The kids have a morning swim so we don’t get out of the van park till 10.
We head into the national park, one of the main sites I wanted to try and see called Gunlom, it was a series of plunge pools. It would be a steep climb and in this heat we might have been too late. In anycase we’ve been told this site is closed for a few days as they are filming a movie. I might need to boycott this movie when it comes out for ruining my Kakadu experience. Either that or heavily promote it for saving me a long walk up a steep hill in 40° temperatures.
In any case we move onto the next site which is called Maguk, the English name is Barramundi Gorge, although I’ve been reliably informed, it is neither a gorge or has there been any reports of Barra in here. It’s a 10km trip down a 4×4 road, so we unhitch the van and just take the MUX in. After the drive there is a further 1km walk in. At least it is pretty level, although like Redbank, the last 500m or so is rock hopping.
Unlike Redbank however there is a huge payoff. This place was fantastic. We soon forget the hot walk in. The water, although having a green hue, was really clear. You could see down at least 5 or more metres to the bottom.
A few people had found the path to the top of the waterfall, but in the pool at the bottom, we had the place to ourselves. Although technical frowned upon we jump from the rocks into the deep water. We could have stayed here for hours, but after about an hour we need to get ready to head back.
We drive back to pick up the van, and I must say it is a little bit of a relief to see it still there.
As we head onto Cooinda to stay the night we take a side 1km walk to some billabong, let’s just say you can’t win them all.
In to the Cooinda Lodge van park and a swim in their huge pool. Like most up here now, they are so warm they are hardly refreshing.