TOD Tour 2.0 Day 53 - Nourlangie & Ubirr Rocks

Kakadu provides so many opportunities to have your senses filled to the brim and today, we had it twice.

This morning it was out to see the incredible rock art at Nourlangie Rock.

We started away from the mob - in this case a Spannish mob - and instead of walking the easy track, we immediately climbed up to the huge shelter which most people miss. Its an enormous space under a big rock overhang, which then has two huge boulders on two sides which makes almost a closed room. On the floor of the shelter, rock tools have been excavated which date back thousands of years and grinding grooves and hollows are there for all to be seen. Amazing place.

You leave that place and track along above the floor of the plain, through a series of galleries which display a variety of painting techniques. The confusing part of the art is the fact that the rock face canvasses have been used and over-painted many times. Regardless, the artwork is staggering.

By the final gallery, you have returned to the lowest level and the best is left until last. Here is Narmadgoj, the bad boy who did the wild thing with his sister on the rock face above and was cast into a fire and turned into Ginga, the saltwater crocodile. The bumps on his back are the blisters from the fire.

Here also is Narmacon, the Lightning Man, the great spiritual leader of the people of this area, with his trademark arc of lightning over his head.

This stuff is so old and so special, it just blows you away.

From here we went to Anbangbang Billabong (pronounced UnBungbung) for morning tea and a commune with the birdies. The billabong has retracted substantially as the dry approaches its end but there was still a good showing of birds, one of which was very special.

My Mum's favourite bird was the Rainbow Bee Eater, a beautifully marked and coloured little bird which darts and dives, usually off a high branch, to dive for grasshoppers and other insects. Often in the past, we'll find one at times when being reminded of Mum is a good thing. We had just been thinking on how much Mum and Dad loved this place when a Bee Eater appeared above us!

Home for a coffee and swim and a sweltering afternoon. Late in the day, we drove out to Ubirr Rock, beside the East Alligator River. Again the artwork was superb, even though it was the wrong time of the day to see it at its best. The galleries continue up the early parts of Ubirr and the hard work of climbing to the top becomes the priority. Here special mention must be made of Sue, who was battling a poor knee and a bad back and had scrambled up an over rocks during the morning. Up she went. No stopping her.

The sunset was superb. Smoke from deliberate mosaic burning had filled the western horizon and the sun descended through is, changing from yellow to gold and finally a hot pink.  What a spectacle.

Click for today's photos

The descent was tricky enough but I didn't help matters by leaving my normal glasses behind at camp. Sue struggled, limping and bum-sliding down the rock and then making the slow walk to the car as the last of the twilight left us. I then drove us the 35kms back to camp without glasses.

Another fabulous day.