territory.
Olympic News: The 1500m men's freestyle swimming has the entire country enthralled as Kieran Perkins attempt to win gold in this event for the third Olympics in a row, but is up against young pretender Grant Hackett who happens to be reigning world champion. The nations cup of joy overfloweth as they come first and second, with Hackett edging out the old fox for gold.
The Greyhound bus reunites Rory and his shellite
stove, so he can continue to work culinary
miracles.
'Rory the Geologist' in ecstasy beside a 'bogger' at
Battery Hill mine in Tennant Creek, NT
A small termite mound.
'Rory the Mutant' in the crystal-clear waters of
Mataranka Thermal Springs; a refreshing oasis
after 800km of hot and dusty driving.
Olympics News: For many Australians this is the best evening of the Olympics as Kathy Freeman runs in the 400m final. There has been saturation coverage of her since she lit the Olympic flame on opening night and since her French rival, Jose Marie Perec, fled the country unable to stand the pressure. Freeman does indeed triumph and holds the stadium crowd of one hundred and ten thousand in her hand as she does a lap of honour with the Australian and Aboriginal flags.
As we drive into the park on dirt roads, Reynard
slams on the brakes, does a U-turn, leaps from the
vehicle and runs into the woods, all without
explanation. We see him creep slowly up to a tree,
then grab suddenly at something. He returns to our
group with his prize of a fierce looking and angry
frilled neck lizard. It is a fantastic sight; Rory
and I later see a sign warning against forest
fires, with the slogan 'We like our lizards
frilled, not grilled'.
Frilled neck lizard puts on a good show at looking
scary in Kakadu National Park.
The main destination within the park today is
'Barramundi Gorge' named after the Territory's
favourite sporting fish. Here we frolic in the
cool waters under cataracts, plunge into dark
and mysterious pools and swim through underground
tunnels. I would happily leave the last activity
to braver souls like Rory the water baby, but
surrender to the general enthusiasm and enjoy it
anyway.
A blur of motion as 'Rory drops in' to the pit of
darkness, only to emerge moments later after
swimming through underwater channel.
It's not all fun. Some tough climbing required to
get to top of Twin Falls.
Babbling water of Twin Falls tumble over the edge
en route to verdant pool below.
The lush Twin Falls valley. We swim 800 metres of
this river to get to base of falls.
Reynard the guide challenges Rory and Manfred, the
thinnest members of our troupe, to slide down
through a narrow crack in the rock to a narrow
stream below. The space is so narrow that Manfred
cannot even turn his head, but amazingly they both
squeeze through and are exhilarated to have done
so.
'The Human Ferret' Somerset gets into a tight
squeeze at top of Twin Falls.
'Freddie Kruger' poses in front of Kakadu plain and
Arnhemland plateau.
After lunch we get a more intimate view of the
Twin Falls Gorge as we swim 800 metres upriver to
get to the base of the falls, with its immaculate
sandy beach. It is vaguely unsettling to see
crocodile traps in the river, but thankfully there
is no sign of the snappers themselves.
Dave, Manfred, Rory, Mike and Claire escape the
sun at base of Twin Falls.
Next we drive to Ubirr Rock which is a prime sight
for Aboriginal rock painting, both ancient and
modern. From the top of the rock there is a fine
view across the river floodplains below.
Aboriginal fish painting at Ubirr Rock.
Getting smellier by the day, the adventurers
pose on Ubirr Rock.
Kakadu is also famous for it's crocodiles, and this afternoon we get very very close to them. Unlike the popular cruises on large boats, we get dispatched on the Mary River in groups of three people per small aluminium boat. There are very large crocodiles resting on the bank, and Reynard encourages us to pull the boats right up to the edge where you can almost feel the crocodile's breath.
Rory, Manfred and I take turns at the helm of our
craft as we zoom along the lily-strewn waterway.
During my stint at the controls I manage to hit a
croc who has just dived off the bank in front of
the boat; that is as close to a crocodile as I
ever wish to get, thank you very much.
Getting close to nature on the Mary River. The
crocodile looks more scared than Claire does.
Crocodile Somerset shows no fear.
Pirate Pat endangers another boatload of
innocents. Within minutes of this shot I crash into
a swimming crocodile !
Survived! The Kakadu Nine survive the crocodile
trip as the sun sets on another perfect day.
The long drive back to Darwin is marked by some surreal events. Firstly, we manage to hit a real live kangaroo which hopped out in front of the jeep. Reynard walks back in the darkness to check if the animal is dead and to clear the corpse off the road. Later, Reynard does another dramatic U-turn in the jeep to investigate something that his eagle eyes have seen on the road, which turn out to be some videos which he might not want to watch with his mother! Later he spots a the glowing eyes of a little dingo pup by the side of the road, slams on the brakes, jumps from the jeep and gives chase through the bushes in his bare feet, in the dark. The snarling pup evades his grasp, and his mother will have to wait a while longer for her chosen pet. There was no doubting that our guide was close to nature!
Sydney's seventeen days as the centre of world attention come to an end today with the Olympics Closing Ceremony. Most Aussies seem thrilled with the way everything has gone so well despite all the gloomy predictions which preceded the event. I feel vindicated at the very end when my hero Slim Dusty gets to sing Waltzing Mathilda and bid the world goodbye.