I am always in for an adventure, new frontiers, new breathtaking panoramic vistas… I think I am a view junkie, if there is such a thing. I like finding somewhere rare and remote, climbing to the top and seeing what the view is like. Of course, odds are that it is somewhere in the realm of ‘breathtaking’. Maybe I will have a snack up there, take a few photos, talk about life, and then I will contentedly find my way back down.
We were in Darwin, and just a stone’s throw away from the World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park… well, at least it looks that way on the map. In actual fact, you would have to be a pretty good stone thrower, but for argument’s sake, I was closer to it than I had even been in my life, so it was a stone throw in the ‘scale of life’s journeys’.
With this in mind I thought we needed to make the obligatory visit to see what all the fuss was about. Just to clarify… we were talking about my ‘obligation’… others in the car had suggested Litchfield National Park was much closer…
I had done a little bit of research, and it all looked pretty impressive. I had singled out Nourlangie Rock as worth a ‘quickie’ visit and if we had time we could maybe visit one or two other noteworthy destinations… because it looks so close on the map…
Anyway, we headed off bright and early. My cherry babe was dismally disappointed that since his last visit to NT, the speed limits had changed and it was unlikely that he would be able to trim the ‘hour or two’ off our trip as first thought. Apparently there used to be no speed limit. It is now 130kmp/h. The trip to Nourlangie Rock took approximately 3 hours… that was with a few stops… our little rental car’s fuel tank was tiny and we weren’t sure where the next fuel stop might be… and we needed snacks.
The road to Kakadu is pretty good. Dry season you can reach most of the more popular and accessible tourist destinations without a 4WD. Wet season you will need to check as many roads are closed. Having said that, if you want to venture into less assessable areas you will need a 4WD, and possibly special permissions. Either way, you will need a permit to enter Kakadu National Park. It is $25 for a 14 day pass. This is my one little grip, as we were just doing a quickie visit… so it would have been nice to be able to buy a one day pass. I know it is in aid of conservation yada, yada, yada, but I really do think authorities could sort something for a one day visit. I guess next time I will just need to allow more time – is the real lesson in all of this.
The landscape on the way was not as I expected. I expected it to be more desolate. It is actually quite varied. There are large patches of low-lying shrubbery, and then suddenly it opens up into these beautiful green, what I guess are wetland areas and flood plains (unflooded). There was also a bit of burn off happening along the way, which is quite common in the dry season. What surprised me the most was that it was so flat – just this great expanse of flatness. That is until you actually get to Nourlangie Rock.
When you get to Nourlangie Rock, the first thing you will learn is that it is not actually called Nourlangie Rock… it is called Burrunggui. Nawurlandja (a slip in pronunciation and latitudinal points) is actually a rock formation down the road… some bright spark got it wrong… but all the road signs and maps still point to Nourlangie Rock, so I guess it is a work in progress.
So we were at Burrunggui and then the adventure began.
Burrunggui is a huge sandstone rock formation that outlines the Arnhem Land escarpment which houses a number of shelters where the of the Aboriginal people of Australia have lived for thousands of years, etching their ‘dreamings’ using a spectrum of ochres onto the rockfaces of their ancient shelters telling their of their myth and creation. The Anbangbang Gallery, one of the main art sites of Burrunggui is accessible for people to visit and appreciate.
Some of the more know works are the Creation Ancestor Namondjok, and the Creation Ancestor Namarrgon, the Lightning Man – if you time your visit correctly, you can be part of a guided talk where the park ranger will recount the rock’s dreaming and art.
We did not time it right… but if you are visiting, you can call the Bowali Visitor Centre (just on the outskirts of Jabiru) for times etc., you can also get your permits there. The walk is only a 1.5km circuit, so it doesn’t take long.
We wandered around admiring the art, weaving in and around the rocks and shelters. It is an easy walk, and much of the walk is wheelchair accessible. The sweeping views of Arnhem Land from the Gunwarddehwardde Lookout are INCREDIBLE, wow, just beautiful. What magnificent countryside. You can’t help but feel a sense of awe gazing out at millions of years of untouched native forest sprawled out before you, the escarpment contoured by sandstone cliffs carving a dramatic boundary line between Kakadu National Park and Arnhem Land. Beautiful.
However, I kept looking up at the massive rockface that lined the landscape behind us… and I wanted be on top of that and look down from there. Good naturedly, my cherry babe and son acquiesced to my request and we started making our way up the Barrk Sandstone Bushwalk. Now the Barrk Sandstone Bushwalk is actually 12km long and will take you through a gully between the two sandstone ledges past the Nanguluwur Gallery and back on the other side. It says to allow 6-8 hours for the entire walk, and it was a bit late in the day, so the compromise was to walk to the highest point and return.
I LOVED this walk. It was by no means an easy walk. There are markers leading the way up an otherwise quite obscured and faint trail. Reaching the peak of any summit suggests that there is a degree of ‘uphill climbing’ and this peak was no exception. You just need to remember to look behind you every now and then because the views are sensational, every corner and crag offering yet another unique vista. There are huge jutting boulders, trickling creeks, we even saw some native wildlife… a cockatoo, grasshopper and a lizard… I am sure there were others but I have never been known for my stealth-like qualities…
After about an hour of rigorous walking we got to a point which was probably as close to the summit as it was going to get, but before turning back I felt that I (and my long suffering walking companions) really needed to climb to the highest ledge that we could get to and partake in a rock ledge conquering snack and rest, and to indulge in a moment or two of absorbing the vast expanse beyond. Wow! And it really is the only word that I can find that pretty much sums it up…. oh, and breathtaking…
As all downhill walks, it was quick and easy, a few scrambles.
While we didn’t have enough time to do the full Barrk Sandstone Bushwalk, we did have some time before we needed to head home (dinner reservation in Darwin), so we did a quickie detour via Mirrai Lookout, which is about 12 km’s down the road.
The guides said to allow 1.5 hours, we did it, up and back in 30 minutes… we worked out that the guide times were substantially out, and possibly geared more to an aging population that had more time to traverse these regions, but that’s ok, it is good to allow extra time to be able to enjoy your visits, and the track would be a bit rugged for the less able amongst us. The views again, are wonderful. The lookout shelter would be a great vantage point in the wet season as you pretty much have a 360 degree view of the rock, wetlands, Nourlangie Rock from where we came and Arnhem Land plateau beyond.
It was a one day quickie visit, but I am glad that we did it and I look forward to having more time to explore the region and take advantage of my next 14 day pass! The boys enjoyed it too, so I guess they are not long suffering after all.
If you are planning a trip to Kakadu National Park, leave yourself a couple of days, there is so much to see. Wet season runs from November to April, so check on road closures etc., before you go to avoid disappointment (or disaster), and if you are just going out for the day, equip yourself with a packed lunch as roadhouses are far and few in between and there are not really any café’s or restaurants to speak off other than at the resorts.
So another few walks nailed in my quest for breathtaking vistas, I look forward to visiting more extensively sometime soon.
A big heartfelt thank you to the traditional landowners of the Kakadu National Park for allowing us to experience and appreciate the natural beauty of Kakadu, the ancestral history, mystery and mythology of your lands.
For more information and maps, visit:
http://www.parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/do/walks.html
http://www.parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/pub/park_notes_nourlangie.pdf
This story was written by Petra Frieser – Pebbles + Pomegranate Seeds
