Dreaming of an adventure to Kakadu

Explore one of Australia's most amazing national parks

Jen Adams and her family at Maguk Gorge. Source: Supplied

Exploring the wetlands of Kakadu National Park. Source: Supplied

THE air in the Top End is distinct. Heady with eucalypt, heavy with the tropics and invigorating all at the same time.

The pristine wilderness of Australia's largest national park, Kakadu, has a feeling of remoteness, but in reality it is less than a few hours "down the road" from Darwin, and all on sealed highway.

Exploring the park on a driving adventure with the family, we have the caravan tacked on to the back and a high sense of anticipation as to what we will discover.

The Arnhem Highway begins just outside of Darwin, and it takes you all the way to Jabiru - the main settlement in Kakadu.

As we travel, the towns outside of the city give way to expansive bushland, and only a little way down the road, you start to catch glimpses of the many floodplains that give Kakadu unique recognition as a haven for birdlife.

Our four-year-old daughter Charli is in the back seat, and already in awe of the flocks of magpie geese and pelicans she can see outside her window.

The scenery starts to look familiar. It must be the hundreds of photographs of this area we have seen before; and the reality is so much better.

With the scorching sun beating down, you can feel the heat of the day on the bitumen as we make our way along the highway.

Just a couple of hours on the road and we arrive in Jabiru where we will camp at Kakadu Lodge for the next few nights.

Like an oasis, our campsite is lush and green, nestled in pristine bushland but right next to the town for all its amenities. The park has a pool, in which children are taking grateful refuge, and we adults set up camp and plan our adventures. High on our list is discovering the culture of this region that the traditional owners are so happy to share with us.

Kakadu is home to more than 5000 unique Aboriginal art sites, with a further 10,000 thought to exist. This is just part of the reason why the park has been recognised on the World Heritage list, with the art representing one of the longest historical records of any group of people in the world.

One of the most significant sites is Nourlangie Rock. Here, more than 20,000 years of Aboriginal occupation has been uncovered in its art, where you can see how the life and times of generations have changed and their stories have been left for us to see.

A 1.5km circuit walk takes you through the wet-season home of generations of Aboriginal people.

Between June and September, Kakadu park rangers give free guided talks throughout the day and it is well worth joining one for an incredible insight into the galleries.

Our guide Doug passionately takes us around the art sites and large rock shelter, bringing so many ancient stories to life.

Our day ends at the lookout over Anbangbang Billabong, and one of the most spectacular views of Nourlangie Rock. As the sun sets, it casts a brilliant glow on the rock and surrounding plains.

We are up early the following day for a sunrise cruise on Yellow Water Billabong, Kakadu's most famous wetland. It is still quite dark when we climb on to the boat with our guide Dean from Gagudju Dreaming, an indigenous-owned company operating authentic Kakadu experiences.

But within moments, as we drift out on to the water, with only the sounds of the local birdlife and insects as our company, the sun starts to reveal itself at the bottom of the sky.

It lights up the entire floodplain with a golden glow unlike anything we have ever seen before. Shrouded in mist, it is magical. Not a ripple in the water, crocodiles swim alongside the boat without commotion, all the while the symphony of birds grows louder. Kakadu is home to one-third of Australia's total bird population and we are treated to a spectacular show that reminds us of this fact. From the long-legged jabiru, to the white-bellied sea eagle and the Australian darter, they all go about their morning routines without a single glance at us, and we are totally mesmerised by their beauty in the wild.

The big drawcard for adults and children alike is the saltwater crocodile. We are all silenced by their presence.

One after another swim alongside our boat as if saying hello, leaving us to see the full spectacle of this huge, prehistoric creature.

You can't help but be aware of the fact that there is just a sheet of metal between yourself and these awesome creatures, but that fear quickly superseded by awe.

As the sun rises higher in the sky, the wildlife surrounding us is sometimes close enough to touch.

Gagudju's philosophy of not feeding or touching anything has huge rewards, with the wildlife not being frightened.

Dean tells us that nature paints a different picture almost every day, as the waters recede and the weather changes when they move through the six seasons that guide the traditional owners of this land.

