Day 170 25/5/14 – Mardugul Campground – Merl Campground Kakadu WA

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, one of the problems we getting to the NT to early is that not everything is ready after the wet season, and as this season was one of the wettest in a while more than half of Kakadu was still closed, including Jim Jim falls. As a result the only major attractions that we could see were the rock art site at Nourlangie and Oobir. There was a talk at Nourlangie at 10:30 and we made it, only because the ranger had been held up at his previous talk.

We walked up into a what only could be described as an open air cave with its major wall adorned in rock art. When the ranger arrived I must say I was surprised that he was as white as a sheet. Within a few seconds of him talking my disappointment was replaced by concentration as this guy was not only passionate but he knew his stuff. Over the next 45 minutes he concisely explained how the site we were standing in had been used for the past 20,000 years by local tribes and how a Professor Rhys-Jones (I think the spelling is right) had done an archaeological dig in this very site cataloguing this incredible history. Once he showed us equivalent samples of what had been found at the dig and what era they were from and how they developed he then went on to compare them to important historical events like, Romans, the Egyptians and a few others with him quickly running out of well known events as the Aboriginal history far out dates pretty much all other known cultures. I have since found a page that lists the different eras of the art and have included it.

He then mentioned something somewhat significant, in that the culture that we were learning about was still alive and then gobsmacked us all saying that there was a site, just up the road where there are remains of a 50,000 year old site. It was pretty awesome. We spent the rest of the morning checking out the other 5 or 6 major art sites around the area and then headed back to the Izzygator.

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We drove into Jabiru, the main ‘town’ in Kakadu picking up some supplies, managing to get lost in a town the size of some shopping centres, eventually finding a nice park for lunch. The boys had a great time twisting the swings around and around to the point where I am sure the blood supply to their legs would have been cut off and then being released onto their version of the zipper!

We headed to our new campground, Merl, and the only explanation I can give is there was an international mosquito convention happening there at the same time. The buggers were everywhere and they were in their thousands! We had a quick look around and headed off to the second of Kakadu’s ‘big’ art sites Oobir. I say ‘big’ as all around us as we drove along the road from Jabiru were rocky escarpments, millions of them and as we drove along we could see a few bits and pieces but many of them are sacred so they are not for our consumption.

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We were met this time by a genuine Aboriginal guide who spoke so softly what even a couple of meters away he was hard to hear. I shoved the boys to the front as we entered the main cavern of Oobir and I was transfixed by the rock art. The art was covering the wall but across the centre of the wall was a protruding wall that had the x-ray style of paintings of most of the local animals. Long and short neck turtles, kangaroo, goanna, catfish, bream and plenty of barramundi! He joked that it was like a menu board for the local Aborigines and it wasn’t far from the truth!

We then progressed to what he called the classroom another cave/overhang with a set of rock steps acting as seats in a small amphitheatre. The boys were interested by his previous talks but were mesmerised as he shared some of the dreamtime stories, especially the one of the turtle and the echidna.

It was getting late in the afternoon when we climbed to the top of the rocky mountain we had been touring. For those who have seen Crocodile Dundee, when he says ‘This is my back yard’ and it pans out across a massive wetland we were now standing in the exact spot. The best part was our guide then shared with us how this was his grandfathers land and how he had been a guide for many years even giving the queen a tour. He was passionate about his culture and there was hardly a dry eye in the house as we all drifted off to watch the sun set over this amazing place.

We headed back and had dinner while squadron after squadron of mozzies  assembled at unknown airfields and with unequalled accuracy attacked our camp. The boys ran riot while we had a few quite drinks swatting and slapping every few seconds despite our best defence mechanisms. It had been an amazing day, one that would be hard to forget.