Huge flocks of Magpie Geese. Cool waterfalls and swimming holes. The largest expanse of tropical woodland in Asia. Brutal heat and humidity. But it’s worth it.
Darwin sits on tideflats of the Indian Ocean. It got wiped off the face
of the earth by Cyclone Tracey in the 60’s, and thus it got rebuilt during that
unfortunate architectural era. Mitchell Street is the hubbub and hangout of the
international backpacker set, with two hostels and cheap eats and lots of bars. Hirsute
youth and shirtless slacker types congregate and drink here. After dark pretty much
everyone you see staggers. It’s a good hit of the alcoholic australian culture. The
Melaleuca Lodge has all the ambience of an unsupervised rowdy college dorm, full of kids
barely old enough to drink and actively exceeding their limits. The AYH across the street
is more sedate, where the slightly older travellers and the couples stay.
Fortunately I had only one night here before my 3 day Kakadu tour departed. Kakadu is a complex assortment of many tropical ecosystems. It’s a huge area: 20,000 square kilometers, encompassing nearly all the watershed of the Alligator River. From estuary to floodplain to dry woodland to rocky escarpments and plateau, the biological diversity is stunning. And subtle. It’s a difficult place to understand on your own. You really need to hire an outfitter to experience the place.
The thing to remember about the North is the seasonality, and how
determinate that is. October is the pre-monsoon time, when the humidity goes up and a few
thunderstorms start making their appearance. It was wetter than usual during my time
there, which was good for wildlife and waterfall viewing. The monsoon begins in earnest in
November, and it rains violently. The floodplains fill, the wildlife mass and nest, it is
a time of abundance. By March the weather quiets down, and the breeding season is in full
swing and plants produce copious fruit and seeds. Mid winter is the time of burning and
dormancy. It is the most comfortable time to travel to the area, but you won’t see
much. It’s “Kakadu in a coma,” as Steve, our guide, put it. When the rains
come in spring, the wildlife returns. 
I went with Northern Territory Adventure Tours, which is a relatively low-budget affair. 9 of us were crammed into a Toyota Land Cruiser where we bounced on the 4WD roads for 3 days. Our guide was a knowledgeable one with considerable bushcraft and local lore, though he did put on a good macho Crocodile Dundee act. And he was a terrible cook (but then, it’s australia. No one knows how to cook.) I was the only American. I was also the only one over 30 in the group.
One of our first stops was at Mamukala Wetlands, where a shaded viewing platform allows
spendid vistas of huge flocks of Magpie Geese. These, along with Whistling Ducks and
hordes of egret species made this a splendid stop. While the group ate lunch, I greedily
gazed. 
Then to Ubirr and Noularange Rock galleries. These two Aboriginal Art sites are some of the best on the continent, and are part of the reason Kakadu is a World Heritage site. The art of the Aboriginal people is inherently spiritual, and inherently unknowable to outsiders. It records the history, the stories, the ceremonies of the indiginous Gagudju and Djablukgu people, in a continuous, unbroken record of 50,000 years of occupation. The tradition is current--it’s not a dead art. Some of the art is thousands of years old. Some of it is a decade old. For the person responsible for the story, maintaining the painting is how he keeps his obligation to his people and the land and maintains the social and spiritual fabric.
We watched a spectacular sunset from Anbangbang Billibong, with views of Nourlangie
Rock and more Geese and herons. And we drove to our campsite in a driving rain. The Wet
had begun. 
Morning found us up well before the dawn, for a 2 hour drive across rough 4WD to Jim
Jim Falls. The intent was to get us on the trail before the heat. Nice try. The sun
erupted onto a hot, thirsty landscape of dry scrub as we hiked up the escarpment and
across the plateau to the top of Jim Jim Falls. A short hike down brought us to the first
swimming hole of the day. Guaranteed crocodile free by a hundred foot waterfall beneath
us, it was heavenly. 
The next stop was Twin Falls, requiring another bone-jarring drive and a river
crossing. The Toyota Land Cruisers in use here all have air intakes mounted above the cab.
Diesel engines will run underwater, so long as they have an air supply. You get to Twin
Falls by swimming a half kilometer upstream on a calm river. It’s my peak moment of
my time in the Top End--floating on my back, gazing up the sheer cliffs of the gorge to
the rip of deep blue sky above, in which a Black Kite soared lazy circles straight
overhead. This is the way to cope with 35+ temps and 85% humidity. 
The next day featured more time in the water (you get out of reach of the flies this
way too) at Barramundi Gorge, and a crocodile cruise on the Mary River, just west of the
park. This was spectacular--a tidal riparian environment, with red-combed jacanas walking
on the lily pads with their oversized feet (the local name is “Jesus Bird”,
‘cause they walk on water), big Jabiru storks, and White-breasted Sea-Eagles feasting
on crocodile kills. And Crocs. Scores of them. Big 12 foot ones, hauled out on the muddy
banks silent and still. Some had their mouths gaping open, with rows of serious teeth
visible to the world. It’s a cooling mechanism, not a display. One had a missing jaw,
undoubtedly lost in an encounter with another croc’s territory. It’s why one
never canoes or kayaks in these waters--the profile of such a watercraft looks just like
the silouette of a croc (to another croc), and you’ll get attacked. The sun set
against a tree full of Galahs (pink cockatoos) making a trememdous racket, and we headed
back to Darwin in the dark.
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