I can still remember the exact moment I
added ‘camping in Kakadu’ to my bucket list. I was on the plane flying home to
Melbourne for the very first time. I was scared about moving ‘back home’ but
was equally as excited to see as much of Australia as I possibly could. Fast
forward almost three years and Max and I were packing tents, mats and sleeping
bags, heading north and ready to tackle whatever it had to offer.
The other thing you probably need to know about
this trip was that I was throwing caution to the wind and going in without a
plan. Max had mentioned a couple of times that he’d had one but I have a feeling
he was just saying that to make me feel a bit better. In the end it was better
to not have anything planned because the sudden out-of-season rain stuffed everything
up anyway. So when it turned out we had to get an unplanned early-morning bus
to Kakadu, the new easy-breezy Matilda didn’t batter an eyelid.
Day one saw us bussing to the tiny town of
Jabaru which lies right in the middle of the Kakadu national park. I was surprised by
the park itself; I’m not sure what exactly I was expecting it to look like but
it was different, filled with a much wider variety of trees and birds then I had
imagined. It was hot (as I expected) but far more vast then I ever knew land
could feel.
Once in Jabaru we wandered down to the campground
ready to set up the tent and wait to hear word from our friends who we had
planned to meet up with. It was really cool, and once we’d set up tent we made
a beeline towards the pool and the bar for an afternoon of uninterrupted
lounging.
(This is probably the point in the blog I
would mention about how Max can’t swim but because I’m an okay sort of person I
have decided to leave this out. Don’t worry mate, it’s our little secret.)
After one great night in Jabaru we were
able to meet up with the wonderful Tim/Jess/Pete combo deal, and jumped into
their 4WD ready to take on the park. There’s a lot to be said about driving on
dirt roads and while some people might think 4WD-ing might get old, those
people are very wrong because it is ridiculously fun.
One we had finally settled on a campground
and waterfall combo we quickly set up the tents and set out on the hike up to
the swimming hole. Gumlum Falls is a pretty famous one but even the hoards of
long weekend campers couldn’t wipe the sweaty smile off my face as I first laid
eyes on it. Three or four cool pools over looking the campground and park. It
was spectacular and the five of us were extremely happy campers.
After all the joy of the hike and swimming,
someone (name withheld for privacy reasons) spoke up, and once the suggestion
to drive back Jaburu (specifically, the
bar at Jabiru) was floated, it was almost inevitable that our Gunlum falls
camping trip was going to be pretty short lived.
What happened next was an adrenaline-fuelled
dash: three hours back to Jaburu, tent tied to the roof (perhaps not our most
enlightened idea). We roared past fires and over a couple little animals and “TIMECHECK!”-ed
our way back. Thank god Tim is such a good driver because it was also prime
sunset watching time from the back of the truck.
To cut a long and hilarious story short we
did make it back, we did have some beers and we did eat some great food. Then
we set up camp (for the second time that day) and settled in for the night.
So there it was: Camping (check) four wheel
driving (check), hiking (check), swimming in a waterfall (check), good friends
(check) and beer (check). We did it, and we have the pictures to prove it.
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