Day 20 Wednesday 4th May

Today we woke at 5.00 so that we could drive the 54kms to Cooinda and be there by 6.30. It was extremely dark as the sun does not rise until 7ish. When we arrived at Cooinda, we were met by a bus which took us to the South Alligator River about 5 mins out of town. Here we joined the Yellow Waters Tour of the Wetlands for 2 hours cruising on the billabong. It was fabulous. There was so much water with fields of buffalo grass and trees stretching for miles around us.
As we cruised the waterways we saw a few crocodiles, some different birds such as herons, egrets, kites, a sea eagle, jacuna, magpie geese and the black necked stork (more commonly known as the jabiru). I really enjoyed the cruise and would love to go again later in the year when there are more birds around.

We then had breakfast at the Lodge at Cooinda.
After that we went to the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre. This building had a display of aboriginal culture from the way they catch and collect food to the various stories of the Dreaming and to the way they respect the land. It was very interesting.

Then we went to Nourlangie which is an outcrop of land on the edge of the Arnhem Plateau. We went on a 1 ½ km walk around the area, looking at aboriginal art sites and shelters. The view from the top was spectacular.

We arrived back at our van very hot and tired. The temperature today was 35 degrees again, so the pool was very enticing.

Jabiru - Black necked stork

"Pluto"