Andi's birthday in Kakadu National Park

On Andi's birthday, September 4th, which was a Sunday, we set off to Kakadu National Park. The park is almost 20,000 km² and very famous. So, of course, we wanted to spend a few days there.

After checking out of the campsite, where we were able to dispose of our old boxes, tent, and broken gas stove, we went to the gas station and filled up the tank again. We also filled one of the 20-liter jerry cans from our roof because there aren't many gas stations in the park and they will probably be more expensive than in the city (like in Litchfield). When we were on the highway, it suddenly started pouring rain. Totally unusual for this area in August! But the weather forecast had been predicting rain for a few days. We just couldn't believe it. Luckily for us, it started right when we were in the car. We could also test the new windshield wipers right away :D

The rain soon stopped and we made good progress. After about an hour of driving, we arrived at Mount Bundey, where we filled up again at the Bark Hut Inn (pub, campsite, and gas station) because we had an extremely high fuel consumption due to the additional weight of the bed frame, the drinking water supply, and the fuel.

After another hour, we arrived at the Aurora Resort, where we bought our park passes. They cost 40 AUD per person, are valid for 7 days, and entitle you to drive around the park and participate in ranger-guided activities. The Aurora Resort is located a few kilometers inside the park and amusingly, we parked under a tree that was completely occupied by cockatoos :D

Our next stop was Mamukala. This is an observation platform where you can observe birds well and you only had to walk a few hundred meters from the parking lot. From the platform, we saw quite a lot of birds! There wasn't much water left, so the birds that were there crowded closer to the shore. Especially geese, there were really a lot!

After bird watching, we continued further into the park. After another 30 kilometers, we passed the Bowali Visitor Centre where we wanted to find out about camping fees, water levels of the waterfalls, and general things you can do. We also learned that a very heavy rain shower had fallen over the park the night before our arrival and flooded some areas. That's why the road to Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls was closed. My first thought was: What a shame! Those are THE waterfalls you should see in Kakadu National Park and they are apparently spectacular even in the dry season with little water. My second thought was: Thank goodness we didn't drive to the park 2 days earlier and might be stuck or have our car flooded like some park visitors. That would have been pretty stupid! So we could already cancel a day of our stay in Kakadu and focus on the many other things to see.

From the visitor center, it was another good 50 kilometers to Cooinda Lodge, where we wanted to spend the first night. Karo and Matze were there too and we wanted to meet up with them and celebrate Andi's birthday. We arrived there around 4:00 pm. Cooinda Lodge is one of the more expensive camping sites in the park because it has a pool, a laundry, and a gas station. But it is also one of the few places where you can drink alcohol, which was important to us because we wanted to crack open a bottle of champagne. We also bought sausages and potatoes beforehand and so the four of us made a nice birthday dinner. We also had the opportunity to try one of those public BBQ stations that are found everywhere in Australia, where a metal plate is heated with gas. We cooked the sausages and fried potatoes on it. We also had ketchup and taco sauce. It was really delicious!! And everyone enjoyed the champagne too. It was really a nice feeling to sit at the campsite with friends and celebrate Andi's birthday. The highlight was the chocolate cake we bought for dessert and it was really good. The four of us finished it pretty quickly :D

After dinner, we sat and chatted for a while. It's always pleasant in the evenings with the hot climate. We also planned what we would do the next day and since Karo and Matze planned to do a Yellow Water Cruise, we joined them so we could experience something together.

Eventually, we went to bed. It was a full day, with a lot of driving. But it was definitely worth it, and it was a beautiful birthday for Andi :)