The Australian Magazine: This Kakadu landmark is finally open to the public again
Wow factor: the pool at the top of Gunlom Falls
I don’t have a warm feeling for saltwater crocodiles and yet I find myself heading into Kakadu National Park, home to an estimated 10,000 of these stealth predators. We’re here to check out Gunlom Falls, recently reopened after a six-year legal stoush between Parks Australia and the Jawoyn traditional owners.
The falls, which featured in Crocodile Dundee, present a modest stream during the dry season, tumbling 85m down the face of a sandstone escarpment that can be scaled via steps and some rock-hopping to reach natural swimming pools at the top, complete with grand views. I intend to relax instead in the pool at the bottom but it’s fenced off. The rangers recently relocated a smallish croc from the pool, but a larger brute, thought to be 4.5m, is still lurking somewhere. Life is rarely dainty in the Top End.
My companions return puffed but happy and we head for Cooinda Lodge, which is something of an oasis, with comfortable accommodation, two pools, a fuel station, a bar, general store and a good restaurant in Mimi’s. Most of the wait staff are cheery young travellers and the adjacent camp ground is bursting with grey nomads.
What I like best about Cooinda are the Yellow Water Cruises on the nearby billabong. They restore my faith in the magic of Kakadu.
We’re up before dawn aboard a quiet metal craft and the rising morning mist makes the waterways look like a Turner painting. As the day awakens, so too does a staggering variety and quantity of bird life. Dennis Miller is our guide, his hushed commentary informed by growing up with an Aboriginal mother. A few crocs are gliding about, others poised on the banks. Teeming: left, the Mary River floodplain; above, Cooinda Lodge; below, wildlife spotting “A croc can swim as fast as Ian Thorpe,” Miller says. “If you’re in the water he will get you if he wants to.” Children hang on his every word, responding to the spookiness in such a beautiful and tranquil setting. “You don’t smile at a crocodile,” he adds...
Getting there: Fly to Darwin. If self-driving, a 4WD with high clearance is best for Kakadu. Air Frontier flies to the Tiwi Islands, airfrontier.com.au
Stay: Cooinda Lodge. Tour operators can book it for you; it’s also on the Accor and Booking.com websites. Alternatively, you can email the lodge at reservations@yellowwater.com.au
Do: Buy a pass to enter Kakadu, valid for seven days and available online at parkbookings.nt.gov.au. The dry season from mid-April to mid-November is the best time to visit. Always drink plenty of water.
Book: Indigenous-owned Kakadu Tourism is a preferred operator with many itineraries; kakadutourism.com Tourism NT offers a wealth of information, itineraries and experiences to book at northernterritory.com Tourism Top End offers advice and bookings at tourismtopend.com.au and has a visitor information centre in Darwin (6 Bennett St; 1300 138 886).
