Australia's Top End
By Rod
Eime
Australia's Top End is a lazy adventurer's paradise. But
plan your trip first to avoid disappointment, writes Rod Eime.
The thing that strikes you most about Kakadu, as with much
of the Northern Territory, is just how ancient the landscape
is.
Stark, rugged and often inhospitable, it is these unlikely
qualities that draw hundreds of thousands of visitors there
every year.
Once you've left the safe confines of a fenced carpark and
strolled out amongst the Aboriginal rock art galleries, under
the dizzying precipices, through the narrow chasms and along
the top of prehistoric rock formations, your mind is almost
ready to accept the sight of some gigantic dinosaur grazing
in the luxuriant wetlands beneath.
Australia's Top End really does offer a unique travel experience.
Once amongst it, it's easy to sympathise with the small army
of protestors currently encamped there, defending this World
Heritage listed area against mining interests.
Kakadu National Park, the 20,000 square kilometre centrepiece
of the Top End's tourist attractions, is a very popular place
during the peak holiday periods around the middle of the year.
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Aboriginal cave art
abounds in Kakadu
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At this time the air is relatively dry and the daily maximum
temperature is a steady 32-34 degrees - quite comfortable
after a short acclimatisation.
The word 'Kakadu' comes from the local Gagudju aboriginal
language, which is one of several languages still actively
spoken in the area. Aboriginal landowners play a major part
in the upkeep of this significant park, which is home to an
enormous variety of wildlife living amongst the woodlands,
escarpments, wetlands and waterways.
Travelling around the park is basically trouble-free, with
sealed, well-maintained roads leading to the major sights
and attractions. There are several rougher 4WD tracks for
the more adventure-minded tourists that take you out to such
attractions as Jim Jim and Twin Falls and the Alligator Billabong
campground.
The various information centres throughout the park contain
comprehensive brochures and maps that really do assist sightseers
in making decisions about what to see in the time available.
We only had a couple of days, but were able to visit Nourlangie
Rock, Yellow Water, Ubirr and the Aboriginal Cultural Centre
at Warradjan. Enough to give us a satisfying overview but
still left us wanting more.
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You'll see
massive termite
pillars when you
enter Kakadu
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My strongest recommendation before visiting Kakadu is to
do your homework first. Not all the attractions and activities
will appeal to everybody, so it is important to pinpoint beforehand
the sort of things that you, in particular, want to do and
see.
Some will want to get up close to wildlife, others will enjoy
the ample bushwalks, while another group might want to enjoy
the solitude and peace of a secluded campsite somewhere.
Without reasonable pre-planning, there exists considerable
potential for disappointment. Several people we spoke to had
fallen into that trap. As we discovered, tourist traffic can
get quite heavy during peak season, especially around the
major attractions. Packed tour coaches seemed to turn up at
inopportune moments and some carparks became quite full, causing
us to pass up on a couple of stops.
Accommodation is expensive within the park. We paid $145
for a three bed cabin in The Kakadu Frontier Lodge at Jabiru.
The same thing would be $50-$60 anywhere else in the country,
while we were asked to part with $25 per head for what was
really only backpacker-level huts at The Gagudju Lodge, Cooinda.
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The Yellow Water Cruise
at
Cooinda
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Camping or caravans are a good idea in Kakadu! It also pays
to bring food with you where possible, so stock up at Coles
in either Katherine or Darwin before you head in.
To be fair, once you've paid $15 per head at the park gates,
most of the sightseeing is free. The maintained walking tracks
with guides, visitor centres, amenities, brochures and information
boards are of a very high standard and definitely add to your
experience and understanding of this special place.
The Yellow Water Cruise at Cooinda comes highly recommended,
so for $27 I awoke before the sun for the popular dawn installment.
I have to say that, as a keen-but-impatient photographer,
I found it very worthwhile.
I was extremely pleased with the results from just one roll
of film and was glad that I brought my new Canon 70-200 f2.8
zoom lens and 400 asa film. Visitors can see just about every
type of animal in the park on the two-hour round trip, all
perfectly at home in their natural environment.
