Kakadu National Park March 1

The weather is far better than when we arrived yesterday.  Highs in the high 80’s, still 100% humidity, and no rain all day!  With a broad-brimmed hat, lots of water and lots of sunscreen it works.

We began the day with a 90-minute lecture on the park and the people who have lived here.  The naturalist who spoke was wonderful, and his information supplemented the extensive handout we had been given.  We then went to the park’s visitor center, where a board of road closings attested to the ferocity of the monsoon rains:

Here is an explanation of the six seasons recognized by the Aboriginal people:

 The Visitor Center’s displays were quite extensive and helpful.  After lunch we went for a “Yellow Water Cruise”, a boat ride for two hours on the flood waters and on the East Alligator River (named by an explorer who confused alligators with crocodiles).  It was hard to tell when we moved from the river to the floodplain—all was water:

Here is a whole vista of water lilies:

And here is a single lotus lily:

 There’s an extensive collection of fauna here; these are magpie geese:

 And the very scary saltwater crocodile.  Just last week a12-year old girl was eaten by one, we were told:

 Here’s the jacana which has very specialized splayed-out toes to be able to walk on lily pads:

And here’s the sea eagle:

 On the way back to the launch we came across a rare sight.  The male jacana cares for the newly hatched chicks and protects them under his wing.  In this photo you can see the wing bulged out by a chick underneath, and in the lower left corner of the photo you can see a chick just exploring away from its dad:

 By now we were sweltering and partially baked, but at least we had not been rained on.  Our final stop of the day was at the Warradjan Cultural Center where no photos were allowed.  This center is devoted to explaining the lives, beliefs and practices of the Aboriginal people who lived in this part of the country and it was extremely well-done and full of great displays and information.  

Back to the hotel for dinner and rest; tomorrow Aboriginal rock painting.