Kakadu Day 1 & 2

We packed up our Darwin site (again), and after a stopover at the shopping centre to visit the post office and grab a few essentials, we were on our way to Kakadu! We'd read a lot about whether it was actually worth a visit, with some saying Kakadon't - too many things closed, not worth it, Litchfield is better with young kids - but we didn't want to miss checking out this icon. It has not disappointed! We've seen spectacular views and so much native animal and birdlife, it's crazy to think people with ample time doing a lap of Aus drive right on by.

By the time we arrived in the afternoon on Friday we were seeing the signs of sickness in the kids, with runny noses and stray sneezes the giveaway. We set up camp at the Aurora resort in Jabiru, then headed about 30mins north to try our luck croc spotting at Cahill's crossing, known to some as the 'most dangerous crossing in the world' - for one, if the tidal river is high and quickly flowing your 4wd car can be washed away into the river pretty easily when crossing back and forth, and secondly, if you are washed into the river you truly are in trouble as the dozens of saltwater crocs milling about catching fish will think you're the catch of the day. Alas it wasn't nearly so dramatic when we visited, because although we'd timed it to be there for high tide when the fish (and crocs) are most active, the tide was relatively low at about 4m - the real feeding frenzies happen when the high tide gets to 6m or more. We still saw a handful of crocs floating up and down the river, and some 4wds crossing the weir, so definitely worth the trip.

Saturday both kids were pretty miserable, and I was feeling a bit under the weather by this point also (Ben's immune system was impervious as usual), so we had a slow day. I visited the info centre to confirm what was open and accessible as there's been a lot of closures for various reasons in recent years. I also spoke with the ranger about the weather, as rain was predicted for early next week, and she assures me there was no chance...

I also ducked into the supermarket to get 80% DEET insect repellant, mozzie coils and stingoes, as the last few days I'd fallen prey to dozens of mozzie (or maybe midge) bites which had become swollen and oh so painfully itchy.

Kangaroo burgers for lunch at the van, then the afternoon was spent lazing about by the pool, with plenty of other kids around to keep Eva and Millie engaged.Baca lagi