Aboriginal Paintings & Cahill's Crossing

An early start today to avoid the worst of the midday heat. Callum cracked the whip and we were packed up and on the road by about 7.30 - these rooftop tents are super easy to set up and pack down.

First stop was the wetlands where we saw a bunch of bird life. No crocs spotted yet, but plenty of warning signs. Next stop was Ubirr, where we went for a pretty chill hike and checked out some Aboriginal rock paintings. Lots of fish, turtles and dingoes were painted, as well as a thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) and a couple of Aboriginal laws and stories. The paintings are all layered on top of each other, with the earliest possibly thousands of years old, while the most recent were painted after European contact. We made our way up to a little lookout point and had a pretty cool view of the wetlands, savannah scrubland, and bush.

Next we popped over to Cahill's Crossing, a tidal river which can be forded by car at midday. This area is famous for seeing large saltwater crocodiles, and within two minutes of arriving we'd spotted two on the mudbanks sunning themselves. The tide was in full flood, and soon the mud banks were underwater. Dozens more crocs floated up the river on the tide, we made sure to stay well away from the river while we had a spot of lunch.

We started making our way to our campsite for the night. A short pit stop at the Aboriginal cultural centre to learn a little bit about the local culture, and Max picked up a painting as a souvenir.

We made camp at Karnamarr campground. There were a few luxury facilities which we took advantage of, including toilets and a shower. Planning to find a spot for a dip tomorrow - hopefully no crocs.Read more