Jabiru, Kakadu National Park

It’s the dry season in Kakadu at present, but it’s also pretty hot, maximum of about 35 minimum of 18, flies during the day and mozzies at night - so the best time of day to get going is in the early morning - this morning we took an 8 am scenic flight to have a look at some of the inaccessible surrounding countryside and out into Arnhem Land. Kakadu is a World Heritage listed National Park which covers nearly 20,000 square kilometers and we flew over huge rocky escarpments, the East Alligator River, complete with crocodiles, flood plains and billabongs. Some the famous waterfalls are not flowing at present and the rivers are low. We may have to come back in the wet season.
It’s the first time I have flown in a small plane, this was a 5 seater Cessna, and to be honest this morning I would have been quite happy not to have gone, particularly as there was a newspaper item yesterday about a sight seeing plane crashing into a helicopter, but off we went and of course it was a wonderful experience!
When arrived at the park via Pine Creek and drove across a large section to the town of Jabiru, a mining town which was constructed by the company which runs the uranium mine. We are staying at Kakadu Lodge which has a large swimming pool complete with poolside bar, restaurant and grassy surrounds. We are camped right next to the pool area and have been making the most of it, as you can imagine it’s a very popular spot and we are both showing early signs of a tan.
We leave here Friday for Darwin where we have booked ourselves into a city motel so that we can sample some of the night time cultural activities!