Dear travellers and friends of Kakadu,

I sincerely wish I didn’t have to write this particular post today as I know quite a few people will be disappointed when they find out what this is about.

Every year in the early dry season we’re responding to the same anxious questions when people enquire about our day tours in the dry season:

Will Jim Jim Falls be open? Will we be visiting Twin Falls?

If you’ve enquired about availability on our tours in June you would have received a reply stating that Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls might not be accessible to the public in the early dry season:

“Every year, right at the start of the dry season, the waterfalls, creeks and surrounding areas have to be checked by national park rangers for any saltwater crocodiles that might have moved into areas visited by travellers.

These crocodile surveys are an absolute necessity and usually take several weeks to complete.
Work can only commence once the 4WD track into the area has been repaired after the heavy rains and floods of the wet season and once water levels in the creeks have dropped to a safe level!

Alternatively, we visit the sites of Gunlom, Motor Car Falls, and/ or Maguk (Barramundi Gorge) in the southern region of Kakadu National Park – all of them absolutely gorgeous!

Please check the information on our itinerary ‘Kakadu’s Early Dry’ ”

When we started out this little family business in 2006, Steve and I were thrown in the deep end when Cyclone Monica ripped through Kakadu National Park in late April, resulting in the delayed opening of Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls in mid July. We were facing a whole range of issues and a great many cancellations.

This year we’re facing a very similar situation.
After a very slow start to the wet season we finally received some much needed rain in March… and then again in April… and then even more on the last weekend in May!

While this last episode of localised heavy storms seemed to have impacted mainly on the southern parts of Kakadu National Park, we were able to continue our ‘Kakadu’s Early Dry’ day tours, visiting the beautiful Yurmikmik area and Gunlom, where the annual mandatory crocodile surveys had already been completed.

Mandatory crocodile surveys started in the Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls area around mid May but had to be put on hold again towards the end of the month due to rising water levels, the late rain had struck here as well.

This fact has only been brought to our attention late yesterday afternoon. Some frantic phone calls followed today to get clarity rather than more mixed messages from Kakadu National Park officials. Up until yesterday it was expected that Jim Jim Falls would open to the public in mid June at the latest. Since the site preparation at Twin Falls is more laborious, it didn’t seem unreasonable to have to wait until late June, as stated in the official access report.

Jim Jim Falls After a Storm (2005)

Steve just saw a few aerial pictures of the Jim Jim Falls area taken earlier today, the amount of water coming over the edge not looking much more than on the image heading this page. But apparently the “long pool”, a part of the Jim Jim Creek which we walk alongside on our way into the gorge, has gone under again – and at least one more Estuarine crocodile has taken the opportunity to get comfortable in there. We are in full agreement with park rangers on the necessity of running thorough crocodile survey, visitor safety is paramount!

Anyhow, both sites are now expected to open to the public as late as early July. I sincerely hope you understand the situation is beyond our control.

This might be a blow for quite a few return visitors who have missed out on a visit to Jim Jim Falls and/ or Twin Falls before.
We are sufficiently frustrated that we haven’t been able to pass on this crucial information sooner, fully understanding that your travel plans might have looked a bit different otherwise. Of course, if you would like to cancel your booking on this background and make other arrangements, we will oblige without charging any fees.

However, if you haven’t been to Kakadu National Park before, we hope that you’ll stick with your original plans and come for the drive with us to a couple of the other beautiful waterfalls the park has to offer.
Yes, we are operating!  We will be touring to equally beautiful places when you get here!

It looks like Maguk (Barramundi Gorge) might open in the near future (I’m being cautiously optimistic here) and, yes, I am really looking forward to this beautiful walk through lush monsoonal rainforest and a swim in one of Kakadu’s most gorgeous plunge pools.

And this year I’ll be carrying a pair of goggles to check out how many of Kakadu’s over 55 freshwater fish species I can come face to face with!

Boh boh
Anja

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

Welcome to Jabiru, the small township located 250 km south east of Darwin in the heart of World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park!

It’s due to the town’s unique location that the currently 1187 residents of Jabiru are restricted by by-laws as to which pets they’re allowed to keep. Two dogs per household are allowed only. No goldfish permitted but fish indigenous to the area, from Lake Jabiru or the Magela Creek system, may be collected by town folks. No other domestic animals or birds are allowed because of the potential threat to the health of indigenous birds and animals in Kakadu National Park. And cats are a most definite no-no!

Yes, occasionally we do see feral cats around Kakadu National Park. But Kakadu’s park rangers do their best to eradicate them, especially in the wet season when cats can be spotted along floodplains and creek margins.

Jabiru is pretty much a cat free zone and there isn’t really a reason why the local supermarket should stock cat food –- or is there?

Just a few weeks ago the exciting findings of a scientific experiment were published in the Journal of Applied Ecology — involving the use of cat food. And it looks like tinned sea food might just be the weapon of choice in the fight against Australia’s most infamous pest: the Cane toad (Bufo marinus)!

