Travel: KAKADU NATIONAL PARK, NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA

Waking up in Darwin (read about my time there in this blog post), it was another early morning as I raced the thirty minutes down to the pier to pick up my tourbus for the next three days. You can imagine my frustration as the bus then headed into town and picked up more travellers from the very hostel that I had left that morning, and I wondered why my travel agent had not chosen that logical location as my pick up point instead…

Once onboard, our driver/guide Candice drove us the long way to Kakadu National Park where we stopped for photos at the sign before moving on to Ubirr Rock. Here we were told the interesting stories behind the Aboriginal rock paintings, and climbed up to the Nadab Lookout for views over the extensive floodplains and into Arnhem Land, an area still pretty much off limits to visitors.

I enjoyed this little excursion, with the exception of the persistent flies which quickly became the bane of my time in Kakadu. They just can’t seem to get enough of you – flying to one area of your face only to be batted away, and then return to the exact same place! Believe me when I tell you that gets very old very quickly…

Indeed I was very pleased to be rid of the flies back in the van as we drove to Warradjan Cultural Centre where we stopped for a simple picnic lunch and the opportunity to explore the mini museum, before heading on to the evenings campsite at Cooinda. As there were so few of us, we each had a tent to ourselves which was pleasant, and they even had fans in them which certainly felt like a necessity.

We chilled at the campsite, enjoying the resort pool for a few hours before dinner. Alas, it seemed that my travel agent had neglected to tell the tour company that I was vegetarian in spite of being notified numerous times, so I was slightly disappointed with the food options, although Candice did try the best with what was available.

Day two was a very early start as we drove a short way down to Yellow Waters billabong to catch one of the first crocodile cruises. If you read my Daintree adventure, you’ll know that I went on one of these tours there too, but let me tell you that this was on a completely different level. First off, we had an excellent guide in the form of Ruben, who did not stop talking for the whole two hours, which was amazing as he shared fascinating stories about anything and everything, and was continuously pointing out wildlife left right and centre. I particularly loved the Jabiru bird and the water buffalos which we saw crossing the river.

Of course, this is without even mentioning the crocodiles, of which we saw more than I could count, and very close too. We were even lucky enough to catch a crocodile fight in close quarters. This was a definite highlight of my Kakadu adventures and I would recommend it to anyone heading to the Northern Territory.

We hopped into the bus towards Gunlom Falls where we trekked towards the falls and then had free time to swim. One thing which we were told is that every place that we were swimming most likely had crocodiles in them. Whether or not we would see them or be bothered by them, we didn’t know; but it was our guides duty to make us aware that we were swimming in crocodile infested waters.

So, you can imagine my trepidation as we arrive at this huge plunge pool, the bottom of which you have no chance of seeing, and knowing that that’s where the crocs are. I had brought goggles but decided I was better off without them, not really wanting to see the delightful creature of the deep coming up to chomp off one of my limbs.

Anxiety aside, I survived my dip and we hopped back in the van. We were given the option of taking a big, hard trek up to Nawurlandja lookout, or heading straight to the campsite so we’d get there in time for sunset. Being a sunset lover, I opted for the latter option as did the other travellers, only to discover that Candice had mixed up her sunset times and that we in fact could have done both options.

Alas, this meant that we arrived at our Mount Bundy campsite earlier than usual, so I took the opportunity to say hi to the animals who lived around the site, including horses, pigs, peacocks, and heaps of little wallabies. When it came, the sunset was rather spectacular and an enjoyable way to end the day.

We left camp before the sun rose to drive towards the termine mounds, where huge structures of over 60 years old reside, some still full of millions of tiny creatures still building each and every day. They really are massive and rather impressive, particularly when you take into account just how tiny these termites are.

We had a few swimming holes to head to that afternoon, including Florence Falls, Wangi Falls, and Buley Rockhole. At the latter, I was swimming away when I heard my name being called. ‘Don’t go any further,’ Candice warned me. ‘That’s the crocodile breeding ground.’ Okay then… And so day 3 was very much a swimming day, and one that I thankfully managed to survive with all of my limbs still intact.

And with that, it was time to make the long drive back to Darwin, and for me to take my flight back to Brisbane after my extensive East Coast and Northern Territory travels. Now just to explore the rest of Australia and the world!

Thank you for reading all about my adventures in Kakadu! If you enjoyed today's blog, there's plenty more to come, so feel free to drop me a follow on Twitter @CiarasCountry to stay up to date with where I'm heading to next, and I'd love to hear about your adventures too - please leave a message in the comments below with your favourite trips or any you have coming up!