A slightly early start today because we are on a full day Kakadu tour which the lodge run so after breakfast we met the guide and the other couple that are on the tour and jumped into the mini-bus. After a blast down the unsealed road to get to the highway it was 45 minutes to our first stop which was the entrance sign for the park, on route we saw a dingo at the side of the road which was on its own but still looked quite menacing, then a quick photo shoot at the entrance sign we went to our first real stop for the day which was Mamukala wetlands. These wetlands are where thousands of migratory magpie geese congregate to feed and they are all quite close to the observation platform that has been built. The walkway also has some information boards that were really interesting, unlike the rest of the world the Northern Territories only have two seasons, ‘hot’ and really ‘hot and wet’ but the indigenous people actually had six seasons which describe both the wether and what to do in that time, for example May to June is the Cool weather time so it is when they burn the woodlands to encourage new growth whereas June to August is the Early dry season when the creeks stop flowing and Magpie geese fat and heavy after weeks of abundant food are in the billabongs. We are currently in the pre-monsoon season which is when the streams begin to run and barramundi move from the waterholes downstream to breed. The seasons are actually called Banggerreng (April) – Knock em down storm season, Yeager (May – June) Cooler but still humid season, Wurrgeng (June – August) Cold weather season, Gurrung (August – October) Hot dry weather season, Gunumeleng (October – December) – Pre-monsoon storm season, Gudjewg (December – March) Monsoon season. After watching the birds for awhile it was time to Uber where you can climb the rocks and have a spectacular view over the Nadab floodplain, then on the way down you can look at the Aboriginal rock art. Our guide explained some of the drawings and also explained that the way the Aboriginals taught was to start with he small children and basically give them the first bit of information, once they had demonstrated they understood this and lived by the messages that were given they were given the next part of the story or the next set of lessons. Elders were not necessarily the oldest people in the village but the wisest so if you were a ‘quick learner’ you would get more information than your peers and would probably be an elder. They live in communities and have always believed in a sort of democratic governance where the elders make the decisions for the community rather than one tribal leader. She also explained that when they die they are never referred to again, their name is not used and they are not talked about for a period decided either by themselves before they die or their families, this is because it is believed that if they are discussed then their spirit wont run free as it is distracted by being called from earth! The rock art is amazing and was used to educate not necessarily to inform other communities so when the next lesson was due they just drew over the top so there is quite a mixture of both styles and drawings. One of the drawings is over 4,000 years old as it shows a Tasmanian Tiger and they have been extinct from mainland Australia for 4,000 years, another is less than 300 years old as it shows a white man with a hat and gun and his hands on his hips which is how the aboriginals perceived the white man they were always telling them what to do and issuing orders. Our guide told us some of the punishments that were issued for any transgression of the lessons, the most extreme was a paste taken from one of the trees was put under the offenders eyes, this causes them to go blind for 3 days, that would be bad enough but they then take them somewhere and leave them to fend for themselves, which is almost impossible when you are blind so this is effectively a death sentence, the other one was not quite so extreme, they put a spear through your leg, they then remove it and care for you until it is healed so although you always walked with a limp therefore everyone knew you did wrong, at least you lived! Our lunch stop was at Cahill Crossing which is where there are a number of crocodiles and a ford the water level wasn’t very high so there weren’t that many but we did see a couple we also saw some very strange people standing down by the waters edge fishing where the crocs were but I guess they weren’t hungry as they didn’t go for them. Just as we finished lunch it started to rain which was lovely as the temperature dropped from about 38 to 30, unfortunately as soon as it stopped which was after about 15 minutes the temperature started to climb again and within 30 minutes it was back to 39 degrees! Our final stop was at the visitor centre where we had a look round the display and a welcome ice cream then it was back in the minibus and back to the hotel where after jumping in the shower and having a bit of a relax it was time to head up to the bar for dinner. Tonight I have been told I need to try Kangaroo as this is one of the best places to have it, I am not sure I will and I definitely won’t be trying the crocodile that was on the menu last night but we shall see about the Kangaroo, maybe if I have enough to drink before dinner I will do it!
