Judy & Brian Tour Oz: South Alligator River, Kakadu NT

Hhhhh? What's that noise? Oh. It's 530am and we need to get ready and do the bolt asap. We have to drive the 50km or so back to Cooinda to catch the sunrise tour that leaves at 630.

The rule is never drive in the dark. Well, for those of you who have never seen 530am o'clock, it is dark, very dark. Judy drove cautiously and carefully and it's just as well as the 'roo we did see was standing right on the road nibbling away at something and was not inclined to move. Then there was the snake, which we missed but it may have already gone to chat with the Great Serpent.

The boat ride out onto the Billabong and out into the river and wetlands was really good, better than previous ones. I reckon that if they had Kakadu Bird Spotto cards we might well have ticked them all off! Here's a bit of a list: Jabiru (Black necked stork to you), wandering and plumed whistling ducks, magpie geese by the truckload, egrets; little, intermediate, great and cattle, White-bellied Sea eagles, Nankeen night heron, comb-crested jacana, whistling kites, spoonbills, cormorants, kingfisher (can't remember which one), brolgas, pheasant coucal and darters, male and female. Oh and why did i decline the loan of the big lens from Lauren? The lady behind us on the boat had what looked like a 1D and 800mm lens, and a happy snapper, and a movie camera and a huge pair of binoculars. They professed not to be birdies, but were spotting all kinds of things no one else could see or identify. We could easily see how the bird population really starts to concentrate as the water levels fall and the wetlands start to dry up. Have to come back in September, just before the light show and the wet.

Not to mention the crocodiles, not many sightings, but the first was the best; a big female who just cruised along side for about ten minutes, quietly, effortlessly, watching, waiting....

We got back to the dock about 9am and then on to the included breakfast at the Cooinda Lodge. All you can eat, hot cold, cereal, eggs, bacon, snags, hash brown, fruit, pastries, you name it. Not even a huge mob of ravenous marauding Scouts from Turramurra could stop them. Pretty good value really for $99. Worth it just to watch the free feeding frenzy.

The plan was to then drive down to Maguk Gorge and have a swim, which we did. Its about 50k south toward Pine Creek (still 50k inside the park mind you) and 10km down a deteriorating dirt road. Then you have to hike about 1 1/2 km up along the river, first through sand, then through ankle deep water and then a proper river crossing and then a pile of rocks. But hey, when you know what is at the end, it's truly worthwhile. There is a waterfall, which is pretty good, but the pool! The pool is about 50m wide and 100m long and 20m deep and the water is just cool enough to be really refreshing, not to mention buoyant from the minerals and really just the most perfect place. It's all in, nobody wants to miss this treat.

Sadly, by the time you get back to the car you really need another swim, and it's just up the track, but it's too late in the day.... So you cruise back up to Cooinda and console yourself with some ice cold drinks and a big pizza and a coffee.

Back finally to the van, Judy has elected to test the mattress for possible bumps, while i have cleaned out the car and am now downloading the 10 zillion snaps we promised not to take this year, because 'we've taken them all before'. Yair, right.