18 August - Gungurul Lookout, Gunlom Falls and Goodbye to Kakadu

18 August 2016 – 183 114

Gungurul Lookout, Gunlom Falls and Goodbye to Kakadu

After packing up this morning, we headed to Gungurul campground for our first walk.  I am very glad we had not camped here, it is more like a car park and there is zero shade.  The campground we had stayed at was very shady and sheltered, with the van not visible from the road. The walk here was 4km and went down to a branch of the South Alligator River, which was completely dry at this time; and then up to a lookout.  The view from the lookout would be amazing on a clear day, however today was humid and smokey, limiting the view a little.  On the walk we were fortunate enough to see Kapok plants, some had flowers, some had pods and a few had pods which were cracking open.  The fibre that comes from these pods is incredibly soft – a lot like the polyfill used in craft but softer - no wonder they were traditionally used for stuffing dilly bags to use as pillows.  When the pods form is an indicator that turtles and fresh water crocodiles are laying their eggs, and when the pods crack open releasing the fibre, their eggs are hatching. 

We then drove to Gunlom, giving our improvised dust seals for the van a good test on the dirt – the front one worked perfectly, the rear one was very good, but not quite perfect; we will also need to stop dirt coming up through the fridge vent and the door.  Overall dust exclusion with hot water pipe insulation worked well.  Gunlom is as beautiful as I remember. https://parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/do/walks/gunlom-falls-walk/ At this time of year there are plenty of people here, whereas coming in the build-up last time we had the place to ourselves.  There is a very steep climb to the lookouts and then to the rock pools above the falls, it is about 1km one-way and very vertical, needing hands in some places, but well worth it.  This is a natural infinity pool with the most amazing views, the water is cool but not cold and very nice after the climb.  We spent a while relaxing in the water before heading down for a picnic lunch on the shady grass.  After lunch we went over to the Gunlom Plunge Pool – again beautiful, it is very large and inhabited by freshwater crocodiles but not salt water ones.  Drew and Hayden had a swim – unfortunately Drew had his car keys in his pocket while doing so – luckily they somehow survived their dip.  When we checked the van before departing, we discovered we had no lights – presumably the battery was flat, but why? The extra battery in the car is not holding its charge either – yeah! We said our farewells to Kakadu – it is one of my favourite places in the world, it has an amazing sense of peace for me.  I would love to come back again at the beginning of a dry season, and also during the wet season, to see its seasonal changes.  We then drove south with the plan of staying at Leliyn (Edith Falls) in Nitmulik National Park, however the campground was full. https://nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/413837/Leliyn-Edith-Falls.pdf So far we have booked no accommodation on this trip and this is the first time we have not been able to stay very close to where we wanted to.  We are instead staying at Manbulloo Homestead https://manbulloohomesteadcaravanpark.com.au/ again and will day trip back to Edith Falls.  On investigation the caravan battery was fine, just a cable inside the van had vibrated loose, one problem solved. By the time we got here, set up, had showers and dinner it was almost 9pm, so all off to bed.