Day Eighteen - June 27

We packed up this morning and moved camp sites to Mardugal, about 8km South of Yellow Water. We set up at about 11.30, then drove to Cooinda, which is the resort next to Yellow Water. We booked a Yellow Water Cruise, which took us through Yellow Water billabong and up the South Alligator River. It was lovely and cool out on the river. We saw lots of wildlife. Some decent size fish, a few wild horses, lots of different birds and 15 crocodiles! It was very cool and a little scary to see them wild in their natural habitat.

 One of the birds we saw was a Jacana bird that was tiny, with giant feet. He walked on top of the weeds on the water, and had an orange comb on top of it's head. He had two baby chicks, tiny little fluff balls. So cute!

Can you see him?
Centre of the photo, on the dark green weedy bit.

We also saw a pair of Dart birds. The male Dart bird loses all his flight features after mating season, which makes him look quite bedraggled and funny. 

We saw a pair of Sea Eagles too. Lots of whistling ducks, and a couple of Rufus Night Herons.
Our tour guide was lovely, a terrible sense of humour. He told us lots of Dad jokes, like about the seven different kinds barramundi - barramundi, barratuesdi, barrawednesdi, etc.
He also pointed out a Dead Dog Tree, called that because it has no bark. 

He showed us the nests of green ants, up high in the trees. He said that they were good for headaches. If you get a nest and crush the ants and eat then, it will cure your headache. He reckoned they didn't taste too bad either. He wasn't sure why they cured headaches, but theorised it might be the antacid. Lol.

Green ants

 He also told us that when his mum was 12, she lived on a little island just off the coast of Arnhem Land. In 1942 when Darwin was bombed, they were evacuated, and taken by boat across the Arafura Sea, and then had to walk across Arnhem Land and Kakadu into Darwin. That would have been terrifying. Bombs or crocodiles. I don't know what would be worse.


It is currently 8.30 and 25 degrees. Lots of mosquitos tonight. Temps for tomorrow are a high of 33 and low of 19. It really does not feel like June.