Kakadu to Darwin

The name, Kakadu, comes from the mispronunciation of "Gagudju" which is the name of an Aboriginal language spoken in the northern part of the Park.

On our first full day in Cooinda, (this is an Aboriginal word meaning 'happy place' (cooinda.net.au), we had booked on the Yellow Waters Cruise which was excellent, with our knowledgeable guide, Dennis, making it all the more enjoyable. If I listed everything that we saw, I would need another book, let alone a blog. I hope our pictures will tell the story. Dennis was part Aboriginal and part New Zealander so had some interesting and amusing views which he shared with us.

Sunrise over the South Alligator River

Saltwater Crocodile

Pandanus palms and a similar cruise boat to ours

Nankeen Night Heron and Plumed Whistling Ducks (well-named!)

Water lily and crocodile nest

White-bellied Sea-eagle

Comb-crested Jacana and chicks

Australasian Darter perched and in the act of diving

Magpie Goose on nest

Freshwater Crocodile

Forest Kingfisher

Australian Pelican on approach and splashdown

We returned from the cruise for an excellent breakfast (included in the cruise package) and then, with the company of a Gilbert's Dragon, relaxed for the rest of the morning before taking a drive out to Nourlangie where we saw some fascinating Aboriginal rock art. According to Wikipedia, "Europeans were first in the area of Noulangie Rock in about 1845, after Ludwig Leichhardt’s explorations passed through the area. By the 1880s, European buffalo and buffalo shooters had moved into the area, and local Traditional Owners joined their shooting parties. Traditional Owners told the buffalo shooters about the Dreaming stories at Burrungui and the many names of all the natural features of the landscapes. Chaloupka argues that the Europeans couldn’t remember all of the names, and called ‘Nourlangie’, a confused pronunciation of the name of the area generally called ‘Nawulandja’". This is the first I have heard of European buffalo in Australia but who am I to doubt Wikipedia?!

Gilbert's Dragon

Two styles of kangaroo paintings

Paintings to illustrate a story and information board about this story

A strange figure and a basic figure with hand stencil

Both that afternoon and the following morning (after sharing our breakfast with a Pied Heron) we visited Anbangbang Billabong, near Nourlangie, as this had been recommended as a good place for birds. There was a good variety of waterbirds but had great difficulty with the light at the times of our visits.

Anbangbang Billabong

Wandering Whistling Ducks and Magpie Geese

You have been warned!

We moved on a short distance to stay at Jabiru from where we visited Mamukala Wetlands which was a great area for both birds and butterflies.

Monarch butterflies

Black and White Tiger butterflies

Fruit of pandanus palm

Intermediate Egret

Comb-crested Jacana chick

Peaceful Dove

Jabiru is named after the stork which is common in the area but the name originates from a similar South American bird. The South American stork has an inflatable neck bladder, unlike its Australian counterpart and its Brazilian name means 'blown out with with the wind', referring to this inflatable bladder!

On our last afternoon in Kakadu, we drove to Ubirr where there were some very different and interesting examples of Aboriginal art. We climbed to the top (almost!) of the rock from where we had sweeping views over the Nadab floodplain. The sunset would have been magnificent from there but we felt that we should do the rock scramble down while it was still light.

Interesting depiction of a person - hunting?

Various fishes - very detailed

Steve looking up at some of the paintings

A Lined Fire-tailed Skink

Thought to depict a Thylacine (Tasmanina Tiger, now extinct)

Mimi figures - some Aborigines believe these Mimi people pulled the roof of the cave down, painted their pictures and then put the rock back in place

Steve looking out over the Nadab floodplain

The Sun getting lower through smoky haze

Judith wondering what Steve is up to!

Generally, I have been able to find the meanings of place names but most of the places mentioned above seem to be just the names of places with no apparent meaning. I am sure there are Aborigines who could explain a meaning but even one official site was even now, still seeking a meaning for the name Mamukala.

On our way to Darwin (253km plus our detours), we stopped again at Mamukala and were again rewarded with good sightings, including a Brown Goshawk perched above the car park, devouring a lizard of some sort.

Our cabin at Jabiru in Kakadu

Intermediate Egret

Blue water lily

Comb-crested Jacana

Brown Falcon ripping into its prey

Brown Falcon - replete!

A short way along the road, we spotted a very scrawny Dingo - our first ever sighting.

We stopped again at South Alligator River where we had a coffee break while admiring a couple of Osprey. Not much further on (we do travel slowly when we can!), we stopped at some wetlands which were teeming with water birds of various sorts.

