Up with the sun so we can get in and do our walk early before the sun starts bearing down on the rocks . Today we’re off to Gumlom , which is in the southern section of Kakadu , not quite sure what we’ll find , so keep reading .
Driving down we spotted about 15 wild horses , that helps to explain the lumps of manure on the roads ! We had 33klms of bitumen , before we hit 39klms of dirt & gravel & corrugations , did I mention dust - there was bucket loads of it !! Check the photo for the car coming in the distance !!
Some of the traffic coming the other way wasn’t considerate with dust and rocks etc , we normally slow down to minimise it’s effects , most of the others today weren’t . We pulled over to let a car & caravan have the road and some idiot towing a camper trailer following him , overtook him right beside us - we looked at each other and just shook our heads in disbelief .
The road in was winding it’s way between ridge lines down into the valley where the South Alligator River runs . It is a nice drive in apart from the corrugations , there are sections where you have a rocky outcrop running parallel to the road on one side and you have an escarpment on the other .
Arriving at Gumlom , we parked and loaded the backpack for the hike up the hill to the top of the falls . We set off , walking 50m to the start of the climb , and climb it was , up rocks , up more rocks and more rocks , zig zagging our way to the top . A few others were on their way down , one lady we chatted to had already had a fall , but didn’t damage herself - that would be relatively easy on this track , one slip and you’ve probably got some broken bones and abrasions !!!
Making it to the top in great shape , we climbed over to the lookout where you could see to the ridges & escarpments where we came in earlier , and a vast flat valley below . There is greenery everywhere you find water , you can trace the rivers & creeks via the vegetation .
The track got rougher & rougher , so I carried on to get an idea of how rough , before Lyn came over - she didn’t , it was too rough . The track leads down to the top of the falls and the 4 separate plunge pools above it . The water was a bright green , much brighter than yesterdays , and was cooler - backpackers were everywhere - in the water , sprawled over the rocks trying to get a tan , and generally making a nuisance of themselves .
The rocks up hare all have distinct patterns through them and are the usual red /orange colour - this time they were highly polished to a semi gloss finish by all the water & debris that comes down in the wet season .
I made my way back up to Lyn and had some water , telling her of my findings before showing her some photos & videos . We then headed back down slowly , slowly , pausing to let people past - both on the upward & downward journey . Stopping at a lookout we’d seen on the way up but didn’t stop at , we found the plunge pool below the falls - it was huge , 100m long by about 60m wide - it was massive !!
We reached the bottom again , without any scrapes or bruises , and wandered around to the plunge pool - just as impressive from the ground !!! There are schools of fish here - all good eating size , just floating around waiting for their next feed , we saw at least 100 .
Back to the ute and time for lunch on the lovely soft green grass in the picnic area , there is a gum tree with large leaves and a really nice salmon pink coloured bark .
Into the ute and off back down the dusty road , reaching Kakadu Hwy and heading north . We turned off to Bukbukluk Lookout - now there’s a mouthful - try saying that 3 times fast !!! It gives you views to the north of the savannah grasslands and to the escarpments in the east where we had just been .
We saw about 7 donkeys wandering around just off the highway as well - didn’t expect to see wild donkeys I must say !!
So far its Kakadu 2 , detractors zero !! We had a great day , spectacular views and walk/climb , time to chill for a while , before deciding on the next adventure . The beer / cheese / biscuits certainly tasted great this afternoon !!!
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