Thursday we enjoyed a second day in Kakadu National Park. First stop was Nolanji Rock, a major living space and shelter for the Aboriginals.
This spider was enormous, bigger than my hand, probably two hand lengths.
We saw more Aboriginal art which was created for fun, entertainment, to tell stories, to teach lessons, to provide health warnings for specified areas, to lure the hunting spirits or good luck, to document myths, and more.
Nolanji Rock is an important piece of Aboriginal history. Legend has it that a brother and sister committed incest on this rock. In Aboriginal history, a 'brother' and 'sister' are blood relatives, but could be cousins or second cousins or even further separated. When they were caught together, the sister jumped off the rock, broke all her bones, and became the rainbow serpent. Meanwhile the brother was caught, his back was lit on fire and he ran through the forest into a billabong. His skin was black with boils and he became the first saltwater crocodile.
This little rock marks the very spot of the crime.
me in front of Nolanji Rock.
A beautiful view out over Kakadu National Park.
We were there at the very beginning of the day. The sun started peaking over the mountain as we were leaving!
Termite mounds were everywhere! They grow about 1 meter every 10 years and are built of dirt, saliva, and excretions. They have a honeycomb interior and are hollow with tunnels running between them.
We passed through many rivers on our drive through the park.
Our next stops was one of my favorite. We literally climbed the side of a mountain to Gunlom Lookout...
... and were rewarded with beautiful rock pools cascading down different levels. Gaining access to them was a bit of a feat in itself but well worth the effort.
There is another pool above this cascading in a slight waterfall into this pool.
The bottom level was like a negative edge pool where you could swim right up to the edge, and look down into the valley of all the mountains at a spectacular view.
Our group mostly stayed in the upper levels, as there were lots of kids in the lower levels, and... well... pee flows downstream.
Here I am snaking over the slippery rocks, with our Italian newlywed couple in the background, Julia and Gimarco.
me treading water in the middle of the green rock pool.
We climbed a bit higher to get an even better view of the rock pools.
Behind me is a secluded waterfall I swam to but I had to sneak through small crevices to get to it.
Amazing. How beautiful is it?!
Climbing the mountain.
There were crocodiles everywhere we went! Notice the lack of subtlety in their message - can cause injury or DEATH.
Gunlom Falls at the bottom of the mountain.
We stopped briefly in Katherine, where there were lots of Aboriginals on the streets. Gerry managed to buy a high end piece of Aboriginal art during our 15 minute stop.
We spent the night at another permanent campsite in Springvale Homestead. There were crocs in the lagoon; frogs in the toilet, sink, and mirrors; and wallabies everywhere. There are actually three wallabies in the above picture - the middle one is hardest to see.
We fed the wallabies apples at dusk and heard them running through camp eating grass at night.
We had a completely enclosed dining tent for another gourmet meal that evening.