Black-winged Stilt

Pied Heron

Not far from the park entrance, there was a sign to the Window on the Wetlands Centre, on the Adelaide River. Here we had to walk up a steep ascent (no wheelchair access here!) to the centre which was very interesting but, cruelly, their ice cream kiosk was unmanned! The temptation to take one and leave the cash was great but we were brave and made do with water!

We then drove on and stopped at Fogg Dam which is a wonderful place for birds, not far from Darwin. Having enjoyed the open wetlands areas, we decided to take a short walk (time was running away from us) in the monsoon forest. Other than huge spiders and squadrons of mossies, we were not as well rewarded here and we hoped to return at a better time of day. Sadly, the return visit was not possible.

Black Kite with prey

Ibis and Egrets take to the air

Intermediate Egret thinking it is a Jacana!

Jabiru strolling by in stately fashion

White-bellied Sea-eagle in flight

Boardwalk through part of the monsoon forest area

Golden Orb Spider

White-breasted Gerygone

We found Big 4 Howard Springs Holiday Park on the southern outskirts of the city, where we had a very comfortable cabin.

Parked outside the cabin

As our laptop had again be playing up, we decided to play safe and get a backup/replacement, so some time was taken finding a computer shop and then looking at the various options. In the end, we bought a neat little Acer which was exactly what we wanted in 2017 - it is smaller than our Dell, has masses more disk space and all the USB ports we needed - progress! As the Dell is limping along, Judith has laid claim to the Acer.

Having sorted our computer needs out, we then visited the Howard Springs Nature Reserve which is a lovely place just down the track from where we are staying. The main pool has a variety of, mainly quite large, fish and some turtles and then there are various walks into the forest area. A really great place for families to bring kids to play and for adults to generally unwind.

As the day was running out, we then drove into Darwin to take sunsets from the Esplanade before enjoying a meal of threadfish salmon - we had never heard of this before but it was delicious.

The "Streeter" crossing the bay as the sun lowers

Sunset from the Esplanade

Sunset from the Esplanade

Darwin, or more correctly Port Darwin, was named by Captain J.C. Wickham, when he was exploring the coast in 1839 aboard the HMS Beagle, after Charles Darwin who had sailed on the HMS Beagle earlier. The name was changed in 1869 to Palmerston but then changed back to Darwin in 1911 (Aussie Towns).

We had, as usual, not allowed enough time in Darwin and most of the last day there was spent visiting the excellent Military Museum. A fairly small but very good indoor exhibition and extensive grounds with outdoor exhibits of vehicles and some of the huge guns used for Darwin's defence as well as other buildings containing artefacts from various wars.

Parked in one place too long?

One of the defences for Darwin

The day was slightly marred by the beginnings of a bout of gastro-enteritis but we went towards Mindil Beach but it seems there was an event on so other than Judith having to undergo a Random Breath Test, we didn't even get close. Instead, we chose to go to the Waterfront which is a very smart area now. A Japanese four-master was in dock, we spotted a few interesting birds and the whole place looked great for drinking, dining, swimming and generally having fun. This, all too soon, brought our visit to Darwin to a close.

Japanese four-master in port

Some of the new apartments by the water

Fun and games in the large swimming area by the apartments

Wind-ruffled woodswallows

Having arrived in Darwin, we have reached the end of the part of our trip following Stuart and the following describes his coverage of this last stretch and the aftermath - Stuart and his party continued north carefully and Stuart named the Strangeways River before reaching the Roper River which had been discovered by Ludwig Leichardt. He was again in known territory and set his sights on reaching the Adelaide Rivers, some 320km northwest. On the way he named tributaries of this river, Priscilla Creek, Elle Creek and Anna Creek. Further on they were following Thring Creek when he realised that
they had reached the Indian Ocean. It is hardly surprising that the highway from Port August to Darwin is called the Stuart Highway. The Overland Telegraph was in due course constructed. Stuart was awarded £2,000 for opening the overland route and other members of his party were rewarded for their efforts. Not long after Stuart's return, Chambers died and Finke was ill. Stuart's hair had turned white, he was almost blind and his health had been severely affected. He returned to his native Scotland, to his sister and they both moved to London. In 1858 the Royal Geographical Society had awarded him a gold watch in recognition of his achievements and in 1860 the Society awarded him the Patron's medal (before him, only David
Livingstone had twice been honoured by the Society).