Chapter 3
Day 5
There is a bunch of talking and noise outside the tent. I look at my watch and it says 9:00 a.m. What in the world is going on? I wake up Derrick, we unzip the tent, and see about 20 people walking toward the Falls. They all have their towels over their shoulders, and are carrying ice chests. They are on a walkabout to Jim Jim Falls to go swimming. I guess I expected them to be buzzing about the glow in the sky, but everyone is acting completely normal.
We get to the swimming area about 10:30 a.m., and I am pleasantly surprised to find a handful of people there swimming. There are perhaps 30 people in the vicinity of the Falls. We scope out a spot to put our towels and shoes and go directly into the clear, clean water. It feels so good to totally submerge my body in fresh water. We wander over to a young couple, standing toe to toe, with their arms around each other, and say hello. They return the salutation and ask us if we are from the United States. Of course we say, “Yes.” They are here on their honeymoon from Holland.
“So what part of Holland are you from?” I ask.
“We are from Delft,” The young woman answers.
“I’m Kobi and this is my husband, Derrick. We are on our honeymoon too. We’re from St Louis, Missouri.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Marina and this is my husband, Kees.”
“Are you staying in a nearby camp ground?” I ask her.
“Yes, we are staying at Garnamarr, back about 10 kilometers,” Marina says.
“That’s where we are staying too. Have you been there long?”
“No, we got in late last night. Did something happen at the Visitors Center last evening? When we passed by at 10:30 p.m., there were a lot of people standing in the front of the building, including the park ranger. We stopped and asked if there was some sort of problem in the park, and the ranger assured us that everything was fine. He said that some of the campers reported seeing a green glow in the sky above the visitor center and wandered out to investigate. He said it was nothing to worry about and gave us directions to our campsite. We decided to sleep in the back of our car rather than set up the tent that late at night.” She asks if I had seen the light, and I told her that I did see it and was not sure what it was. I mention that our guide talked to the park ranger and said it was nothing to be concerned about, so she seems happy with that explanation.
After a long day of swimming, we go back to our campsite, change into some dry clothes, and start making dinner. Dane suggests a big can of beef chili and two day old breakfast biscuits. That sounds great to me, so I pour the can of chili in the pot and start heating it up. Dane gets the biscuits out of the car, wraps them in tin foil, and sets them near the fire just to warm them up a little. It doesn’t take long for the chili to heat up. I scoop out a portion for each of us, and Dane hands me a biscuit. Oh, the food tastes good.
While we are eating dinner, Dane suggests that on our final day here in the
park, we should take the time to visit the Aboriginal Rock Art. Nourlangie and Ubirr are the most visited Rock Art locations in the country, and they happen to be located in this park.
Day 6
From the car park, it is a short hike to the Ubirr Rock caves where the famous rock art is. The art depicts certain ancestors from Dreamtime, and other animals of the region today. The art is estimated to be 20,000 years old and is a valuable, historical record of the Aboriginal people. It is believed that the Creation ancestors painted on the rock. The art has been painted and repainted for thousands of years. From the Ubirr area, Dane decides to start the Bardedjildji walk. It’s about a three mile walk that rewards you with a fantastic view of Kakadu’s floodplains and sandstone rock formations. On our way back to camp, we stop by Nourlangie Rock, a large outcrop that consists of three main sites: the Anbangbang rock shelter, the Anbangbang gallery, and the Nanguluwur art site. The Anbangbang shelter was used by clans travelling to the lowlands in search of food, and for dreaming and relaxation.
Dane shares an interesting fact about the rock art. The Aboriginal people will not give a complete explanation or interpretation of the art to non-Aboriginal people because they do not think that they have the right to know. Tourists get the public story, not the entire story.
Dane leads us up this very steep trail to show us a different view of the escarpment. Very impressive and massive! We arrive back at our campsite around 7:00 p.m., famished, so I start rifling through the SUV searching for something to heat up and cook for dinner, when I realize that Dane already has a big pot of something on the fire. How in the world did he get something on the fire that fast?
“What’s in the pot?” I ask.
“I’m not telling.”
It turns out to be beef stew again. I have a feeling that I am never going to eat beef stew again after this vacation. I didn’t really like it very much to begin with, but it’s good, convenient, campfire food.
Day 7
Before we head to our next destination, we need to stock up on a few supplies--hopefully, no more beef stew. There is a town called Katherine, not too far from here, where we are planning to grocery shop. It is also near the next place we really want to see--Katherine’s Gorge. On the corner, there is a mom and pop grocery store where we stop to do our shopping. I love little stores like this because the people are amazingly friendly. We go in the store, and I immediately go to the nut section because I love trail mix. Not only is it healthy, it’s convenient and easy to carry. It is a real good snack to have when you are camping and hiking. Instant energy is what I call it. We also load up the cart with cans of Spam, tuna, chicken, soup, chili, a big bag of rice, a variety of canned vegetables, and some canned fruit. Since we have no way of keeping food cold, we will not be able to buy any perishable items like eggs and bacon. I guess we will be eating cereal bars and pop tarts for breakfast instead of scrambled eggs and bacon--my favorite.
Trying to find a spot in the back of the SUV for the groceries proves to be a challenge. All of the camping gear is stored in the container secured to the rack on the roof, and the back of the car is filled with our suitcases, cases of water, a fire extinguisher, and a first aid kit. Dane even has this cool shower bag that holds about 40 liters (10 gallons) of water. All you have to do is hang it in a tree, open the spout, and it becomes a mini shower. It doesn’t last long, but is very refreshing after a long day of hiking.
We arrive at the campsite just before 10:00 a.m. Same routine as before--Dane sets up the tents, and Derrick and I go hunting for firewood. We decide to take a short hike while we are out searching for wood. There are over a dozen gorges to see here at Katherine’s Gorge. We walk out on a trail for about an hour and decide to turn around and head back toward the campsite. We start picking up wood as we get closer and notice just off the trail a couple of dead dingo pups. We get back to camp and tell Dane about the pups, and he seems very anxious to go see them. So Derrick takes him back to the place where we saw them. Within a few minutes they are back at the camp.
“That was quick! Dane, did you see the pups?”
“No, they weren’t there anymore.”
“Not there? That’s odd. What do you think happened to them?”
“Maybe another hungry animal,” he says. “Food can be scarce around these parts this time of year. There’s no telling what hauled those two pups off that quickly.”
I wrinkle my forehead and try to imagine what could have taken those dead pups. Was it more than one animal, or something really big with a ferocious appetite? I don’t want to think about it anymore.