It is a sorry goodbye when we step back on to dry land, awe-inspired by our magical start to the day. But around every turn in this ancient land there is another surprise.

We end our driving adventure by taking the cars off-road to one of Kakadu's spectacular gorges.

The 14km 4WD trip from the highway brings us to Maguk Gorge.

Here, the sheer gorge walls reveal a natural plunge pool at the bottom, which is usually safe for swimming (check the signs). A short hike and we are welcomed by the gushing sounds of the waterfalls, and we all soak in some more Kakadu magic.

Watch this story and more, on Places We Go at 4pm (AEST) Network 10 today.

More: placeswego.com
 

Go2 - KAKADU

Staying there: Kakadu Lodge

See auroraresorts.com.au

Tourism Northern Territory: travelnt.com.au

Yellow Water Cruises: gagudju-dreaming.com
 

"Like" Escape.com.au on Facebook

Follow @Escape_team on Twitter

View the original article here

Dreaming of an adventure to Kakadu

Explore one of Australia's most amazing national parks

Jen Adams and her family at Maguk Gorge. Source: Supplied

Exploring the wetlands of Kakadu National Park. Source: Supplied

THE air in the Top End is distinct. Heady with eucalypt, heavy with the tropics and invigorating all at the same time.

The pristine wilderness of Australia's largest national park, Kakadu, has a feeling of remoteness, but in reality it is less than a few hours "down the road" from Darwin, and all on sealed highway.

Exploring the park on a driving adventure with the family, we have the caravan tacked on to the back and a high sense of anticipation as to what we will discover.

The Arnhem Highway begins just outside of Darwin, and it takes you all the way to Jabiru - the main settlement in Kakadu.

As we travel, the towns outside of the city give way to expansive bushland, and only a little way down the road, you start to catch glimpses of the many floodplains that give Kakadu unique recognition as a haven for birdlife.

Our four-year-old daughter Charli is in the back seat, and already in awe of the flocks of magpie geese and pelicans she can see outside her window.

The scenery starts to look familiar. It must be the hundreds of photographs of this area we have seen before; and the reality is so much better.

With the scorching sun beating down, you can feel the heat of the day on the bitumen as we make our way along the highway.

Just a couple of hours on the road and we arrive in Jabiru where we will camp at Kakadu Lodge for the next few nights.

Like an oasis, our campsite is lush and green, nestled in pristine bushland but right next to the town for all its amenities. The park has a pool, in which children are taking grateful refuge, and we adults set up camp and plan our adventures. High on our list is discovering the culture of this region that the traditional owners are so happy to share with us.

Kakadu is home to more than 5000 unique Aboriginal art sites, with a further 10,000 thought to exist. This is just part of the reason why the park has been recognised on the World Heritage list, with the art representing one of the longest historical records of any group of people in the world.

One of the most significant sites is Nourlangie Rock. Here, more than 20,000 years of Aboriginal occupation has been uncovered in its art, where you can see how the life and times of generations have changed and their stories have been left for us to see.

A 1.5km circuit walk takes you through the wet-season home of generations of Aboriginal people.

Between June and September, Kakadu park rangers give free guided talks throughout the day and it is well worth joining one for an incredible insight into the galleries.

Our guide Doug passionately takes us around the art sites and large rock shelter, bringing so many ancient stories to life.

Our day ends at the lookout over Anbangbang Billabong, and one of the most spectacular views of Nourlangie Rock. As the sun sets, it casts a brilliant glow on the rock and surrounding plains.

We are up early the following day for a sunrise cruise on Yellow Water Billabong, Kakadu's most famous wetland. It is still quite dark when we climb on to the boat with our guide Dean from Gagudju Dreaming, an indigenous-owned company operating authentic Kakadu experiences.

But within moments, as we drift out on to the water, with only the sounds of the local birdlife and insects as our company, the sun starts to reveal itself at the bottom of the sky.

