When someone says Australia the word often conjures up images of red dirt, blue skies, gnarled trees, kangaroos and aboriginal culture. Kakadu National Park checks all the boxes. We spent two days and one night in this vast protected area learning about the history of the unique peoples who lived here. The 20,000 square kilometers of Kakadu border Arnhem Land, a traditional aboriginal land. The Northern Territory has the strongest sense of Native culture in modern day Australia and we learned about all aspects of traditional life in the visitor and cultural center. There are an estimated 1000 people still living as they have for thousands of years in the remote areas of the park.
During the rainy season, which we came at the end of, heavy flooding often closes roads. Then, to make matters worse crocodiles occupy the swamped roads and cause even more problems. This meant that 80 % of the dirt roads in the park were off limits even to our 4 wheel drive and we couldn't go to all the phenomenal waterfalls the park is renowned for. However, Nourlangie Rock was accessible and it's cliffs are the canvas for many aboriginal paintings in good condition. Native Australians have been around for 60,000 years and stories of ancient times have survived to this day. Lot's of paintings depicted mythical beings such as the Lightning Man as well as kangaroos and hunters. Over time the number of people living at Nourlangie Rock fluctuated and different art styles from varying time periods can be observed. After we walked the paths between decorated cliffs there was an out look on the valley. Up and and around us were towering walls of stone and one outcropping was the home of the Lightning Man and was forbidden to approach. Speaking of lightning, white flashes sparked the blue sky above the natural bowl. On the way out we saw lots of wild cockatoos and parrots.
Home of the Lightning Man
We camped in a park camp ground and after dinner were visited by a native creature! Much to our disappointment it was later identified as a common possum not a rare species.
One issue Kakadu management faces is mining. Before European influence Aboriginal tribes identified certain areas "Poison Places." It turns out they could sense the large uranium deposits through out the region. The reason Jabiru, the only town in park borders exists is because of the mining in the area. Kakadu is ripe with natural resources so whether it should be exploited is a topic of contention.
Justin Enjoys Breakfast in the Park
The rest of the next day was spent exiting the park. We opted not to stop and do a long, unmarked hike in the smothering heat even though it was the only other thing open.
The remote beauty of Kakadu National Park with it's rich history and dramatic landscape really was a wonder and the detour was worth it.
Because of the abundant rain Kakadu is quite green this time of year
Before Australia we had been warned about the dangers that lurked beneath the murky rivers of the north.
Yep, that’s right. The modern day dinosaurs, Salt Water Crocodiles. These monsters can get up to 20 feet in length and chomp down with a bite force of 3,700 pounds per square inch. After a leisurely stay in Darwin we decided to get up close and personal with a croc.
Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruise is located in the wetlands east of Darwin, an hour drive from the city. We got there at 10 to learn that all the tours were full until 3 so we drove over to the National Parks Wetland Center to learn about the flora and fauna of the unique ecosystem we were about to dive (Not literally!) into. There were lots of nice exhibits on all the animals from barrumundi to buffalo. Feral buffalo are actually a large threat to Australian wetlands because their trampling destroys habitat. While Justin and Michele talked with the ranger Nick picked up a souvenir boomerang.
After killing lots and lots of time we were all excited to get down to the river. Walking onto the boat we saw a saltie on the rivers edge. We were the first ones on the boat and secured the best seats in the house, right by the water. The motors revved up and the hull sliced through the water eagerly.
Just minutes after pulling off shore I spotted a dark shape torpedoing towards us. The ranger over the speakers announced the crocs arrival.
"Ay there's Stumpie! G'day Stumpy!" Despite missing all but 1 complete limb, Stumpy was pretty big. He swam up to the boat with powerful swishes of his tail. Once he was a few feet below us he froze, drifting in the lazy current. His dark leathery skin was a few shades darker than the coffee brown water but matched the hue of the muddy bank perfectly. The assistant ranger had a long pole with a few hunks of meat strapped onto the end of a long rope. She stood behind think metal railings and dangled the tantalizing scraps in front of the salty's nose. He lunged forward, jaws snapping inches away from the meat. It reminded me of those feather toys I'd use with our cat. After a few more near misses Stumpy shot out of the water and his enormous jaws aimed true. Using his tail he lifted himself out of the river. The movement looked slow but there was no way an quarry could have reacted in time. In an instant he was down below the water, resurfacing just in time to crunch the large bones between his teeth like nothing. Everyone on the boat cringed in unison.
