northern territory: anbangbang, yellow waters

There's no better way to experience the wetlands of Yellow Waters than on a crocodile-proof cruise which we did with Ma and Grug. The kids were just as excited for the five-minute bus ride to the jetty as the boat ride. 

An egret, a shag and a whitebreasted sea eagle on the banks of Yellow Waters. 

There was so much wildlife to see on the cruise - dozens of huge (and smaller) saltwater crocodiles and beautiful water birds including eagles, kites, egrets, brolgas and rainbow bee-eaters. The billabong was lined with the beautiful lotus and pandanus plants. It must be magic to see this place teaming with wildlife during the wet and at the beginning of the dry season. 

Anbangbang (wrongly but more commonly known as Nourlangie) is about half an hour by car from Cooinda and the site of more incredible rock art. Sheltered by huge overhangs much of the paint has remained intact over thousands of years. If you're in the area be sure to tack on to a free ranger guided talk. The national park rangers present informative and engaging talks about the sites. 

Thanks to my mum for these two photographs. 

On our tour with Animal Tracks Patsy taught us how to identify a green ant's nest. Green ants are a bush medicine used to relieve a headache and quell a sore tummy. We showed the children how, with a quick movement, Patsy quickly removed a nest and squished the ants before producing the medicine. Strangely the ants do taste like salt and vinegar chips. 

northern territory: kakadu, gagadju, animal tracks

It seems like a lifetime ago but about 18 months ago we were sitting a fancy Christmas dinner in Sydney with a bunch of Js colleagues. We were discussing our plans to do the big lap of Australia when one colleague insisted we do Patsy's tour in Kakadu. "If you are a foodie," he'd said, "you'll love it." 

I did a bit of research and a few weeks ago I found the notes of made for the Animal Tracks tour which leaves from Cooinda Lodge where we were staying with my parents. 

My parents were happy to mind the big kids while J and I headed out for the evening. I don't want to spoil the surprise for anyone who might take this tour but it really was a great experience. 

Attendees collected seasonal produce - fresh water mussels, bush carrots and what was left of water chestnuts at the end of a dry dry season. 

Preparing the magpie goose. Pluck, singe feathers, gut, portion, cook, eat. 

Patsy taught us some bush medicine and then her and our host Mark cooked our dinner the traditional way - on coals in a paperbark oven. We ate buffalo, magpie goose and barramundi on the edges of wetlands where thousands, some say millions, of magpie geese were nesting. 

It wasn't long before the loveable whistling kites came in for their share.  Back in the bus two dingos could be seen circling what was left of our feed.  

Thanks for the tip Paul. We are so pleased we took this tour. 

northern territory : kakadu, arnhem land

We wanted to see Kakadu and Arnhem Land. It's a part of Australia we've seen on doco's and featured in films but we came with fresh eyes, not really knowing what to expect. Once again a part of this country has been forged in our hearts as a treasured place. 

We pulled in to Merl campground at Ubirr late in the day which is never a good sign of things to come. It was too hot to cook in the van (high thirties) and mozzies were already starting to take their place against the fly screens so we bunkered in for a mezze platter. 

The kids are still adjusting to the 1.5hr time difference with Western Australia and getting them to bed early is proving difficult. The heat coupled with hundreds of mozzies getting in somewhere wasn't a good combination for getting to bed early or having a good night. And we didn't. I think we had four hours sleep that first night between smashing the little blood-filled blighters and tending to hot thirsty kids. 

We were easily distracted from our mozzie bites and the elements once we looked out of the van at Merl. It is a stunning place to wake up set amongst the pandanus palms. We pre-booked our permit in to Arnhem Land and tour to Injalak Hill and it was an early, hazy start to cross the East Alligator River by 8:30 in the morning. 

Roland was our guide up Injalak Hill. It was a privilege to see artworks on the walls of the rocks dating back 20,000 years. Here lies evidence of the longest continuous culture on the planet. Our short time on Earth and contribution to the world pales in to insignificance. 

The artworks here depict foods and other plants and animals endemic to the area including long-necked turtle, barramundi, mullet. Legends told and retold over thousands of years are also painted here. 

Here you can see the palette and the canvas. These grind holes, used to grind rock in to ocre paints (from about 50km from this site) are literally thousands of years old. 

There are three brothers - making up Injalak (Long Tom Fish) Hill, Leech Hill and Magpie Goose Hill. These places are sacred sites for the locals. 

Our tour finished at the Arts Centre which houses a large number of artworks by local artists and sales are used to fund the running of the centre and community workshops for tourists. We bought a beautiful painting of a barramundi by

?? Glen 

who uses only ocres in his paintings. It has its place in our caravan now.