It lights up the entire floodplain with a golden glow unlike anything we have ever seen before. Shrouded in mist, it is magical. Not a ripple in the water, crocodiles swim alongside the boat without commotion, all the while the symphony of birds grows louder. Kakadu is home to one-third of Australia's total bird population and we are treated to a spectacular show that reminds us of this fact. From the long-legged jabiru, to the white-bellied sea eagle and the Australian darter, they all go about their morning routines without a single glance at us, and we are totally mesmerised by their beauty in the wild.

The big drawcard for adults and children alike is the saltwater crocodile. We are all silenced by their presence.

One after another swim alongside our boat as if saying hello, leaving us to see the full spectacle of this huge, prehistoric creature.

You can't help but be aware of the fact that there is just a sheet of metal between yourself and these awesome creatures, but that fear quickly superseded by awe.

As the sun rises higher in the sky, the wildlife surrounding us is sometimes close enough to touch.

Gagudju's philosophy of not feeding or touching anything has huge rewards, with the wildlife not being frightened.

Dean tells us that nature paints a different picture almost every day, as the waters recede and the weather changes when they move through the six seasons that guide the traditional owners of this land.

It is a sorry goodbye when we step back on to dry land, awe-inspired by our magical start to the day. But around every turn in this ancient land there is another surprise.

We end our driving adventure by taking the cars off-road to one of Kakadu's spectacular gorges.

The 14km 4WD trip from the highway brings us to Maguk Gorge.

Here, the sheer gorge walls reveal a natural plunge pool at the bottom, which is usually safe for swimming (check the signs). A short hike and we are welcomed by the gushing sounds of the waterfalls, and we all soak in some more Kakadu magic.

Watch this story and more, on Places We Go at 4pm (AEST) Network 10 today.

More: placeswego.com
 

Go2 - KAKADU

Staying there: Kakadu Lodge

See auroraresorts.com.au

Tourism Northern Territory: travelnt.com.au

Yellow Water Cruises: gagudju-dreaming.com
 

"Like" Escape.com.au on Facebook

Follow @Escape_team on Twitter

View the original article here

Tourism Australia is ruining the adventure

Guess they won't even need to take their own photos. Source: Supplied

• Tourism Australia launch Six Best Jobs campaign
• Angela Mollard says campaign is ruining the fun
• More on those "best jobs"

OPINION: IT'S 1993 and I have a perm twice as wide as my head and a hunger to see the world so much greater than my pay packet will afford.

Each week I stuff away $80, tallying in a notebook my painfully slow attempts to raise the 2000 pounds needed for a working holiday visa to the UK. I'm shift-working every Sunday for the double time; dodging my round at the pub because I'm saving for my big “OE”.

Then, weeks before I'm due to set off with a backpack on the overseas experience that feels so urgent when you're born at the bottom of the world, the exchange rate plummets; my pounds are plundered.  I borrow $700 from Dad – the only time I'll ever ask my parents for money.

London, as the immigration officer warns me, is colder than a witch's tit. But as I battle through that first winter on a diet of baked potatoes, a herringbone coat from Oxfam drawn tight over my shivering shoulders, I learn the single most important lesson of my life: it will be what I make it.

How infuriating, then, that Tourism Australia is spruiking short-cuts to this decades-old rite of passage by offering young foreigners $100,000 and what it boasts are “the best jobs in the world”.

Far from pulling pints in a pub, picking fruit or working as a jackaroo, those interested are invited to apply for jobs such as “chief funster”, “lifestyle photographer”, “outback adventurer” and “taste master”.

Duties within the various roles – there is one for every state – include reviewing festivals, checking the water temperature, swimming with dolphins and eating “your way around the state”.

Seriously, what is Tourism Australia doing using $4million of our hard-earned money to pay these kids to eat and sleep and tweet their way through the nation? Notwithstanding the cultural cringe – the campaign was launched at London's Waterloo station complete with mock beach, lifeguard and bikinied model, it's sending the message that Australia is some lumbering party paradise where life is handed to you on a plate.

Travel is such a wondrous, mind-broadening gift; adventures the stuff on which our souls spin. We all have stories: the taverna in Greece; diving in the Red Sea, glimpsing East Germany through a hole in the Berlin Wall; being newly in love in New York.

