Kakadu 2 - day 8

So I'd wasted $10 hiring a sleeping bag! Although I used it for a pillow. We were up early to beat any other tour groups to where we were headed. That, I hope (according to my scribbled notes) was Gubara. There was a walk and then we were at a rock pool with fountain. People got in and splashed about. We then moved on to another walk, through tropical rainforest. More rock pools and then our guide explained about the route upto the lookout "up there", which would involve some steep bits, climbing and other nasty sounding things. After a brief discussion, I assumed my theme park role of looking after the bags and the others went on.

That was tough. I was by a series of rock pools, with lush jungle vegetation to the fore with a rock cliff going up to the rear of the scene. The sound backdrop provided by birds and water running through the pools. The sun shone. The air was still. Hundreds of tiny frogs were going about their business. Tadpoles - stripey or plain - were doing that tadpole thing. Butterflies fluttered by. The dragonflies continue to amaze me. I wandered about, thinking of the film Picnic at Hanging Rock! I was sure our guide would be able to find me. I took some pictures.

On a Mindfulness course I did a little while back, one of the meditations was about simply listening. I did that. It's amazing how aware you become of what's going on. Different birds would start their chattering then stop, others would join in. I learned the sound of a crow's wings beating as it came to see if it could raid any of the bags. Occasionally, I could hear my group chattering or laughing as they made their way upwards. Looking up at one point, I could see they had reached the top and I waved. Miraculously, someone was looking in my direction and waved back! They returned and asked if it had seemed like they had been gone for a long time. As if I'd not been busy :-) We made our way back to where we'd left lunch and they told me about their adventure and confirmed that I'd made the right choice.

After lunch, we visited the Warradjan Cultural centre. As I mentioned in the last post, this was really good. Excellent displays and lots of information and explanation about aboriginal life and traditions. Then to Yurmikmik falls. Here I finally decided to test the 'technical clothing will dry out quickly' theory and went for a dip. And yes, dear friends, it does.

We camped at a rather more basic site ie no water, no electricity but lots of stars, at Kambolgie. However, we did freshen up in a nearby croc-safe creek where I actually wore my swim suit! Dinner was barbecued kangaroo, buffalo sausages and general meatiness for those who wanted it. I was enjoying new Vegemite recipe combinations. An Australian said I was teaching her new things! It's possible no-one had eaten a Vegemite and baked bean sandwich before. I don't know why as it's great!

There was an incredible lightning storm in the distance to the north of us for ages, lighting up the sky. That calmed down and we finished eating. A few yards away from the trees, we went to star gaze. Incredible, the Milky Way was clear to be seen and even I could identify the Southern Cross (but not much else). You can't see anything like this in the UK, I'm sure the skies are simply too light polluted. Thousands upon thousands of stars twinkling away. The real photographers were twiddling their knobs and dials and playing with their exposures, trying to capture it all. And there were some damn amazing  shots after a while. 

Wow.