Initially I had planned to compile a list of books worthwhile reading while preparing for a trip to Kakadu National Park, featuring Kakadu’s Aboriginal culture and the Top End’s flora, fauna, and geology.
But this will have to wait now as I’ve got news on Gunlom I’d like to share first.
Gunlom only opened to the public on the 7th of May this year, later than usual and due to heavy rain in the region during March and April which delayed work in the camping and day use area as well as the start of the mandatory crocodile surveys.
I’ve mentioned these crocodile surveys in a previous post. During late April and early May Kakadu National Park rangers checked the picturesque plunge pool under the falls for Estuarine crocodiles that may have moved in during the wet season. On top of this time-consuming job some frantic repair work on a new board walk (that will eventually grant wheelchair access to one of the viewing points) had to be carried out for safe access to the pool.
Gunlom at its Beautiful Best
On Saturday afternoon we received a call via satellite phone from our guides Jeanne and John who’d spent the day in the Yurmikmik area and at Gunlom with their passengers.
They had arrived at the single-lane bridge across the South Alligator River on their way back from Gunlom where they were forced to stop.
In disbelief they watched the water rising over the bridge. Flash flooding!
At one point the water reached a depth 0.75m over the bridge — and it was flowing fast! Over the course of the evening the waterfall at Gunlom and some smaller creeks in the area picked up and started flooding as well.
Thanks to the park rangers of the Mary River district who closed the road immediately when the danger became apparent, nobody came to grief at the crossing.
Most visitors who had made the day trip in a 2WD (mind you, this road is always classed as ‘4WD recommended’) settled for a night in a makeshift camp on the ‘wrong side of the river’. A handful of travellers preferred a night in budget accommodation at nearby Goymarr Tourist Park instead of sleeping in their cars. These guys got a lift in one of our OKAs, once the water level had dropped to a point where our 4WDs with high clearance could cross over safely.
By Sunday morning the road bridge was passable again for all traffic.
Anyway, flash flooding in late May is quite a bizarre occurrence.
We’re very much aware of the danger of flash flooding at the start and towards the end of the wet season when the tropical downpours are less frequent then in the midst of the monsoon season — but for the South Alligator River to flood to such an extent and without any warning and this far into May, it must have rained really hard in the river’s catchment on the Arnhemland plateau. Unfortunately, there aren’t many weather stations in this remote and largely unpopulated area that could have indicated what was coming…
Today is the last day of May — and we have been advised by the management of Kakadu National Park that the plunge pool at Gunlom will remain closed for a few days so the rangers can repeat the crocodile surveys. However, the walk to the top of the escarpment above Gunlom is open, the beautiful early dry season weather is back and the danger of flash flooding is over! So, that’s where we’ll be heading again tomorrow!
And hopefully I’ll have some news on the opening of Jim Jim Falls soon…
To check road access to any of the sites in Kakadu National Park check the Kakadu Road and Access Report which is updated daily.
Boh boh
Anja
