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So nice that the nights aren't as cold now. Amazing how a few hundred kms is all it takes to get better weather.
We were up and at em this morning as Marty and l, well no just me, had planned for us all to do a few walks today. First stop was a short drive from camp down to where there was walks to the Yurmikmik lookout. We headed up the path and made our way over singly on this narrow swaying bridge. Meg cried to start with but them once Boo stopped rocking it she enjoyed it! She has started being a bit of a stirrer i the last few weeks! Once all over the bridge we continued up the path. Well we should have trusted our gut and turned around when we stop seeing the markers! It was meant to be a 5km return walk, well l'm sure we went longer than that! The walking track wasn't cleared well snd the sign posts sort of blended in with the surrounding scrub. As we kept walking, climbing up rocks, going higher, Marty and l both got a little concerned when the scrub became denser and the rock climbing a little more harder. It was described as a moderate effort walk, at times l was slightly in fear for the kids as rocks were slipping out from under our feet. I also forgot my fear of heights until l turned around and felt a little dizzy as l saw how high we were. Eventually we safely made it to the top, in hind sight that was the easy part. Our legs had sustained a few scratched from the sticky long grass we walked thru. Boo's legs the worst as she got a few grazes with blood and being the worlds best mum l had no bandaids or even tissues, so we used leaves to wipe up the excess! Getting back to the nightmare, without saying a word to each other, Marty and l were a tad worried about how to get back. We forgot it for a few minutes whilst we took in the awesome panoramic views of southern Kakadu. It was amazing, worth the fear of getting lost! We set off and went down the rock face cliff, Meg hot snd over walking so was crying a little which made things worse. Because l was stressed and don't really cope with fear that well, l was snappy. Marty was quiet so was worse for me cause I knew he was worried too. An hour later we reached the walking track that we knew. In that hour we had to back track many times as we came to cliff faces we couldn't climb down. The girls legs were well trashed with scratches from branches. An hour after getting back to the track, we eventually got back to the car all hot and bothered and also relieved! The shaky bridge at the end of the walk didn't seem as scary anymore that's for sure!! That was one of the worst set out walks we have been in on this trip. You'd think after paying $50 entry fees that the walks would at least be well sign posted, especially when taking you up to a lookout! Anyway, we had done lunch and rehydrated ourselves and continued up the road to Gunlom Falls.
After our last walk Marty and the girls weren't in the mood to want to go on another walk that l was suggesting. So we took the easy option and strolled on the boardwalk to the plunge pool. The waterfall was amazing and flowing well. The plunge pool below was big and dark, the rangers state that there's no crocs in there but l don't know, looks sus to me.... We were pretty hot and l had a little feel of the water, it was cool but l had promised the girls a swim, do off to the change rooms we went. Marty wasn't swimming at this stage do while we were getting changed he got talking to some bloke who said that we would miss out if we didn't take the steep walk up the hill to the top of falls. Now l hate to say l told you so, but l did tell Marty as this was the walk l wanted to do. With his new found knowledge, Marty went and got in his bathers and off we went up the rocky hill. It was a 2km return climb to the lookout and top of the waterfall. We huffed and puffed and sweated our way to the top, so glad we did as the experience was awesome!! We had the best southern views of Kakadu, much better than our last walk that put us through so much! And after reaching the top we were greeted with an awesome spectacle of clear plunge pools. I didn't care how cold it was, l was going in. The girls and l had our shoes off in a flash and were in the water. It was slightly refreshing but after the initial coolness, it was great. Just what we needed to cool off after our steep hike. Looking out from the last plunge pool before it dropped off the cliff it felt like you were in the edge of the earth, totally amazing. One of the best views I've ever seen! Marty eventually got the nerve up to come in, we all had a great time splashing around. So have missed our swims together. After an hour or so, we headed back down to the car park. Going down is always easier than going up Boo and l reckon. Speaking of Boo, the poor thing went to grab onto a branch to stop herself from slipping down the rocky path and she got about fifty or more small splinters in here hands and fingers. She cried a little but was so brave. When we got to the bottom we got the first aid box out and sat in the grassy shaded park and tried to pluck out as many splinters as she'd let us. There were so many!!
After this we'd decided to call it a day and made it back to camp and stocked the fire and cooked our tea. A Dutch couple from Perth had pulled up who had a couple of young kids so the girls had fun running around and playing. They played soccer with an empty can of corn, amazing what they amuse themselves with these days.....
Bell Xxx
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