May 6, Fogg Dam, Kakadu

We left Darwin this morning. We tried to buy some fresh fish, but today is a holiday - May Day. Drove south to the Arnhem Highway, then east past Humpty Doo - don't know why it's called that, but I love the name. At Fogg Dam Conservation Area we took a hike through woodland and wetlands. And we stopped at Window on the Wetlands - a huge lookout over the floodplain of the Adelaide River. In the wet season it's all under water, but now there are green grasses and wetlands

We came into Kakadu and drove to Bowali, the visitors center, to get current information. As its early in the dry season, some roads are closed, but none that we would use, just the 4 wheel drive ones. And it's too early for ranger tours.

We found a campsite then drove north to Ubirr, near Arnhem Land. That's a vast Aboriginal area in the north of the country. At Ubirr there were 5 rock art sites, a couple of them covered larges areas of rock. Here the paintings are mostly fish and turtles. They are called X-ray paintings because they show bones and internal organs. There was a lookout over another floodplain and the Kakadu escarpment and it was a good place to watch the sunset. So we climbed up and waited for the sun to set and it was beautiful.

Back at the campground, we decided to eat in the lounge. This campground was laid out differently. The open air lounge and the pool were in the middle and the campsites were in concentric circles around it. There were palm trees and it wasn't too hot, but it was wonderfully tropic. Barramundi is a Northern Territory speciality and it was excellent, the best meal we've had in weeks.

Pictures - Dragonfly, Fishing on East Alligator River, Aboriginal Rock Art figure, Hands, Fish and crocodile, Jeanne at Ubirr lookout, Samson at the lookout, Sunset at lookout over floodplain