Dundee Beach - the place to be

Dundee Beach, NT

Friday 18th- Monday 21st August

Over the last year or so we'd heard about Dundee Beach from quite a few people we'd met, so we decided to check it out ourselves. It is becoming quite popular - especially for people who enjoy fishing and exploring rugged, remote beaches. If we had money to invest, it would definitely be worth buying property up here. Its also only 1 1/2 hours from Darwin so it's a very popular place for weekend getaways as it has all the things Territorians enjoy- fishing, camping and 4 wheel driving. We spent 3 nights here and got a good taste of what's attracting so many more people to the area. 

We watched the sun set over the beach each evening, the boys did quite a bit of fishing, we explored the rockpools at a few different beaches when the tide went out (there are huge tides up here) and tried not to step on the hundreds of hermit crabs scuttling everywhere, we drove along Five Mile beach and we explored, and fished at, the Finnis River mouth.

The boys went fishing off the rocky breakwater at the boat ramp in front of the caravan park a few times and managed to get a threadfin salmon and a barracuda. Unfortunately the barracuda didn't make it back to camp. After catching and killing it, they put it in their fishing bucket but sometimes fish still jolt around a bit after they've been killed. This fish must have given an almighty jolt as it lurched out of the bucket and fell down in between the huge rocks!! Jackson was so disappointed, but it was a good story, which he told to quite a few fellow campers. Jackson also caught a salmon and he brought in a catfish at the Finnish River mouth (which he released as they aren't so tasty).

Another unique, only in the NT, experience we had was watching a local boy (probably about 14 years old) catch a saltwater crocodile and bring it up onto the boat ramp. The crocodile was swimming around the breakwater when the boy grabbed some fish carcasses then put them onto some strong line, within a few minutes he'd hooked the crocodile. He brought it up onto the boat ramp (in front of a big crowd of gaping tourists) intending to get the hook out, but it all looked a bit too dangerous so a brave bystander jumped in and cut the line. It was certainly not what I was expecting to see when I came down to enjoy the sunset!

Sunset on our first night

The boys are out on the end of the breakwater fishing - this was a popular spot at dusk, there were people lined up on both sides trying their luck.

Exploring the beach at Stingray Point - we didn't see any stingrays but we did rescue this jellyfish.

You can see how far the tide has gone out- and how windy it was!!!

Emilia found these huge mud balls in the wet sand - they felt quite satisfying when you squished your toes through them.

Driving along Five Mile Beach

Just near the Finnis River mouth - there were huge piles of shells and within the tree stumps we found 2 old rusty cars! Daniel and the kids went to have a look but I didn't want to traipse through the mud to get there!

They all came back with very muddy feet and ended up with shells stuck all over them.

Fishing the Finnis River mouth- we were a few hours too early (the tide was only just starting to come back in) so they didn't get many bites.

Jackson reeling in the only catch of the day....

...unfortunately it was a catfish. He was still pleased with himself though.

I loved this tree stump we drove past on our way to Finnis River mouth- it looked so interesting from both sides.

Emilia had an absolute ball driving along the beach, she even drove up the dirt track from the beach until we reached the road.

Another evening, another gorgeous sunset.

Daniel and Jackson went for an early morning fish and came back with a decent sized threadfin salmon that we enjoyed for dinner that night.

Years of erosion from the sea has created some interesting rock formations along the beach.

Exploring the rock pools at another beach- these multicoloured rocks were really interesting.

Fishing at sunset - Emilia is running down the rocks to say hi to the boys.

Enjoying sunset on our last night from a different vantage point - this was about 10 minutes before the excitement of the local boy catching the crocodile.

Soaking the days away at Litchfield NP

Florence Falls, Litchfield National Park, NT 

Tuesday 15th - Friday 18th August

After leaving Kakadu we spent one night at the Purple Mango Cafe & Brewery, where we enjoyed woodfired pizzas and cold beers, then one night at Darwin doing the boring but necessary jobs (laundry, groceries, emails etc), before we headed back to Litchfield National Park (we spent a week here at a similar time last year).

This time we'd booked a campsite at the Florence Falls campground. We'd scouted the place out last year and found the perfect campsite, and luckily for us it was available. It was a beautiful, spacious camp spot that opened out onto the bush with views of the distant mountains. We had an absolutely delightful 3 days relaxing in the picturesque surroundings and soaking ourselves in the nearby waterfalls and rock holes. It was only a short walk to both Florence Falls and Buley rock holes, two of the most popular places at Litchfield NP. As we were camped so close we had the luxury of going for early morning and late afternoon/early evening swims, so we didn't have to endure the crowds that populate both of these places during the middle of the day. We spent our days in a gorgeous deep pool that we had found on our walk to Buley rock holes. It was quite secluded so we had the place to ourselves most of the time.

