Kakadu take two

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 Kakadu National Park- Jabiru

Friday 11 September

Over the weekend we made use of our hire car and set off to explore the Jabiru section of Kakadu National Park. The highlight was our Guluyambi Cruise on the East Alligator (Erre) River- our Indigenous Guide Ramon generously sharing his knowledge about living in harmony with and caring for country, especially the river systems. He let us know of the important role crocodiles play in the ecosystem, keeping animal numbers at the right levels. We were privileged to step foot onto Arnhem Land and see up close the caves and rock shelters that were once used during the wet season as shelters to live in. The cruise took in the infamous Cahills Crossing- absolutely teeming with crocodiles. Little did we know that the River made the news this same day with a whale discovered puddling around!

Over the remainder of the weekend we ventured to Burrungkuy, exploring an area mistakenly known by non-Indigenous people as Nourlangie Rock. The areas are correctly named Burrunggui and Anbangbang and house an impressive display of World Heritage rock art galleries. The rock art tells stories dating back thousands of generations, some paintings are up to 20,000 years old, which makes the artwork one of the longest historical records of any group of people on earth. The paintings provide a fascinating record of Aboriginal life over thousands of years, and show the close personal relationship Bininj/ Mungguy share with their land and spiritual heritage.

The local Aboriginal word for rock art is 'Gunbim'.





Sitting by a billabong enjoying the wetlands of Kakadu




Lightening Man




Arnhem Land













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