There were lots of resident crocodiles in the short stretch of river we traveled. The boat crew knew them all by name but they all looked the same to me- big and scary. They would disappear under the water and teleport to the other side of the boat. Scales on their back eliminate ripples so you could never see them coming. We probably got 6 or so good "jumps". It's incredible how much of themselves they can hold above the water- imagine the weight!
On the way back multiple hawks circled our boat and the rangers threw them small bits of meat. They would swoop up from behind the boat, winds pumping to gain until they were equal with the ranger. In a fluid movement once the food was thrown they would fly down and sideways to snatch it out of the air and then disappear up into the sky.
We learned lots about Estuarine (Salt water) crocodiles and most of all, we learned that we didn't want to go swimming anytime soon!
This was our first actual Australian City so far and after what felt like eons in the remote bush the northern outpost of 122,000 people might as well have been heaven. It had showers for crying out loud!
We parked down town, unsure of our evening plans. No one had decided if we would break down after almost 2 weeks of camping and book a hotel or stay strong and endure the grime some more. There was a beautiful park running the border between buildings and ocean. Even though it was the heat of the day we walked up and down, enjoying the feel of grass under our red dust covered toes.
Spoiler alert: We caved.
Michele got on the Internet after some delicious donner kebabs (A large improvement over canned camping fare) and found us a heavily discounted hotel with a great location. For 24 hours we just napped and showered in the glorious air conditioning. Ahhhhhh.
Now that there was internet that lasted more than 10 seconds everyone tied up loose digital ends they had been neglecting in the wilderness.
Nick does some homeschool
It took a lot of will to leave the hotel the next afternoon to explore our surroundings. Not only is it the hottest time of the year in the north it’s also pretty humid! We meandered through the empty streets towards the water front. If there was one thing that struck me about Darwin it is how dead it was. The capital city was practically a ghost town during the off season. Friendly locals informed us it does fill up during other times of the year but we were the only ones in the streets. It wasn’t bad or creepy, in fact it was very relaxed after the crazy Asian cities we’ve been to recently.
Down by the waterfront we admired all of the public infrastructure. Because the water is too dangerous to swim in (Salt Water Crocodiles and jelly fish) a large pool is closed off for recreation. We had a nice meal looking out over the ocean and we were all wondering the same thing-
How could we go back to the empty, buggy, outback after this?
Forget the pizza, I’m eyeing the fresh greens I have been missing for 2 weeks!
After saying goodbye to the sunny coasts of the Western Territory we steered our car North East towards Darwin.
Our little green car was surrounded by heat and emptiness. The cool, shady interior of our 4 wheel drive provided the best view of the countryside. 12 seconds after you stood outside you could feel your skin getting seared by UV rays accompanied by the tickling of swarms of flies. We could drive hours without passing another car or seeing any signs of human life except for the endless, straight white line undulating in the heat. Sometimes we would see smoke near the road- bushfires. No one was fighting them, there was nothing to burn.
We tried to make a habit to stop to sightsee and stretch once a day. By the time we crossed out of Western Australia the scenery was beginning to change. Instead of watching red dust and scraggly bushes blur past our windows green and brown painted pictures of tall green grass, boab trees, steep hills and murky rivers.
One morning we went to visit a historic boab tree. In 1855 a European Expedition traveled down one of the many rivers of the Northern Territory. To mark their arrival an artist in the group inscribed the date on one of the bloated boabs. The characters have been stretched as the tree’s girth expanded but are still legible.
The 1855 Tree also was an aboriginal meeting place so we took some time to learn about this ancient culture.
Our days started early and ended late, at least 10 hours on the road a day. We took in more scenery during the day and sipped cool drinks and played bocce ball once the sun retired. Unfortunately none of us had slept in a soft, bug free environment below 95 degrees in 2 weeks. Darwin was drawing us in like the 100s of bugs that swarmed our lantern every night.
