Bird Watching & Ubirr, An Ancient Land

Today we are exploring the East Alligator River and heading to Ubirr for sunset. It’s a long day until sunset so Jen makes fried Haloumi Cheese with smashed avocado, bacon and cherry tomatoes on sourdough toast for breakfast. That will keep us going.

We start the day at Bowali Visitor Centre to explore Aboriginal culture and the diversity of Kakadu National Park. What did we learn?

Well the indigenous folk call themselves Gukberlerri (Aboriginal People) and they call us white folk Guhelbe (Non Aboriginal People).

There are six local Gundjeihmi seasons;
1. Gudjewg (Monsoon) Dec to Mar
2. Banggerreng (Harvest time) Apr
3. Yegge (Cooler but still humid) May to Jun
4. Wurrgeng (Cool dry season) Jun to Aug
5. Gurrung (Hot dry time) Aug to Oct
6. Gunumeling (Pre monsoon) Oct to Dec

So that puts us in Wurrgeng, the cool dry season when most creeks stop flowing, the Floodplains dry out and birds of prey like the Black Kite patrol fire lines, swooping for wildlife.

Also we found out that Kakadu surrounds a rich uranium site and by coincidence... the Aboriginals call this area Buladjang or “sickness country”.

Next we visit Mamukala Wetlands for a spot of bird watching. It’s an all weather sport up here and today it’s hot and dry. Camera at the ready, we follow a 3km walk close to the wetlands. I hear plenty but only spot 2 birds. The photo of the little blue and yellow bird is my shot of the day. Can anyone name the bird?

It’s a bit like when we lived in Lennox Gardens in London and our park always had birds tweeting but we never saw them. Those surround sound speakers are so realistic these days and they must deploy them in numbers on this bird watching tour. Truth be known, we are a bit late, it’s 9.30am already and the early bird catches the worm.

The drive into Ubirr is about 40km. I did it back in 1990 as a backpacker and with little money to spare, I stood on the corner of the then dirt track and a group of Aboriginal men stopped in a Ute vehicle and offered me a lift to Ubirr, dropping me off at the YHA. I could have ended up in Arnhem Land as a lost soul taken by the spirits as we are right on the border. Well the road is sealed now and no sign of the YHA anymore.

Ubirr has great examples of Aboriginal rock art depicting Dreamtime and stories from time past. My favourite is the painting of Mabuyu which tells a story that warns against stealing. The short story goes that someone stole his fish so the fearsome Mabuyu locked everyone in a cave and they got punished, kids, women, men... all dead.

We walk through the escarpment of Ubirr towards sandstone formations and climb up to a vantage point overlooking the flood plains and Arnhem Land in the distance. It’s an amazing view and time has stood still here, it’s as it was thousands of years ago, an ancient land living and breathing with the six seasons. Even with the dry, there’s a pretty billabong sustaining life in the middle of the plain and everywhere is green.

As we are here for sunset and it’s not until after 6.00pm, we drive a short distance to Cahill’s Crossing which is a short vehicle crossing over the East Alligator River to Arnhem Land and a known crocodile spotting area. Regardless of the “Danger, Crocodile” signs, men were walking the crossing and in the shallows of the river fishing for Barramundi. There’s even the remains of our 4WD, sorry a 4WD in the river that had come to a sad and sorry end on the crossing.

I just realised that after all my footprints and highlights about crocs, I haven’t seen a salty on this trip yet. Plenty of freshies but none of the big bad ones. Jen has seen a 4.5m salty in the Ord river at Kununurra but let’s face it, where’s the photographic evidence... so I am still on the hunt.

As we return to the Ubirr lookout, the surrounding landscape is crackling fiercely with the sound of fire with flames climbing up the Pandanus Palms and smoke haze everywhere. We’re on fire and it’s literally metres away. A burn off is in progress and the wild grasses are erupting in flames whilst the Kites circle above. Like everyone else, we assume it’s safe and continue the climb up to the sandstone lookout.

We are 2 hours early for sunset so I stand one footed on a rock and contemplate life whilst Jen sits on a rock, pulls out a book and sticks her head in it. I replicate the shot with a couple of props from Jen. A book is on the top of Jen’s survival list. Mine would be a double shot latte and a scotch finger biscuit...

It’s difficult to capture in a photo the amazing view across the Kakadu plains and out towards Arnhem Land as the sun sets and the birds excitedly fly across the billabong. It’s again one of those moments to just enjoy.

I did get a few good creative shots of the billabong though as the sun creates a mirror reflection on the water. All too soon, the sun is disappearing for another day and like other folk around us, we rush back down from the lookout as the light fades to dark and the Dreamtime spirits start to appear.Read more