Bardedjilidji Walk

What should be Kakadu's best claim to fame, is also the thing you never hear anyone talk about: This is Crocodile Dundee Territory. And the Bardedjilidji Walk is another site on the Crocodile Dundee Tour of Kakadu National Park.

My dad, our Tour Guide, pointing out something.  
Behind him is one of the locations for Crocodile Dundee 2

Aboriginal Word of the Day: Bardedjilidji is pronounced 'Bard-ded-jill- id-gee' and means walking track or pathwa.  It is also the name of the roots of water lilies.

The rocks are sandstone, so you can see the layers in the formations. Because sandstone is softer than other forms of rock, you can see how the weather has created cracks and overhangs in the rock.

Rock formation

 The walk is a lot quieter (i.e. less touristy), which is great because it means you get to explore all the caves without hordes of people.

Sandstone Layers

Some rock art

More rock art, actually quite high up on the cliff walls

The weathering of the sandstone, roots of trees and sunlight streaming through makes gorgeous cave structures

Rock art - boat

Sandstone Fig

The tree which grows into the sandstone is called the Sandstone Fig.  It's roots grow into the crevices of the rock where moisture gathers, and the rock face provides sturdy support for the plant.

Wherever you see this round groove in the rocks, you know that the cave was used as a home.  The caves here provide cool shelter from the heat.

Watch out for crocs!

Cave exploring

 This is a short walk, but definitely lots of fun! Half of it is in the sun, half of it is the shade, and there are lots of caves to explore which is cool.  Because it is less popular with the tourists, there aren't many signboards to the rock art, which means you have to be on the lookout to spot it.

Cahill's Crossing

Cahill's Crossing, along East Alligator River, is the road which links the Kakadu National Park to Arnhem Land (Aboriginal Territory), although the road gets flooded every day when the tide is high.

Some brave souls attempting to cross at high tide.

Why is it called Alligator River? That is a good question, since there are no alligators here. The first explorers here thought that the crocodiles were alligators.  By the time anyone realised they were crocodiles, all the rivers had been named and mapped and apparently it would be too much trouble to rename everything. Hence, the East Alligator, South Alligator and West Alligator Rivers have no alligators in them. They do have lots of salt water and river water crocodiles though.

Not my picture - I was never so lucky to see a crocodile in such good view here

The river here is full of fish, making it a popular fishing spot. Since the water is also croc-infested, it makes it a particularly dangerous fishing spot. In recent years, many people have been killed here.  You would think that this would make people nervous to walk into the waters to fish, but locals especially are quite complacent about the dangers.

Crocodile safety signs are up everywhere in NT

And I mean, everywhere

We went there a few times, and unfortunately did not spot too many crocs. Which I suppose is why people get complacent.  The Aboriginals have a saying that for every croc you see, there are seven more that you don't see.

No crocodiles

Still no crocodiles

Crocodiles ... no

Wait is that a ... no

So you end up playing the "Is that a log or a crocodile" game a lot.  They were all logs...

Log or crocodile

I think it's a crocodile

It IS a crocodile

And another crocodile

So, after visiting here a bunch of times back in 2012, and again this year ... I think I was lucky enough to see 2 crocodiles. From a distance.

Jumping fishy things

One thing I did see lots off at Cahill's were these little mudskippers, which are amphibious fish. They use their fins to walk (aka jump) on land.  It's actually kind of cute to see this little fishies jumping around on the mud.

I seem to have bad luck when it comes to spotting crocodiles.

In case you are wondering, the car from the first picture did make it across the river. But some people are not so lucky...

A pic from NT News

I certainly wouldn't want to be in that predicament with all those crocs swimming about. 

Day 2: Ubirr - the number 1 natural attraction in Northern Territory

Ubirr is one of the must-do things when visiting Kakadu National Park, and it is no surprise that it was recently voted the number one natural attraction, and the tenth overall attraction in Australia. It is also a World Heritage Site


The rocky site has a lot of cave-like structures where Aboriginals made their homes, taking refuge from the sun and the other elements, making it one of the most historically relevant sites in the Northern Territory. Archaeologists have found many relics there which have given insight in the Aboriginal lifestyle for the last 15000 years (although it could be older, no carbon dating has been done)

Holes left in the rocks from grinding ingredients for food and paint. 

It is also religiously relevant to the Aboriginals, in the Dreamtime the Rainbow Serpent travelled through this area in human form. As she crossed the land, she "sang" the rocks, plants, animals, and people into existence.

However, what makes it a major tourist attraction is the number of rock art galleries.  The paintings represent various styles of art over the ages, as well as various subject matter.  

Black pigments are derived from charcoal, while red, yellow and white were made using rock coloured by iron deposits. 

A menu of various types of food - probably used to help identify food sources. This 

Long necked turtle, painted in xray style

Barramundi and other fish

Footprints

Even the roof is painted

Fish, painted in xray style

X-ray style is the latest art style in Aboriginal art, and has been used for the last 5000 years. It depicts animals or human figures with the internal organs and bone structures are clearly visible. 

Besides painting scenes from everyday life, Aboriginals also used art to tell stories of the Dreamtime, such as the Rainbow serpent below.

The Rainbow Serpent

As with all cultures, folk stories were/ are used to teach morals to keep society in line.  The main story depicted at Ubirr is that of the Namarrgarn Sisters, who could turn themselves into crocodiles. This story is used to teach the dangers of crocodiles.

Rock art is not the only reason that this site is so amazing - but first, you have to climb a bit...

And here it is ... the view from the top....

It is hard to describe the peace and tranquility you experience when you reach the top. It is like medicine for your soul.  There is nothing quite like standing on top of Ubirr rock and feeling like you are in the middle of nowhere, with just the natural surroundings in every direction. A little piece of Eden, this is one of my favourite places that I have EVER been to.

It's my land