Although we missed it, Litchfield National Park should be
on your must-see list. Smaller and more compact than Kakadu,
it is nonetheless a definite attraction in this bountiful
region. Home to numerous beautiful waterfalls, rainforests
and perennial spring-fed streams, its 143 square kilometres
have only been proclaimed a park since 1986.
South To The Edge Of The End
Seventy kilometres from Kakadu's southern gates you'll find
the quaint little township of Pine Creek. Steeped in pioneering,
mining, and goldrush history, it is now basically a tourist
stop and well worth the minor detour.
Gold was discovered there during the construction of the
Overland Telegraph line in 1871, and along with tin, is still
being mined in varying amounts to this day.
If you only have time for one attraction at Pine Creek, visit
Earl Gano at the Gun Alley Gold Mine. Originally from Alberta,
Canada, the ex-Buffalo hunter and ranger is a cross between
Lee Marvin and Donald Sutherland. Crusty, laconic and authentic,
he has a hatful of yarns and it is definitely worth every
bit of the $5 you'll spend there.
He takes you through the town's history, shows you how to
pan for gold - and get results - as well as gleefully demonstrating
his lovingly restored, 19th century steam battery. This quirky
little village is good value.
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Rob and Stacey show off
their wares at the Walkabout
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A further 115 kilometres south is the major centre of Katherine.
All levels of accommodation are available here, as well as
shopping, fuel and repairs. We enjoyed excellent rooms at
both the All Seasons and Knotts Crossing for around $90 p/night.
Pop into "Gallop Thru Time" behind the main street,
or visit Mimi Arts and Craft across the old railway line for
reasonably priced souvenirs.
Katherine is also a good place to treat yourself to a restaurant
meal. On strong local recommendations, we tried out two of
the several options available.
At the Walkabout Restaurant in the local Country Club, Rob
Garvin and Stacey Kerr put on a famous feed of modern Australian
bush tucker that includes all the usual - camel, croc, barramundi
and buffalo. Rod has catered for such notables as the ABC's
Bush Tucker Man and Land Rover.
Our other meal was had after dark on the banks of the Katherine
River while on the popular "Croc Spot Tour". Not
for the feint-of-heart, your starlit dining room is shared
with a couple of local crocodiles whose dinnertime happens
to coincide with yours!
We had mixed impressions of our Katherine Gorge cruise, which
runs on a busy schedule from near the Nitmiluk National Park
visitors' centre. Our barge was full to a man, which made
maneuvering for photos or video difficult and often disturbing
to others.
The beauty of the Gorge was somewhat overshadowed by our
discomfort and we gazed with some envy at the unencumbered
soles paddling blissfully in rented canoes.
Further south again, and on the edge of the Top End is Mataranka,
where you can dip in the famous thermal pools and tour the
old homestead that is now part of a resort. The town is popularly
known as the capitol of the "Never Never" after
Jeannie Gunn's famous book.
Another increasingly prominent part of the Top End's history
is the refocused attention on our wartime activity in the
once frontline theatre. Airfields, cemeteries and abandoned
bases stand testament to the bravery and urgency of the time.
Our most northern towns, in particular Darwin, were subject
to over one hundred Japanese air raids during the Second World
War with a great many Australian and Allied personnel falling
victim during the attacks. One of the largest such memorials
is the War Cemetery at Adelaide River, 112 kilometres south
of Darwin.
Travelers to the Top End don't need to make many special
considerations for road travel. Probably the most obvious
difference to other states is the absence of a speed limit
on the highways. Our muscly V8 Holden Suburban had plenty
of go, but one mustn't be drawn into unnecessarily high speeds.
Most highway traffic travels safely at around 120-130km/h,
but trucks still travel at just 100km/h and some of the larger
road-trains even slower. Be sure to back off well before you
approach a heavy vehicle from behind.
Mosquitoes, although mentioned as a potential problem, didn't
fuss me at all. Crocodiles, on the other hand, have a much
nastier bite and swimmers should exercise extreme caution
before venturing into any water. Prominent signs will usually
alert you to potential danger.
Always check road conditions (1800 246 199 - freecall road
information service) before venturing into unknown territory,
especially during the wet season, as closures are common.
Otherwise, all the normal precautions like maps, spares, water
and fuel apply. A CB radio is often a useful accessory.
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