Birds

Frankly, the fishing on this Kakadu safari has left a lot to be desired. Hugh and Rich have got a few but until this morning I had not caught a thing. All that ended this morning when I landed the whopper below.....!

But the bird watching has been a different story. We have seen so many new species...perhaps 60 by Hugh's account, including wonders like the rainbow bee eater, brolgas, jabiru, azure kingfisher, sacred kingfisher, jacana, great billed heron, to name a few. Hugh is super keen and really quick to photograph and identify new birds.

A tiny finger mark bream - a very unlucky fish

Dawn at Mamukala

Jabiru on the wing

Sea eagle

Brolga at Fogg Dam

Fig bird 

Sacred kingfisher 

Jacana carrying her chick

Dudes in Darwin

Darwin was named Palmerston until it was renamed Darwin after Charles Darwin, father of the now proven theory of evolution by natural selection, in 1911. It was very heavily bombed in 1942 by the Japanese in preparation for the invasion of Australia, killing 252 people. And it was flattened again. By cyclone Tracey in 1974.

Looking at it now you wouldn't know. Darwin is vibrant, growing, modern. It has an energetic tropical vibe, with lots of tourists, al fresco dining, breezy architecture and drinking. Lots of drinking. When I first visited in 1988, it felt like a frontier town. Not any more - Darwin is cool...in a hot, sunny tropical sort of way. 

In the last day, we have bird watched at Fogg Dam (brolgas!!) visited Crocodylus Park, wandered the esplanade, eaten at the splendid Hanuman, fished, visited the military museum and flopped on the cool hotel beds to recover.

Mamukala bird hide....a view from Hugh

Mamukala is a floodplain in the centre of kakadu with a bird hide. I went there twice over the four day period I was in kakadu. Both times I had a great experience getting good photos and seeing new birds. Some of these birds include sacred kingfisher, forest kingfisher and comb crested jacana. The thing that made the trip I did this morning so special is I saw a comb crested jacana nurturing it's chick by holding it with both it's wings as it walks a cross the Lilly pads. Talk about good parenting! 

What's Kakadu like?

Kakadu is a huge national park, World Heritage listed, with RAMSAR wetlands and all of the Alligator River catchment and it's flow to the sea in its boundaries. It also has a uranium mine and some 280 bird species!

While there are a huge range of environments here, spanning floodplains, rocky escarpment, rainforest and wetland, most of what you drive through is dry, sparse floodplain, often burnt, scraggly and repetitive.

When you go to the shops, the aboriginal people you pass are speaking their language. English is very much a second language. I think this is great.

The accommodation is limited and dear as poison. The eating options are even more limited and equally expensive.

Because it's so big, the tourists, mostly European, are spread thinly. We have polite chats and compare notes with them when we meet on the track. When we drive toward them on single lane roads, I hold my breath hoping they will remember which side to move to.

This is a very big place. Everything is 30 to 100 km away, often with serious walks in. And it is warm to hot in winter, stifling and flooding wet in summer.

So, it is hot, dusty, long distances, expensive. Why would anyone go?

Because there are places here of rare, perhaps spiritual beauty.

Because the wonder of indigenous culture and it's connection with country are intact here.

Because the vast natural world is waiting to be listened to here, to give you perspective, quiet, peace.

Hugh's favourite photos

I have taken a lot of photos in kakadu and this blog has my best and my favourites. There are birds of prey, kingfishers and Jacanas. And a croc!

Azure kingfisher

White-bellied sea eagle

Big Crocodile

Sacred kingfisher

Whistling kite 

Rainbow bee-eater

Jacana

Another Sacred Kingfisher

Mamukala wetland

Mamukala wetland is a reserve off the Arnhem highway, 30 km from Jabiru. We went late afternoon for a guided walk with Victor, an aboriginal man from Kakadu.

 We wandered with a group of about 15, as Victor explained how this wetland fed and provisioned his people through the seasons, providing magpie geese and their eggs, duck, turtle, barramundi, bulbs, fibre, medicines and pigments. We saw 8 new (for us) new species of bird, including 2 kingfishers and a superb rainbow bee eater. A lovely afternoon.

Barramundi fishing on the east Alligator River, Kakadu

Today we rose before dawn to join a charter for barra on the sort of aptly named alligator river. Sort of because they aren't alligators, but the river crawls with crocs. As the sun rose and they emerged from the water to sun themselves, we saw perhaps a dozen, snoozing on the banks, or gliding silently along the river. They must have been full of barra, because we worked very hard for about 10 undersized fish boated. Hugh got 3, Rich got 2, and I got 0. I think we had planned the esky full of barra fillets a little early! Nevertheless, we saw crocs, caught fish and saw many beautiful birds....so a good day was had.