But travelling when you're young is as much about discovering your personal potential as it is about the place. D. H. Lawrence calls it getting out of the “glass bottle” of our ego and escaping like the squirrels in the cage of our personality. When we journey, he writes, “things will happen to us so that we don't know ourselves. Cool, unlying life will rush in.”

Tourism Australia is right to lure the young traveller market; the backpacker buck is worth $12 billion to our economy.

But in offering six golden tickets in some Willy Wonka-esque gimmicky game show we're not only short-selling our true attributes but guaranteeing we attract the sort of jumped-up knobs without the wherewithal to find their way here on their own. Remember Augustus Gloop? Veruca Salt? Enough said.

Surely it's more important than ever we attract visitors with a genuine interest in our country and a curiosity for life, rather than contestants competing for a jolly on our palm-fringed beaches, a bucket of prize money at their side.  

Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy argues working holiday makers tend to stay longer, disperse widely and often come back again, with their families, later in life. I'd venture they're far more likely to return if they have a real adventure rather than a surreal one.

Me, I spun my 2000 pounds into the most extraordinary eight years of my life. I got the job of my dreams – probably because Arabella Farquar-Headlington-Smith was away skiing in St Moritz, or because the boss saw the team-building value in taking the piss out of the Antipodean.

No matter, I fell so deeply, irrevocably in love with that cold green land and its wit and its woodland bluebells that I married the closest thing I could find to David Beckham.

We are a tourism boss's dream, returning every three years to revisit the little bits of ourselves, as author Katherine Mansfield puts it, left “fluttering on the fences”.

If Tourism Australia wants people to visit and return then instead of filling their pockets it needs to steal a piece of their heart. There is a small corner of mine that is forever England.

Meanwhile, Kate Schneider says the "Chief Funster" sounds good but you'll need to work hard

View the original article here

Bound for adventure on Bruny Island

St Paul's Anglican Church, Bruny Island. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones Source: National Features

Adventure Bay, Bruny Island. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones Source: National Features

SLOW-MOVING at the best of times, Bruny Island has been brought to a standstill by fierce winds whistling up the d'Entrecasteaux Channel, gusting at speeds of up to 137km/h.

Power lines have been blown down, cutting electricity supplies, disabling fuel lines, ripping roofs off flimsy cottages and stranding more than 30 passengers and their cars on the ferry from the mainland. 

After three unsuccessful attempts to land at Roberts Point, one of which resulted in the Mirambeena ferry crashing into the jetty, it is forced to ride out the storm on churning seas for several hours. 

"In 20 years here, I honestly can't remember anything like it," says the woman at the only pub on the island at Alonnah where, at least, an emergency generator safeguards essential supplies of cold beer.

Not far away, waves crash across the narrow road, The Neck, which links Bruny's north and south islands. Everywhere, flying debris makes driving on mainly unsealed, pot-holed roads even more hazardous. 

Walking - let alone birdwatching -  proves equally challenging as we climb out of the relative shelter provided by the rattling rainforest, up along the clifftop track leading to Cape Queen Elizabeth. 

For more than an hour we risk being blown off the side of the hills before being driven back to base by stinging sand whipping across the dunes behind Moorina Bay. 

Our island holiday had started in equally dramatic weather. A day after temperatures hit 33C in Sydney, we arrived in torrential rain and a bitter cold that didn't top 6C. Not that we complained. 

In fact, the intervening days were all fine: warm, sunny, albeit blowy days of exploration, followed by cool, convivial evenings of nibbles and novels, enjoyed around a blazing firebox. At least that was the theory. 

As locals say, extreme, spectacularly unpredictable weather is part of the island's charm, part of the fun of escaping the conveniences and comforts of home for simpler pleasures. 

Bruny has history. The island, 20 minutes from the mainland on a fine day, was inhabited by the Nueonne group of the southeastern tribe of Tasmanian Aborigines, including the famous Truganini. A heroic figure who witnessed the virtual extermination of her people, she is regarded as the last full-blooded member of her people. 

During the late 18th century, Bruny was also visited by British explorers Tobias Furneaux, James Cook and William Bligh and the Frenchman Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, after whom the island was named. 

