110.) Jarrangbarnmi (Koolpin Gorge)

Upper pools at Jarrangbarnmi

We headed south from Yellow Water, moving into higher and dryer country. These little Crimson Finches starting appearing in small flocks















Female rufous whistler
















Leaden flycatcher
















One of our target species was at Gunlom, a series of pools below and above a significant escarpment. We got up early because we wanted the best chance to see the birds, but looked forward to swimming in the refreshing pools after it got hot







This sign at nearby Maguk gorge spells it out - they try to make sure any saltwater crocs that enter the area during flood season are trapped and removed, but crocs that want to walk a long way can show up at either Gunlom and Maguk. We just hope they haven't entered the pools at the top of the escarpment!











We decided that since we saw a party of large Brits had all returned safely, any predators present were either sated or terrified.

Some days you just have to take chances....















But more importantly, the upper area was known habitat for an endemic White-throated Grasswren.

Hmmm - where are they? Find the spinifex near the creek.....







On stakeout... waiting, waiting... to no avail.

We heard later that although the birds had been sighted frequently last year (in this area), a fire had run through the upper habitat and no birds have been seen in 2010. We hoped they moved up-creek....












But it was hot.

Not hospitable terrain for Cane toads. Which is just fine--the fewer cane toads the better, poisonous beasts that they are.









Bush Curlew pretending to be a branch. If I don't move, he can't see me!












Mom and baby curlew, hiding in the bush. They were in a conspicuous place, but well-camoflauged.


































Pheasant Coucal. These birds make an eerie call that really creates a bush-ambiance that is unmistakeably Australian.

(see http://leesbird.com/2010/03/09/ians-bird-of-the-week-pheasant-coucal/ - navigate down the page to "Lee's addition - Sound of the Pheasant Coucal". This sound travels for kms - very eerie!)















It was breeding season for the Great Bowerbird. This male (left) was putting on a fine song-and-dance for the female (right). Twig in mouth, he danced, bobbed and wove around the post in a display guaranteed to get the girl.

She, of course, left--maybe she went to the bower-bedroom to get into the mood...





And then he broke out the real display - the elegant (and rather garish) plumage on the back of his head. Hey baby, here I come!















It was fun to see these bowers (and bowerbirds) were in abundance. Note that the Great Bowerbird picks different colors than our local Satin Bowerbird. Out here he picks white pebbles, glass, snail shells, aluminum foil....









Brown Honeyeater














The park undertakes a patchwork fire regime to burn off small areas at a time thus minimizing the chances of a catastrophic burn of the huge stands of sawgrass that grow every year.

Unfortunately for us, many of the "sure" areas for sighting specific birds had been recently burned. They will recover and hopefully the birds will return, but in no one was home when we went through.



The Whistling kites hang about the front edge of the fire scoping for lunch. The park rangers report seeing kites picking up burning sticks , flying forward of the fire and dropping them in the grass, bird tool use? arsonists? - hmmmm.....












A different take on road conditions. It's not whether the pass is clear of snow, but instead, are the rivers cross-able?

















OK, come now - who really needs to know the water is 4 meters above the bridge? Would you seriously try and cross if it was, say, only 2 meters deep?









Low water for us. Not even above the bottom of the door frame! But still, you don't want to bog down and have to get out and wade in the croc-inhabited waters out here....














A trip highlight was a visit to Jarrangbarnmi (Koolpin Gorge). The park restricts the number of visitors, and we had to plan ahead to acquire a permit. It was wonderfully quiet with loads of charming birds, great camping and cool pools. (Although there was a note about a 4.5 m croc they pulled out of the lower area in May - well after people had been coming in here to swim!)










A few km up-creek from the campground is a spectacular series of lakes, pools, and creek sections that go for miles. One chap we talked to has hiked this area (years ago) clear out to Jim-Jim falls - about 60 km. And he agreed this bush country is dramatic.



























It was a fantastic backcountry tour along the river. We even were lucky enough to see two boxing Black Wallaroos! The range of these roos is quite restricted (only a small area of Arnhem land, where we were), and little is known of their social behaviour (http://www.rootourism.com/fsheet17.htm). We saw the roos across the creek in a sacred area where we were not allowed to go. They looked as though they could maneuver their opponent over the escarpment, so we were happier when they hopped off before one of them was pitched over the edge.













White-throated honeyeater












One of Nancy's favorites - the Grey-Crowned Babbler. They travel in small family groups, scruffling around in the leaf litter and babbling to each other. Great fun to watch.

