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Australia day 10-11: Darwin to Jabiru/Kakadu NP

Day 10.

At 9:30 am we were on 2.5-hour (somewhat delayed) Jetstar flight to Darwin where we picked-up (near the airport) our next rental (Nissan 2WD Standard SUV) from ☞ Bargain Car. Everything went quite smooth, but now we were in a hurry to make it to ☞ Corroboree Tavern (in Marrakai) by 4 pm to catch shuttle for sunset Corroboree Billabong ☞ Wetland Cruise (recommended) and still stop in Humpty Doo to pick-up supplies at Woolworth and for cup of coffee at the Tavern.

The cruise was confirmed only the day before when enough people signed-on. We had enough time to check-in at Corroboree Tavern, conveniently located crossroads-type accommodation and busy restaurant (we had beef curry for dinner after the cruise). Two-hour cruise (ending just after sunset) on billabong near Mary River (outside Kakadu NP) was worth to do thanks to abundant wildlife (mostly birds, but also a few small crocodiles and turtles) and very good involved guide.

Corroboree Billabong

Day 11.

We drove (all day) from Marrakai to Jabiru on Arnhem Hwy stopping along the way. First stop was at Mary River Wilderness Retreat, just off the highway, for very slow 1:45 hr river-bamboo-billabong walk. $5 pp day-use fee was well worth it. We got good advice where to go, cold drinking water. We also used swimming pool and shower after the walk. Hiking temp reached 37℃. Nice view on Mary River.

Next, we stoped briefly at South Alligator River boat ramp (plus 15-min anty-sleep nap for driver) and Kakadu NP info board (lunch). We spent 1:45 hr at Mamukala Wetlands (recommended) observation deck and walk, great bird-watching experience. From small Paperbark flycatcher to large Magpie goose flock and many others in between.Temp reached 39℃, 40℃ was recorded in Kakadu – couple degrees higher than average for the day. We checked-in at ☞ Kakadu Lodge in Jabiru around 5 pm.

Mary River
Paperback flycatcher
Mamukala
Magpie gees
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Australia day 9: Cairns

Snorkeling take two. This time we decided to go on all-day (9-hour, with buffet lunch) tour with ☞ Seastar Cruises to Michaelmas Cay and Hastings Reefs (recommended) located 50 km NE of Cairns. Very good professional organization. Because of the distance to the outer reef, we travelled on a larger/faster boat. Seastar provided snorkeling equipment (we brought our own RX masks and snorkels) and offered introductory dives, which we decided not to take, as for first-time divers like us, it would be too much distraction on first visit to the Great Barrier Reef. The weather was good and sunny. The coral reefs were very alive and colorful, with more fish, larger and in larger schools, comparing to Mackay Reef (day 5). Each reef was visually different. At Michaelmas we landed on sand bar and snorkeled from there. Movement on the beach is very restricted as most of it is reserved for protected seabird sanctuary. At Hastings we jumped off the main boat and navigated through channels between sometimes quite shallow reef. We had close to 90 mins of snorkeling at each location – Joanna was always one of the last people getting back on board. Her persistence paid off as she was the only one to spot epaulette shark, a rare sighting on the reef. Overall very exciting and relaxing experience. Seastar crew took pictures, downloadable for free from their fb page (we are re-posting some here with acknowledgement).

We arrived back at Cairns marina shortly after 4 pm, walked along waterfront esplanade and checked on Cairns City Library Bats, spectacled flying foxes or fruit bats, hanging at this time of day on large trees (along Alpin St between Lake and Abbott). After short stop at our hostel (shower and laundry) we headed back for dinner at Prawn Star Restaurant (recommended) on three boats docked at the marina: large platter of deliciously fresh bugs, tigers and mixed prawns. We visited the bats again on the way to the restaurant, now at dusk buzzing around like crazy. Slow stroll back to the hostel completed our visit to Queensland.

Flying foxes