Dates, February 26- March 2nd
Shark Bay- Broome Area
2000 kilometers traveled
We traveled up the coast and even farther west onto the Shark Bay Penninsula. We stopped for breakfast on a deserted beach, just us, the sea, and our Wheaties cereal. It was a pretty unforgetable experience. The road was long, straight, and flat. Everywhere you looked you saw 2 large stripes, a thick blue sky, and a rich red earth. You know those yellow signs that warn you of hazards on the road, like deer or pedestrians? We noticed larger versions, forecasting kangaroos, emus, enchidnas and bilbys! I didn’t even know those were animals! We found some free campsites after a day on the road. The first was perched on a dramatic cliff with spectacular views of the coast but was so windy it was hard to stand. We didn’t want to risk setting up our feeble second hand tent in wind like that! We found a more sheltered spot, cooked some beans, and went to bed. It was a good first night camping!
The next morning we had all of our gear packed and in the car before the sun had climbed above the horizon. Nick and I weren’t too tired because we had an exciting day ahead. We had to be at Monkey Mia by 7 and had an hour and a half drive. Our car pulled off onto one of the many dirt roads that intersect with the interstate. While Michele and Justin started eating breakfast, Nick and I went for a little run to stretch our legs before the heat of the day. Dad and I decided to start a photo collection of him eating breakfast.
Once we got to Monkey Mia we had to wait a bit for the dolphins to arrive for their breakfast. It’s one of the big touristy must do’s of coastal WA. Every morning a pod of wild dolphins come for some fish. This tradition was started 50 years ago when fisherman began to share their catches with the sea mammals. After a while the dolphins started to rely on unhealthy amount of the handouts and regulations had to be put on how much food people and rangers could give them. Today they are given less than 10% of their daily fish consumption. It’s the off season here so the crowds were a fraction on what they usually are. While volunteer rangers prepared fish, we learned all about the regular visitors. Legally only 4 dolphins are allowed to be fed but more come to watch. The curved fins would gracefully break the surface of the gentle waves before disappearing. I noticed most of the fins had scars, one dolphin was missing most of hers! This is because the area is called Shark Bay for a reason. 3 in 4 dolphins in the region bear evidence of shark encounter, usually on their backs. As a last resort, they will turn their backs to the shark to protect vital organs and vulnerable under bellies. Dolphins can manage without dorsal fins and are fast healers. Once the food was ready the dolphins would win right up to the shore, on their sides in the shallow water. Nick and I got chosen to be one of the lucky few who got to give them a fish. The bottlenose dolphin, Surprise, was 40 years old. She was larger than I thought they would be, 5 feet or so. Many of the dolphins had calves with them. Water has to be a certain depths to nurse so rangers would set 20 minute intermissions between the three feedings so that the pod could swim out farther to take care of their calves. While we waited for the next feeding we caught a glimpse of an enormous sea turtle and a pelican patrolling the beach.
The next sightseeing spot on our agenda was Shell Beach. A large natural barrrier off shore of this beautiful spot traps a ton of seawater. Once that water evaporates it is slowly replaced and creates and super salty zone, maybe a kilometer long, on the coast. Those conditions are perfect for a certain type of cockle and the high salinity levels fend off natural predators. Over hundreds of years generations and generations of cockles have lived and died here and now, instead of sand, the beach is composed entirely of little white shells. We took a short walk and read about Shell Beach on some nice displays.
A bit farther down the road we took another stop at the stromatolites, the oldest living organisms on earth. They are actually responsible for creating the atmosphere. In the shimmery turquoise water (that looked very inviting in the noon heat) the stromatolites formed a labyrinth of dark black. They looked like rocks but are actually huge communities of tiny life.
We encountered our first road trains that day. I’m not sure if you have heard of them but imagine an American semi truck with two or three more containers hooked on the back. At one point Dad had to pass one transporting a very, very large piece of mining machinery taking up the whole road (both lanes of traffic). It was pretty stressful. That night we stopped in Quobba, a little spot on the coast. Our free campsite was right near the beach and there was a German family that we played bocce ball with.