Another highlight was seeing a water monitor basking in the sun before he jumped right into the top of a waterfall and stood there letting the water run over him. We also found a bower bird nest close to camp and we even got to witness the male bird doing a mating dance to the female bird in the nest. 

We reluctantly left after a blissful 3 nights. We still squeezed in an early morning swim in Florence Falls (after walking there an alternate way which took us through the surrounding bush and along a creek) before we packed up, then on the way out we stopped at Walker Creek to enjoy one more swim. 

Enjoying a mango smoothie while waiting for his chicken and mango woodfired pizza and the Purple Mango Cafe & Brewery

The kids had a pet for the evening.

Getting her hair washed by a waterfall in one of the water holes between Florence Falls and Buley rock holes.

We spent heaps of time at these rockpools as we had them to ourselves most of the time.

Another swimming hole we found on the trail from Florence Falls to Buley Waterholes

One of our early morning swims at Florence Falls- the best time to go to beat the crowds.

Jackson, Emilia and I are in behind the waterfall.

Jackson perfecting his 'model' pose in the waterfall!!

The kids loved diving & jumping into the deep plunge pools we found.

Jackson showing off his new jumping move!!

The 2 bower bird nests we saw- we have only seen a handful in all our travels so it was unusual to see two in close proximity.

I spent a lot of time getting waterfall massages......

....whilst the kids continuously jumped off the rocks into the deep water.

I love Emilia's face in this one.

The water monitor that lived in the swimming hole we frequented. We saw him both days we went there.

This rock hole was like a natural spa - the water was coming down the waterfall so hard it created a lot of bubbles. It was so hard to get much closer to the waterfall as the water was so strong.

Daniel and the kids had fun blocking off the waterfall so it spilled over the edges instead, when they got up a huge torrent of water gushed over the rocks.

Exploring the rock pools (I am killing a march fly! There were a lot of them and they particularly liked us whenever we got out of the water with wet rashies).

After some cajoling and a bit of coaching the kids finally convinced me to do some jumps with them- they gave me lots of tips but I still felt very awkward! It was fun though, except for the wedgie I got each time!!!!

Yellow Water crocodile cruise

Yellow Water sunrise cruise, Kakadu National Park, NT

Saturday 12th August

The Yellow Water sunrise cruise we did was absolutely spectacular. While slowing making our way along the South Alligator River, among the Yellow Water wetlands, we saw such an incredible array of birdlife, however the crocodiles was what really excited us. We would have seen over 30 crocodiles over the 2 hours we were on the water, some swimming, some resting on the bank, some just poking their eyes out of the water and some walking- though the most gasp worthy one we saw was the crocodile munching on a snake. It was incredible, and a little scary, to see the crocodile open its jaw and expose its teeth before munching down on the snake. We had another extra special wildlife encounter on the cruise – we got to see a black-necked stork (commonly, but incorrectly, called a Jabiru. Jabirus are actually South American storks) catch a barramundi, before it began stabbing it with its beak, trying to get the head off. Whilst the stork was mutilating the poor barramundi a crocodile was eagerly watching – several times it went for the stork, who thankfully moved quickly out of the way. There was also an opportunistic smaller bird hanging around next to the black-necked stork – we think it was waiting to take the head of the fish! It was certainly a unique insight into the interactions between these animals in their natural environment.

Before we even left the dock there was a crocodile swimming down the middle of river towards us!

The colours of from the rising sun were just starting to show as we headed off up the river.

A crocodile decided to photobomb my sunrise pic!

One section of the wetlands was full of wandering whistling ducks.

The stunning water lilies lining the banks

One of two brolgas we saw in the distance

The boat was able to get very close to so many crocodiles during the 2 hour cruise - they were incredible to watch.

The next photos and video are of the crocodile we saw eating a snake - we were so close we could hear it chewing.

I'm watching you!!

A brightly coloured kingfisher

The Jacanas were so interesting to watch. They have huge feet so can literally walk on water (hence their nickname- Jesus birds).

This one kindly posed for a photo!

This photo clearly shows how big their tails are- they are very interesting looking creatures.

We got to get close to so many crocodiles.

An egret - they look very elegant and I loved the reflections this one made.

A sea eagle, and two cormorants drying their wings

White-bellied sea eagle

The next series of photos and videos are of the Black necked stork (Jabiru) catching a barramundi, whilst a crocodile watched on, hoping for an easy feed.

WATCH OUT!!!

The crocodile got so close - everyone on the boat was watching anxiously hoping the bird would move...

...it did. The stork danced away and seemed totally unperturbed by the crocodile.

The crocodile was certainly persistent!