Departed Darwin at 8am by coach with new driver/guide, Debs, who had just returned yesterday from a holiday in Bali. 300mls planned today ending up in the far east part of Kakadu, in the village of Jabiru.
Leaving Darwin we drove through Palmerston, a town built since Tracy in 1974. Further on skirted the small town of Humpty Doo, before entering the Kakadu National Park, which is categorised as Sub Tropical Savannah Woodland.
Above : paper bark tree. Many uses for Aboriginal people, including bedding, bandages, cooking etc.
Kakadu is an area plentiful in wildlife, particularly birds of some 70 species. Also caught sight of more wallabies and dingos, together with kingfishers, parakeets and fruit bats amongst others. Drove close by an enormous firing and bombing range used by Australian and American Marines. Comfort stop at a Nature Reserve Station, then further on to Aboriginal Stone Country – an area of land surrounded by 300mls of porceleinite cliffs – and held in great religious significance by the Aborigines. Our main reason for coming here was to visit a Uranium mine, comprising 5 enormous craters dug in the ground. Digging has now stopped, but processing of Uranium ore is still continuing. The 5 holes have to be filled in over the next 30 years before the land is returned to the original settlers. One of the holes looks like this:
Currently filled with approx 30m of water thanks to the tropical rain storms which they seemed to be recently, and we are experiencing yesterday and today – and continuing tonight! The “hills” in the background have been formed from the mining excavations and will be flattened once the refilling commences. Retraced our steps back to Jabiru.
Staying at the Crocodile Hotel (built in the shape of a croc when seen from the air!) for one night only. Moving on tomorrow to Katherine.
BTW, Travelled a considerable distance today on the Stuart Highway, named after John McDouall Stuart. An engineer born in Dysart, Fife.
M & A in Oz 