In the morning Nick and I got up early and went for a run on the beach. The sand was soft and deep and made it hard to walk. Everyone worked together to miraculously cram all our gear into the truck. On the way back to the main road we decided to give the blowholes another try.
Waves crash into underwater caverns and the pressure pushes the water up through small holes in the roof of the chamber. The effect is a lot like a geyser. We had checked them out the previous night but had been disappointed, something about the tides had been wrong and nothing was happening. Thankfully, that morning Nick had insisted that we give them another chance and we got to see them in action. Justin and I noticed a lot of interesting rocks around the sight. Soft stone had been eroded in interesting formations in the path of the constant spray. Natural divots in the rock collected sea mist and formed beautiful salt crystals. It must have been a good 45 minutes we spent poking around that area. There was all this cool sedimentary rock- pebbles cemented together. A few possible fossils too. And coral. Our family has a bit of a problem with rock collecting. Justin carried geologic treasures in his back pack all around Asia until we could find a country that would mail them. Our backpack, quite a bit heavier, we continued on our way.
The rest of the day we stopped for some stretch breaks, listened to music, read and enjoyed the never-changing scenery.
That night we got acquainted with the flies. They look like houseflies but come in swarms and prefer to sit on your face than your food. We struggled to set up our tent (which has been remodeled by the way so that it won’t fall over. It’s more like a teepee tent hybrid held together with tire inner tube and Yankee ingenuity) while we were swarmed by the insects, swatting with one hand. Fortunately as soon as it gets dark the flies go to bed. There was lightning in the area but no rain and Michele, Justin and I enjoyed the show. Suddenly, I noticed an odd glow on the horizon. It wasn’t where the sun had set, nor where a town was located. With all the lightning I was a little worried about fires but we climbed a hill, saw no flames and dismissed it as possible late night mining operations.
Later Dad observed that the glow had grown brighter and redder. We sent Michele up the hill to check on it.
“You bettter come see this.”
A red column of flames lapped at the dry flora, distant but concerning. We were in new territory here. Should we drive away? Wait until we smell smoke? We settled on staying, both in place and alert. There were similar glows all around us too, but not as red. I was put on first watch, occasionally walking up the hill to make sure it hadn’t gotten closer. An hour later an alarm clock woke Dad and it was his turn. Then mom. It was a long night. even around 1 am when we decided there was no more risk and no more light it was 90 degrees. The soil there is mostly iron ore so it was like sleeping on a skillet. The ground was much hotter than the air.
In the morning the flies were back. On the count of three we all jumped out of the tent or car or wherever we were sleeping and packed everything up as quickly as humanly possible with one hand. (The other was employed doing “the Australian Wave”) It was unanimously voted that we deserved a treat so we drove into the podunk town of Paraburdoo for coffe and chocolate milk. The AC sure felt good. a quick errand needed to be run after that. Our car’s fuel pump was making some weird noises and Justin wanted to make sure it was ok before we headed even deeper into the outback. We went to a garage and Justin explained the issue to the mechanic. He said it was fine and we got our day underway, course set for Karijini National Park.
Karijini is an expansive protected piece of land about 300 kilometers inland. During March when we visited it’s almost deserted apart from a back packer or two and a ranger. We went first to the visitors center (The first day it opened for the season). It was over 100 degrees and and the flies where there too. The four of us were educated on the wildlife of the park as well as the interesting landscape- red
earth and stone eroded by a meandering river. The ranger kept warning us about the snakes and how common dangerous encounters are. You can see how every rustle in bushes made us jump when we left. It was over 110 degrees now. We tried to decide what to do, nobody wanted to hike in conditions like this. The allure of swimming brought us down into a gorge to Fortescu Falls and the cool pool there. The whole family was irritated by the flies, heat and each other’s attitudes. Just as we were about to jump in there was movement, just to the right. And it wasn’t the wind. A long, thin, scaly form draped over the edge of the terraced rocks. Dad was closest and without glasses. then in a flurry of activity the creature scurried up the rocks. scurrried, not slithered. Few! what we thought to be a deadly snake was just the tail of a large monitor lizard. Once we were in the water everyone chilled out. Our body temperature was back to normal and the flies didn’t like water. Ahhhhhh.... We should just stay in this pool, up to our necks in safe, jellyfish, crocodile, shark free water for ever. The setting of our spot was stunning. stone walls with every shade of red rose on every side. Water cascaded over the rocks and on the other side of us the pool dropped off giving us a panoramic view of the gorge. Delightful.
