The Top End: Day 1

To Camp!

We made a pit stop at our accommodations for nights 1 and 2, to have some lunch. The two-person screened shelters encircled a central kitchen/dining area. It was a lot more luxurious than I was expecting! I had a twin sized bed that wasn’t on the floor, what grandeur!

Cahills Crossing

We drove east through the park, eventually stopping at Cahills Crossing of the East Alligator River. Apparently, the American explorer who mistook the crocodiles for alligators. Australia doesn’t even have alligators! The East Alligator River is a tidal river, so it floods the road crossing each day. At high tide the crocodiles will congregate in the downstream portion of the crossing. Seeing that many crocs all together made me feel like I was at the zoo! They were patrolling the water and eager to chomp any suitable snacks that passed by. 

Arnhem Land

We traversed the crossing, crocs and all, and entered Arnhem Land. It’s a ~97,000 km² historical region that has many local names by the Aboriginal people that call it home. It is located in the north east corner of the Northern Territory. While here, we had the privilege of having a Bininj guide tell us about his clan’s heritage, customs, and traditions. We saw cultural spaces, traditional burial grounds, and learned how and why some of the rock art we saw was created. He also explained the methods used to date rock art, and demonstrated the collection of the traditional binding agent for rock paintings from the milkweed tree. 

Ubirr

After Arnhem Land, we stopped at Ubirr to see more rock art and watch the sunset. After climbing up the Ubirr rock we were able to soak in the raw beauty of the Nadab floodplain. I was at an absolute loss for words, sitting in awe thinking how amazing our natural world is. This is the Australia I came to see!

We made our way back to camp and had sweet and sour chicken stir fry with rice for dinner. I was in bed by 8:30 and absolutely wiped. Altogether, we spent 14 hours touring, travelling about 400 kilometers – a big day for running off 4 hours’ sleep!

– Kate