The Unwanted Intruder: Cane Toad

In Kakadu the poisonous Cane toad has wreaked havoc among the populations of many native species. Worst hit are the quolls and goannas, frog-eating carnivores that mistake the toads for native frogs. But these toads are actually poisonous enough to kill a mature Freshwater crocodile – and we’ve seen too many Freshies floating belly-up in the creeks since the toads conquered Kakadu in 2001.

Now, what have the scientists actually done?

There’s actually another player in our cat food experiment that I haven’t introduced yet: the native Meat ant (Iridomyrmex reburrus) our real hero!
This aggressive ant species (they can give you a nasty bite!) as the name suggests, loves anything meat. Tinned sea food spread out along the banks of a billabong would be like the invite to a free all-you-can-eat buffet! And here at the water’s edge they find a welcome side dish: young toads that have just emerged from the water!

Cane toads freeze when attacked (a reflex that our native frogs don’t show), easy prey for our the meat-loving ants. Our little antsy heroes are immune to the toad poison and feed on them regularly, But those areas baited with cat food brought on a real feeding frenzy! The scientists found that by attracting more Meat ants to the edge of the wetland areas up to four times more toads lost their lives.

I reckon the scientists might be onto something!
This new strategy is probably not suited to totally eradicate the pest. But maybe we can identify a few more native species that have the potential to keep introduced pests at bay.

I wonder if we’ll see cat food in the pet food section of our local supermarket any time soon…

Boh boh
Anja

Reference:
Using a native predator (the Meat ant, Iridomyrmex reburrus) to reduce the abundance of an invasive species (the cane toad, Bufo marinus) in tropical Australia.
Georgia Ward-Fear, Gregory P. Brown and Richard Shine
School of Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia

Kakadu National Park will re-introduce a park use fee from 01 April 2010.
The park use fee will help maintain world-best management practices and facilities for the more than 200,000 visitors who experience Kakadu each year.

The $25 fee (which is inclusive of GST) will apply to all interstate and international visitors aged 16 years and over. All Northern Territory residents and children under 16 will be exempt. Tickets will be available online on the Kakadu National Park website from March 2010 or via www.kakadu.com.

Please note that park entry tickets are not included in our rates, participants will have to purchase their tickets prior to joining us on our tours.

Park passes will contribute directly to the running costs of the park and will maintain this amazing natural environment and a broad range of tourism services such as roads, boardwalks, visitor centres and free ranger walks and talks.

Please do the right thing and purchase your ticket before entering the park — and carry it with you while visiting Kakadu!

Boh boh
Anja

Our last tour to Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls will depart tomorrow, on Saturday, 31 October 2009.

A week ago the decision was made by Kakadu National Park management to close a number of walking tracks due to the currently very high temperatures in the stone country and the risks associated with walking in these conditions.

The walks closed include the Barrk Walk at Nourlangie Rock (which will re-open with the onset of the monsoon season, once the temperatures drop again), the Twin Falls escarpment walk and the Barrk Malam walk to the top of Jim Jim Falls.

While the walk into the gorge at Jim Jim Falls will remain open until as late as Friday, 11 December 2009 (all depending on the amount of rainfall received between now and then), Sunday, 8 November 2009 will be the last day of public access to the gorge at Twin Falls.

Boating towards Twin Falls

Our decision to wrap up the season a week early is based on our commitment to customer care. The health and safety of our passengers is our highest priority!
Temperatures have been soaring, for weeks we have consistently experienced 40 degrees and above in the precinct of Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls.
The danger of heat stress is becoming a very real one!

On behalf of the team, I’d like to thank everybody who’s made the trip with us this year. We trust your experience with Top End Explorer Tours  in Kakadu National Park was a memorable one — and we might even be able to welcome you back one day!

Boh boh!
Anja

Planning a trip to Kakadu National Park, working out which attractions to visit and how much time to spend in the area can be lots of fun. If you’re not really into camping, finding the right type of accommodation in the right location can be tricky…

Different types of accommodation (hotel/motel, cabin, budget) and powered camping sites are available at the Aurora Kakadu Resort, South Alligator (approximately 45km from Jabiru) and in the township of Jabiru. Here you can choose between the different options the Aurora Kakadu Lodge, Lakeview Park and the Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn have on offer.

Approximately 55km down the track (Kakadu Highway) accommodation and powered sites are also available at the Gagudju Lodge Cooinda.

If you’re slightly more adventurous, you might want to check out the Kakadu Culture Camp’s safari-tents.

Check out our Google Map for details!

For our tours we pick up from all these places — just let us know where exactly you’ll be staying and we can advise you of pick-up time and details! Give us a call or drop us a line if you’re not sure whether your accommodation is at South Alligator or in Jabiru, whether you’ll be staying at the Cooinda Lodge or the Crocodile Holiday Inn!

To avoid logistical nightmares and disappointment, please don’t forget to inform us about any changes…and a fun day will be had by all!

Promise!

Boh boh
Anja