Driving to Kakadu

The boys spent most of the morning fixing a problem with Jon's camper van so we didn't head off till about 11am. We started in the same direction the Litchfield tour did so we spent some time filling Jon in on some of the things we had learned as we went. As we got close to Kakadu we stopped at a Cathedral Termite mound for another look and quizzed the girls on what they could remember about the termites.

The landscape here is basically palms and trees. In places you can see where the cold fires have been, if not the ground is thick with grasses. All the trees are bent and twisted. You rarely see a straight branch.

As we got close to Jibru we turned off onto the Kakadu Highway and went to the Bowali Visitors Centre. It has a lot of potential and was clearly very good when it first opened but it is quite run down with some buildings and displays closed for repairs and appear to have been that way for a long time. What was open was interesting and informative. We got our Kakadu Park Pass ($100 per family, $40 per adult) and kept heading towards Cooinda.

After one more stop, we arrived at Cooinda around 4pm and set up in the 37 degree heat. It didn't take long for the girls to find the pool! Dinner ended up being cheese and biscuits while we tried to decide what to do over the next three days. Through the evening we've seen a Dingo, birds, hopping mouse and a snake which Paige saw on the road then Jon saw someone drive up, pick it up and drive away so we're assuming it wasn't dangerous!

Kakadu is somewhere I've always wanted to see but assumed I never would. Just being here is amazing!!Read more