There was nothing to do besides a multi hour hike and that wasn’t happening in this heat. We had two options. One, pitch our tent and sweat it out in the lovely company of the flies until the next day or two, get the heck out of there. The later was acted upon after a 3 to 1 vote. We put Karijini in the rear view mirrror and drove until it cooled off a bit. Once we got our camp set up we played bocce ball. Nick is pretty good!
Our last day on the West Coast we went to 80 Mile Beach. It was so windy, the breeze coming off the Indian Ocean picks up grains of sand and pelts them against the skin. It was a little painful. There was absolutely no trash, just shells and more sand dollars than I’ve seen in my life. The white sand stretched off farther than I could see. After we walked down the beach a ways we decided to head back to the car and say goodbye to the beautiful coast of Western Australia.
Early in the morning we said goodbye to our friends in Perth and began our epic month long road trip.
We didn’t have a long haul planned for the day, just a few hours north to a shack on the beach. We loaded more groceries than we’d like to admit into the few square inches left unoccupied in the back of the car. Canned beans, pasta, and sandwich fixings were all on the list in large quantities. We also bought another 25 liter jug of water because you can never have enough.
Being the first day there was lots to adjust to, for instance sitting in close claustrophobic quarters with your family for hours on end. 20 minutes out of Perth the radio turned to static. Oh no! 1000s of kilometers in front of us would takes us farther from civilization and our 5 CDs were going to get old mighty quick!
After a few navigational hitches (an off road adventure in the sand) we found our way to the shack we were aloud to stay in by some friends. It was simple and we liked that about it a lot. And the location was great, just over the sand dune was a deserted beach and a glorious sunset. Nick and I took his new drone (birthday present) for a flight over the waves.
Everyone turned in early because we had a big day ahead of us.
Looking over the dunes at the sweet spot we stayed the night
Have you ever heard of a quakka? We hadn’t either until we arrived in Australia. We got up close and personal with these rare marsupials during a day trip to Rottnest Island, located a few miles off shore of Perth.
Rottnest is large, 11 kilometers in length so we opted to rent bikes for the day. Despite the long drive to get to the coast we were biking by 8:30 am. I was navigator so I lead us through the center of the island and south to a point with snorkeling. We changed into our swimsuits, paused to check out some hunger quakkas hunting for handouts and froze in our tracks to marvel at all the different shades of turquoise in the water. Michele and Nicholas swam first but said there wasn’t much to see. Justin went out farther while the three of us relaxed in the sun. Michele had heard that Australia’s sun is a lot stronger than we are used to so we lathered up on sunscreen and still got burned.
Suddenly, our sleepy sunny daze was shattered by Nick’s anxious call.
“Mom-! Snake! Mom, right next to you, look out!”
Slithering just inches from Michele’s left arm was a big black snake. It was over 4 feet in length and it’s body would have been too thick to wrap my hand around completely.
Michele was laying on her back so she couldn’t see the beast but she was very calm about everything. In a steady voice she asked again where the snake was and was very still. This was the perfect response to the presence of a dangerous snake. The serpent obviously had no interest in us, it had places to be, things to do. Later, when we got home we did a bit of research and learned that Mom had met a dugite, a common species here in WA that can be deadly. In fact, a few weeks earlier a man had been bitten on Rottnest and had to be airlifted off the island.
Yikes, that first encounter with one of the dangerous critters in this new country was a little too close for comfort!
We continued towards the far end of the island. Even with a short break for lunch and lots of stops to say hi to the resident quakkas we made good time to the west coast. It was the heat of the day and we were all tired with a lot of ground to cover so we didn’t dawdle much.
Rottnest was a lot of fun, we highly recommend it! We biked over 25 kilometers and got to enjoy a nice sunset over the ocean on our ferry ride back to Perth.
