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Bit excited this morning as we were going up the East Alligator River on the Guluyambi cruise this morning at nine. But l also just wanted to stay in bed, so did Marty and the girls l think. We were on our last day here in Kakadu and we were all stuffed. Our days have been long and late. But in any case, it was up and at em again abc in the car by 8am.
We were greeted in arrival by an aboriginal bloke named Roman. Straight away l knew we were going to have a fabulous time, he was easy going and relaxed. We boarded to Guluyambi boat for this intimate cruise as the boat can only hold 25 people and it wasn't even full today. Five minutes heading upstream were had our first viewing of a croc on the backs sunbaking, it would be many for the morning. Then we went further upstream to Cahill's Crossing, this is where the sea comes into the river. These three idiot men were standing on the rocks fishing, most likely for barramundi as its in abundance here, whilst there was a croc just ten meters away! They would have passed signs stating the dangers and still they take the risk, bloody morons! Roman was a bit annoyed by their stupidity as well, and for good reason, this is why all the croc attacks happen, people not obeying the warning signs. Anyway, off my soap box and on with the recount of the day. We headed downstream with several more croc sightings and also with Roman educating us about the many bush-tucker plants by the river and also the bush medicine qualities some of these plants have. He told us story's of his people's living and cultural ceremonies, it was really insightful. He also told us how spears are made and demonstrated some uses. We arrived at this rocky sandy part of the river and saw at least five baby crocs, l called it the child care center if the river. It was awesome!! A little further up we pulled in and anchored the boat on the Arnhem Land side of the river and took a short walk up onto a lookout. This was a ceremonial place for his people so we were aware to be respectful of the country. Boo sat and took a lot of info in and you could see her brain clicking over as Roman said stuff. Meg had had enough and was quite tired from the last few late nights so it was a little hard to keep her content. We just fed her food, lol.... On the way back Roman pointed out some aboriginal paintings on the under side of rock ledges and also came closer to some more crocs. We finished the two hour cruise on time and we were so happy with we'd done it. Would strongly recommend the cruise to anyone coming to Kakadu. One of the best things about it is that the money goes back into the Guluyambi community and people. A good $200 spent l reckon!
After the cruise Marty took a quick detour to drop me off at Ubirr do l could go and finish the rock art walk. Last night we missed the Rainbow Serpent Gallery and l think he got sick of me nagging. So l took a quick walk up by myself which was great in itself. Peace a quite! The girls have gotten into a worse habit of nonstop talking all the time! Really wearing and tiring l tell you. The Rainbow Serpent was a major creator being. She created passages through rocks and waterholes in the Kakadu landscape. She split rock faces and created range hills, helping for the habitat for all beings. The Rainbow Serpent is a powerful ancestor and in Kakadu country it is understood that it played an important role in the conception of the Bininj/Mungguy people and their cultural obligations to care for their country. She is also part of the life cycle of plants and animals and the seasonal changes. The rock painting itself wasn't as powerful as the story itself, but l was fascinated all the same.
We headed back with plans of a lazy arvo and an early night. Well the lazy arvo happened with the girls having a swim and Marty and l relaxing by the pool. After tea we'd promised to take the girls to see some fireworks as NT was celebrating Territory Day which is about recognizing the territories independence from SA. Apparently the territory goes off and from 7pm to midnight they cease the total fire band and let everyone who wants to buy fireworks abc let them off wherever! We'd found our the park owner was putting on a display so we headed down to the carpark. No one was there then as soon as 7 o'clock struck there was mass explosions heard everywhere from fireworks going off. Up in the sky there were thousands of bats flying to escape the noise. Then about ten or so people came over carrying their bags of goodies and lighters were pulled from pockets and fireworks lit off. I've never seen anything like it. The girls were excited and holding their hands over their ears from the loud blasts. Their eyes lit up with amazement at the coloring fire in the sky. We stayed and watched for about two hours with a couple of times being a little scary when the fireworks didn't fire off properly. The fireworks at the lake in Jabiru that were sponsored by the local mine were going off in the background behind the trees. The whole night was filled with excitement, laughter, amazement and happiness. It was a great night to finish our time in Kakadu, especially great with the celebration atmosphere that filled the air.
In reflection, our time in Kakadu has exceeded our expectation. We are so glad to have experienced the wonders at this time of year. Everything is alive, green and full of color. The falls are powerful, the wildlife is active and the weather was great. We learnt so much about aboriginal culture in these parts and of their beliefs. Take everything I've said in the past back, Kakadu is great, you just have to come at the right time of year to appreciate its beauty!
Bell Xxx
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