​June 1 East Kakadu

Gorgeous isn't it!? This is the road into Gunlom. It was pretty rough in parts and one Big Dipper creek crossing we took a bit fast - the jolt forced the doors open on the bathroom cupboard! Oh well it needed tidying

I am just loving being in the bush - you guessed huh!? To feel the cool breeze flutter over you during the night. To wake to the cackle of the blue winged kookaburra and oriole's quiet gloink gloink gloink as the dawn chorus stutters into life with the brightening of the sky. Tra la la .......

We camped near a couple of families travelling with kids. What an experience fit them. One of the families we saw again at the Little Roper Stockcamp.

Waterfall Creek- Gunlom. A special place.

This is the beach on the edge of the plunge pool. They said their were no crocs in the pool but the signs warning of the
dangers of crocs were up everywhere. People did go in the water - not us!

Now we are at Little Roper, but then we were camped at Gunlom (Waterfall creek) on the South Alligator river ~40k east into the hills off the road in Kakadu NP. It's rather stunning. Rocky escarpment with a multi strand waterfall plummeting over the rocky edge way, way up. There's an infinity pool at the top of the falls - they say! But we enjoyed it - from the plunge pool maybe 150m below (the climb was too steep for me). We watched, heart in mouth, while some 'crazy' young people stood on the edge taking selfies - probably on Instagram the next day. But that's them .....

This is a mighty salmon gum but have a look at this thread of brown going up the trunk. It's the roadway for termites - they just chomp their way up and into the core. Most trees up here are infested but they still manage to survive. How long is the question.

Look closely and you can see some termites scurrying along where someone breached their undercover walkway

These are green tree ants. I just love them. I have tasted the juice they store in that green burble - our guide on the Cobourg Peninsula trip showed me. It's like a sharp hit of citric acid and leaves your tongue tingling. Don't worry the ant didn't die. He was picked up very carefully and put back on the tree. It's good bush tucker.

I just  had to include this beauty  Everywhere you look you find stunning wild life

The whole day had been pretty wonderful. One of the highlights was a meander through the bush at Gungardun for a couple of hours looking at and trying to identify plants and 'things'. Yams for instance. I reckon I found the location of a few - they have a vine top. This is a staple food for the local aboriginals (but many other indigenous people). They wrap them in paperbark and cook them in the sand under coals. When we were in Tiwi Islands they were preparing for their 3 day Yam festival and I know that many indigenous peoples have similar ceremonies.
I was wishing I had Beth Gott by my side. She is an Australian expert on aboriginal plant use etc, an ethnobotanist. Marvellous woman.

I still don't know if these fruits are edible but not trying them. It's the strychnine tree! The aboriginals boil the bark and use to heal skin sores and scabies.

One face of the bush at Gungardun

Other parts of the bush were more open. Much of this has to do with the patchwork regeneration that occurs after spot burning.

All good things come to an end. We were heading back to the road and on to Pine creek

We were surrounded by plants of so many varieties and flowers, mainly tiny, all colours. Even found some little fungi. Spiders webs everywhere woven in large intricate nets to catch the unwary. Hard to imagine that they were once used to help heal wounds. Isn't nature amazing!

Cycads amongst the rocks. These ancient plants look stunning in their natural setting I think. They can live up to 1000 years, wow!Interestingly in the areas where burning had taken place the few cycads among the undergrowth had survived but their fronds had turned bright light green. They stood out like neon signs.

We got a bit lost as we weren't watching the path - surprise surprise, but here we are so....
I finally got to photograph some cycads. Love these prehistoric plants. We've seen them along the road since Litchfield but never got out to take a shot - too far away, no place to pull over, etc.
And as we hit the road south we passed this brave and fearless soul running for Beyond Blue.  Hats off to him.