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THE CALL OF KAKADU Wednesday
We drove out of Darwin headed toward Kakadu. We passed a lot of plains area and saw hundreds of Magpie Geese and low wetlands. Water Buffalo populations have been drastically reduced because they do so much damage to the habitat. Most of what you see now are being raised in enclosed areas. Mimosa weed is a problem in the lowlands because it chokes everything else out. It was imported by accident and has gone wild. There is a huge program in place trying to get rid of it. From the Windows to the Wetlands visitor center we could see out across the vast plains and see what a huge area it threatens. At the visitor center we viewed a video called "The Call of Kakadu." With photos over time of the same locations we got a real feel for how this area changes from wet season into dry and then back again. Such dramatic changes. The lightening storms here are phenomenal. To really know Darwin you'd have to see it in both seasons! We drove on to Port Stuart which is where we would camp for the night. It is a permanent campsite which means they have a building for cooking and then permanent, water-proof tents with three bunked cots in each. We had lunch here and dumped out our stuff. After lunch we took a hike in an area right behind us that by looking at I never realized what it was. Within just meters of the flat dry area where we were camped there was a Monsoonal Vine Forest. A creek or stream flowed through it and the growth was much more lush. Lee pointed out lots of the plants that were bush "tucker" (food) to the Aboriginals and we got to try many of them. That meant nipping the citrus pouches off of green ants, trying bush apples, a type of wild fig and several things I don't remember the name of. It's important to know which ones have to be peeled or soaked first and which varieties of plants are poison and which ones serve as good medicines. It's all so fascinating to learn what those peoples that we think of as being primitive knew!!
This picture at the left is a bird nest of the Orange Footed Scrub Fowl. It was huge. The nest incubates for the birds and is added to and used over and over. They think it is 5,000 years old. We saw snake vines that grow over under and through anywhere for great lengths to find a spot to grow up into the canopy for daylight. Green ants were profuse. They have a shiny, green, transparent back end that is full of a citrus tasting juice. Lee had found a freshwater crocodile nest a couple weeks ago and we checked on it. He thought a monitor (lizard) had gotten to it wasn't expecting the babies to make it. We dug up an egg to check on it. They had gone bad and not developed. The area we were walking in was full of leeches. I'd heard about them but they didn't look like what I expected. They blend right in and it's hard to spot them.. They move fast and will be on you before you know it. We all got real good at watching each other's shoes and socks. Teamwork at it's best! Next on our agenda was a drive to the Mary River where we took a two and a half hour boat ride. It was great! We saw several pairs of White Bellied Sea Eagles. They are majestic!! We saw some birds that look like waterfowl around Fort Myers but go by different names here... same families. Anghinas are darter birds here. We saw many varieties of herons. A treasure was seeing some pairs of Black Necked Storks. They have such long orange legs and move so uniquely. We saw immature and mature Rufus Night Herons The adults are beautiful. We spotted a few Azure Kingfishers. An entertaining bird to watch was a Combed Crested Jacana. They were small and had long skinny toes and legs. They are so light and with their long toes they can support themselves on the lily pads. It appears from a distance that they are walking on water. Their nickname is the Jesus Bird. We spotted many "salties" and a couple freshwater crocs. One "saltie" in particular was mammoth and he was hamming for the camera...mouth wide open... actually that's how they cool themselves. Cormorants were common birds and we spotted several Australian Ibis and Pied Herons. All along the river we saw Green Pigmy Geese and Yellow Bellied Fly Catchers. Pheasant Caucels, Black Tailed Kites and Corella Cockatoos were there as well. You can always hear the cockatoos! At several points where the flatlands edged the river we saw Water Buffalo.. Three trees of roosting bats were along the water but the lilies prevented us from getting too close. The rivers edges were lined with Lotus Lilies which are huge and have large pink blooms. The pods are full of "seeds" that tasted like almond to me... more bush "tucker. We saw the sunset from the boat on the way in. Was a lovely ride! Back to our camp at Port Stuart for dinner. When we drove in we saw kangaroos all around the camp site. Rus and I had the farthest away of the three tent cabins. On our way back with the flashlight we began noticing little sets of eyes so we went exploring!! Amazing what's out at night that you never see in the day. They guys heard something and went to explore in one tree. Rus spotted an animal hanging upside down in the tree and it looked dead. He didn't see the bird of prey that was holding it. The bird flew off and came in my direction overhead and we heard it in another tree and the flapping of the huge wings. What we discovered then was that what we heard in the tree was the dead Green Pigmy Duck it dropped.... it flew on off. Rus walked awhile in the Vine Forest nearby and saw some exotic tree frogs. Once again it was a long full day!! Makes for good sleep! I understood why we weren't sleeping out on the ground here! The stars were beautiful however -- beyond any we've seen and I wished to be out!! One thing we wish we had packed on this trip was a thermometer. It'd be interesting to know how hot it is in Fahrenheit but then again maybe it's better we don't know!
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