109). Arnhem Land (Injalak) and the Yellow Water

Whistling Kite silhouetted in a tree at sunrise

We journeyed into Arnhem Land to see the rock art (Gunbim) at Injalak Hill. Arnhem Land is an Aboriginal Reserve with strong continuing cultural traditions. We were required to obtain a permit to enter, needed a 4WD to cross the crocodile-inhabited river, and hired an indigenous guide to show us his ancestors art site at Injalak Hill.

Tony, our guide, was a man of few words, but he was kind enough to show us balanda (non Aboriginal people) around the site (for a rather large fee). Interpreting from the Park notes about the art, we understand that we were told only the first level ('public story') of information about the knowledge associated with many of the paintings. Kakadu has some of the oldest occupation sites found in Australia, over 50,000 years old. Some of the paintings are believed to be over 20,000 years old. Tony told us that his people would paint the rock art during the rainy season, many of the sites were overhanging rocks, that provided shelter from the rain. Not a bad way to while away the days of rain!








Enjoy the pictures, we don't have much to say about them!

There don't seem to be stories (at least that Tony would tell us) in the panels. There were layers on top of one another. Here , in the upper L corner you can see a Thylacine Tasmania Tiger (largely killed off in mainland AU 2000 years ago. Last captive animal died in 1933) )











































This piece is a good example of the "X-ray" style art. Note the enlarged knee and elbow joints of the squatting figure. It is believed this person shows the symptons of disturbing the wrong beings in the "sickness" land. There are uranium mines in this area and the tribes knew of 'sickness' areas that have been correlated with uranium deposits. Possibly radiation exposure?

Amazing detail of internal organs.




Only four ochre colors were used red (haematite), yellow (limonite and goethite) and white (huntite or kaolin) and black (manganese oxide) but the colors of the rock (sandstone) adds tremendous variety and depth. Tony explained the variety of painting tools and techniques of outlines, layers of ochre, crosshatching etc. Some of the areas were dense with overlapping drawings - other had single or just a few figures.




There was alot of work displaying the food of the area--fish and kangaroos, goanna, file snakes, long-necked turtle, crocs.











Galleries upon galleries up on ceilings. In one place it was 4th class climb up to a flat slab with a ceiling 2' away. Hundreds of small figures.











Mimis - first of the creation ancestors to paint on rock































Dancing figures at Anbangbang gallery)













Dirk and Nabulwinjbulwinj - "a dangerous spirit who eats females after striking them with a yam". (Anbangbang gallery)

I leave you, gentle reader, to decide which is who and who is what....













The little bug-like guy on the right is Namarrgon, 'lightning man', at Anbangbang gallery.












The rainbow serpent at Ubirr.












This panel at Ubirr tells the story of a man who sealed people in a cave for stealing food from him.













The boat cruise we took on the Yellow water wetlands, part of the South Alligator River floodplain, may have been our favorite part of our visit to Kakadu. The sunrise over the water after a crack of dawn start to the day illustrates why, perhaps, the area is called Yellow Water.

















Say this 3 times very quickly...









Magpie geese gather by the thousands in the billabongs for rest, eating. and raising their families. They are also a major traditional food source.









Magpie Geese









An Great Egret in flight, demonstrating the dramatic manner in which she can manouvre her neck!






One of the most remarkable birds we saw was the Jabiru, the black-necked stork. In this magnificent moment, the Jabiru fends off a Whistling Kite from her nest in a tall tree. These birds are 1.4 m, with a wing span of 2 m (that's 4.5 ft tall, with a 6 ft wingspan!).















Jabiru stalking the shallows














Green Pygmy goose
















A simply electric color in the bush (Azure Kingfisher)
















Lemon-bellied Fly Catcher
















A white-bellied sea eagle surveys his domain.



















This photo captures some of the splendid diversity of life in the wetland. Here are plumed whistling ducks, a little egret, and a comb-crested jacana, all in close proximity. It was difficult to decide where to look--so many birds, so little time!

Oh yes, a croc just out of the frame...






And then there were the saltwater crocodiles!

and more corcs,

and more crocs...




A female shining flycatcher, uncharacteristically standing still.

















A male shining flycatcher - dramatic gender dimorphism











There were a surprising number of Nankeen Night Herons searching for breakfast along the river margins.










The comb-crested Jacanas were one of my favorite birds. Common names for them are "Lily-trotter" and "Lotusbird." Their feet are simply an ingeneous work of art. We saw them truly walking from one waterlily pads to another!















Whistling Ducks









In the next blog, we continue south through Kakadu, heading for the high dry-lands.