Except at Christmas, when holidaymakers increase its 650 population ten-fold, it offers stunning views and walks into unspoilt forest, along empty beaches and up mountains to local landmarks such as Cape Bruny lighthouse. 

And it offers excellent chances of seeing all 12 of Tasmania's endemic birds: the native hen, dusky robin, thornbill, scrubtit, scrubwren, yellow wattlebird, black currawong, green rosella, forty-spotted pardalote and the yellow-throated, black-headed and strong-billed honeyeaters. 

We hired a small Hyundai which bravely tackled crumbling wooden bridges and the unsealed, pot-holed roads that criss-cross the island. 

Only once, when it was confronted by a steep, muddy, rutted forestry road, planted with signs advertising its total unsuitability for two-wheel vehicles, did the mud-covered baby refuse to go any further. 

We booked a cottage - Saintys Creek - on Cloudy Bay Rd, precisely 5.46km south of the small settlement of Lunawanna. 

"Discover a forest haven away from the madding crowds with only the wind in the trees and an astonishing array of bush creatures to accompany you," suggested its owner Sophie Camell. 

Saintys Cottage nestles cosily in tall eucalypt forest and has slate floors, a see-through firebox, a gorgeous kitchen and the calmest, most soothing atmosphere to ease even the most creased brow. 

This is a place to rest and recover in nature. You can relax in the fire bath or doze by the fire; paddle up the creek, walk the wild headlands, surf reliable Middle Bay five minutes away, or study the immense array of creatures that inhabit the forests, creeks and sea.

Mornings are heralded by wrens, cuckoos, whistlers and robins. Mad swift parrots career in the canopy and wily 40-spotted pardalotes hide high in the majestic white gums. Falcons and eagles soar overhead and a family of cormorants clack themselves to sleep in the evenings. 

All too good to be true? Not really: The outdoor firebath looks a complete non-starter; the firebox proves temperamental, at least for inexperienced lighters; the parrots do not turn up and the advertised shop at Lunawanna has closed. 

Otherwise, like the island, Saintys Cottage - named after an 1840s convict-settler James Sainty - delivers everything as promised. It is comfortable and quirky, with its day-bed, Pythonesque electric organ and collection of Tasmania-shaped shells and rocks. Surprisingly, it also picks up ABC TV. 

As promised, the wooden cottage is visited by wildlife, including an albino wallaby. And its windows are tapped, front and back, every morning by a hungry, or simply inquisitive, male superb fairy-wren. 

Though a couple of nights bring heavy rain, almost enough to fill Saintys Creek, and high winds that shake the tall timber until it seems they must topple, every bright day brings a highlight. A new adventure. A new bird. 

One day, we are driven back by gale-force winds and overnight heavy rain that has created a river that separates us from the beautiful beach leading out to East Cloudy Head. Undeterred, we return two days later with towels, take off our shoes and wade barefooted through the river and across a mile-long beach. 

Another day, another river prevents us tackling another long walk, part of it along old timber-cutting roads, above Adventure Bay. We find a back way to the track via private land that was once the site of a large caravan park. 

To the dismay of his neighbours, local entrepreneur Robert Pennicott, whose high-speed Yellow Boat cruises have brought noise pollution to the wilderness coast, now has plans to build a holiday village on the land. 

We are figuratively, and almost literally, blown away on the walk up to Cape Bruny Lighthouse, on the appropriately named Mt Barren. It overlooks a part of the coast littered with shipwrecks. 

Retreating from the winds, we drive as far as our little car is prepared to go, along Old Jetty Beach Rd. From there we pick up the Luggaboine Circuit on the Labillardiere Peninsular for a 10km walk.

--

Go2

- TASMANIA

- Getting there

Virgin Australia and Jetstar fly to Launceston and Hobart from Sydney. 

Qantas flies to Hobart from Sydney and to Launceston from Melbourne, with connections from Sydney. 

QantasLink flies into Devonport. 

The Spirit of Tasmania travels between Melbourne and Devonport. 

Access to Bruny Island is by vehicle ferry. 

- Staying there

Saintys Creek Cottage; saintyscreek.com 

More: brunyisland.org.au

View the original article here