Travel to Australia

Day 22 Kakadu N.P. (158+248 Km.)

Cataratas Jim Jim y Twin Falls: We decided to do without this excursion since people told us that in the dry season there is hardly any water, due to the difficulty of access and due to lack of time. They are at the end of a road for four wheel drive cars of 60 km from the Kakadu Highway. Jim Jim Falls fall from 215 m high and are in their splendor at the beginning of the dry season, just when the road is reopened. Later they have less water and are much less impressive. A 1 km rocky path borders the large lake at the base of the falls. Twin Falls are 10 km from Jim Jim, including the Jim Jim Creek crossing. You have to swim in the monsoon forest ravine for a kilometer (a pneumatic mattress and waterproof containers will help). This little adventure is rewarded by the vision of the Twin Falls, which fall into a lake surrounded by an idyllic sandy beach. You can climb to the top of the waterfall through the great ravine on the right: a difficult climb crowned by an impressive view. Both waterfalls are inaccessible after the first heavy rains.

(43 Km.) Nourlangie Rock: It is the most visited place in the park. It includes the Anbangbang Rock Shelter, where you can see traces of an occupation that dates back 20,000 years. The Anbangbang Gallery represents the figures of Nabulwinjbulwinj, Namarrgon (the lightning man) and his wife Barrkinj. They were actually repainted (a traditional and sometimes ritual practice) between 1963 and 1964 on similar but faded designs. The Nawulandja viewpoint dominates Nourlangie Rock itself, which appears on the Anbangbang Billabong, one of the scenarios used in the movie Crocodile Dundee. During the dry season, a 2.5 km road surrounds this pond where an infinite number of birds live.

(33 Km.) Bowali Visitors Centre: The visitor center is a masterpiece of landscape architecture that should not be missed. There you can get the Visitors' Guide that explains how to make the most of the visit. The Park Notes covers all aspects of the park and is available at the counter. A What's On pamphlet details informative excursions led by a ranger to many places in the park. The visitor center contains an innovative exhibition that leads through the reproduction of different Kakadu habitats, through underground snakes or passing under the belly of a crocodile. A wide variety of videos are also exposed. A café and a gift shop complete the facilities.

(41 Km.) Ubirr: The galleries in the rock of Ubirr show the rich food resources of the swampy lands: fish, lizards, marsupials and the now extinct Tasmanian tigers are represented, as are the stick-shaped Mimi spirits, evil beings that inhabit, they say , in the cracks of the rock. The viewpoint offers one of the most beautiful views of the park (at the last minute people concentrate on this point to watch the sunset), which covers the entire East Alligator River to the rocky outcrops of the Land of Arnhem. You can return by the 6 km long Rockholes Walk, which advances along the East Alligator River. Next to the beginning of the Rockholes Walk, you can start the 90-minute Guluyambi cruise along the East Alligator River. A local aboriginal guide will take you upriver to see the high escarpment and the paintings on the rock.

Up to 5,000 aboriginal art sites cover the walls of the caves and sheltered escarpments of Kakadu, ranging from 30 to over 20,000 years old. Most of them are not accessible to visitors, and many still have spiritual importance for the approximately 300 gagudju and other linguistic groups that live in the park. Although only partially understood, in the best cases, Kakadu rock art offers a fascinating memory of a culture that may have been in the Top End for more than 100,000 years.

(289 Km.) Darwin: From Ubirr we return to Jabiru to sleep, from which place we leave the next day to Darwin to take the plane back home. On the way we made a stop at the Mamukala Observatory, where at dawn you can see many birds. There is also the possibility of visiting the excessively tourist jumping crocodiles located at the exit of the park on the Adelaide River.