Naipablaak: 29.12.2017
On December 28th, it finally happened, our sightseeing flight over Kakadu National Park and Arnhem Land (land of the indigenous people). We left early in the morning at 4:00 am towards Jabiru. Along the way, we saw some kangaroos and a dingo on the road, luckily we had our LED light bar on the car. Meanwhile, we were finally able to see a beautiful starry sky and the Milky Way, and at 6 o'clock a magical sunrise. After a 300 km drive, we arrived at Jabiru Airport. The water on the roadside has already risen, just a few more rains and the roads will be flooded. While waiting for the pilot, we had breakfast (sandwiches). Just before 8 o'clock, the pilot arrived, he was in his early 30s and comes from Brisbane, Australia. He told us that since we had booked a 2-hour flight, we had to fly in the Cessna. The helicopter is too slow, we wouldn't see enough. The Cessna was built in 1998 and is only flown in the Outback and in Africa. After the safety briefing, we took off right away. The takeoff (and also the landing) were surprisingly smooth. The flight itself was also pleasant. We flew over the entire Kakadu National Park (300 km by 100 km), which is the size of half of Switzerland, the pilot told us. We saw countless rocks, lots of wetland, and wonderful waterfalls. Many of the waterfalls are only present during the Wet Season and some can only be reached by helicopter. The last half hour we flew over the land of the indigenous people, which borders directly on the national park. We already knew a lot from our visit in September, but now everything is green and billabongs have formed everywhere. Above the Alligator River (border to Arnhem Land) we could also see a crocodile. We also received additional interesting information from the pilot.
The sightseeing flight was simply so impressive because the Wet Season changes the nature so beautifully. The money for the flight and the 300 km drive there and back was worth it. Tired and overjoyed, we started our journey back shortly after 10 o'clock.
Of course, we also took some pictures, we uploaded a few, and we enjoyed the remaining time of the flight. There is a story behind every picture, it would be too much to write it all here, if you're interested, we can tell it personally. :))