Travel Oz: Breathtaking Kakadu

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00:00Kakadu, it's the natural wonder of Australia's Top End, famous for its diverse environment.

00:16From towering escarpments decorated with Aboriginal rock art, to the floodplains of the South

00:25Alligator River, with its amazing array of birds and wildlife.

00:30Depending on the season, you may see crocodiles, wallabies, dingoes, goannas, and many of the

00:40myriad of bird species that inhabit the National Park.

00:46The flora is also magnificent, and changes dramatically from the tropical summer season

00:52to the dry season in May to November.

00:56Any wonder it's been World Heritage listed.

01:01The Kakadu National Park is the gateway to Arnhem Land, and covers almost 20,000 square

01:07kilometres.

01:08What's more, it's an easy three hour drive from the capital of the Northern Territory,

01:15Darwin.

01:17There's a Kakadu tour to suit every budget and need.

01:21A great place to start to explore Kakadu is at the Yellow Waters Billabong.

01:30Marvel at dusk when huge flocks of magpie geese take off at the same time.

01:36The sky darkens with migrating magpie geese, while their distinctive honking sounds carry

01:41across the water.

01:42Here in Kakadu, there are an estimated half million magpie geese.

01:49This is a site to treasure, because drainage of swampy grassland habitats in southern Australia

01:54a century ago now sees large colonies only here in northern Australia.

02:04Their biggest predators are the saltwater crocodiles that abound here.

02:12It's not uncommon to see a giant croc munching on a magpie goose it has just killed.

02:19They're quite cunning these giant prehistoric looking crocs.

02:24Take the hunting tactics it uses on this jabiru.

02:32It slips back under the water.

02:34The jabiru investigates.

02:41And bang, the croc launches its entire body out of the water to make the kill.

03:00Those jumping skills of the crocs can be seen on tours of the Adelaide River on the approach

03:05to Kakadu.

03:07Local cruise boats offer trips up river, where movers jangle over the side of the boat, enticing

03:12the croc to leap high out of the water.

03:17Visitors certainly need to take care swimming in these waters, because the warning signs

03:21in Kakadu are certainly explicit enough.

03:26There are crocodiles here.

03:27They do attack, and those attacks cause injury or even death.

03:34And go swimming.

03:37Despite that warning, people have gone swimming, and the results have sometimes been fatal.

03:44This is the sandy billabong in the heart of Kakadu.

03:50It looks beautiful and peaceful enough.

03:53This is where a giant crocodile more than four metres long snuck up on a German backpacker

03:58and dragged her underwater to drown.

04:06The crocs have been known to take down water buffalo.

04:11Those buffalo are easy to spot, trampling around the edges of Kakadu's many waterways.

04:20Bird life certainly abounds in Kakadu.

04:26And apart from the magpie geese, there are many endearing species among the water lilies

04:31that choke many of Kakadu's billabongs.

04:35This is the extraordinary jacana, or lotus bird.

04:43These floating lily pads would collapse under the weight of any other bird, but the jacana

04:49has enormously elongated toes, which allow him to spread his weight over a large area.

04:59Travelling this way means he can find the many insects, snails and other smaller life

05:04forms that congregate just under the rim of the lily pad.

05:14While the jacana is one of Kakadu's smallest birds, the jabiru is one of the largest.

05:23The tall and stately jabiru is Australia's only stork.

05:29They can be spotted all over Kakadu's wetlands, feeding on fish, small crustaceans and amphibians.

05:38Its prey is caught by the jabiru jabbing and seizing it with its large bill.

05:46With its black and wide body plumage, glossy dark green and purple neck and massive black

05:52bill, it's easily distinguished from all other Australian birds.

05:58One group who have learned to live in harmony with the land and its creatures are the traditional

06:02owners, the aboriginals.

06:05Crocodiles and bush tucker are all a way of life for the aboriginals of Kakadu, the traditional

06:10lands of the Gagadju people.

06:15Youngsters like Tasha Najee go bush most weekends.

06:21Tasha does not swim because of the crocs, but she does collect bush tucker like water

06:26lilies.

06:27She'll eat the nuts in the lily's centre.

06:32Tasha also collects red and white apples as well as berries.

06:40Other aboriginal groups in Kakadu hunt for fire snakes.

06:44Mandy Muir and family and friends walk into a billabong where their first task is to throw

06:49rocks at the water to scare off any crocs lurking there.

06:58They call them ginga and have counted 12 crocs in this waterhole, one of them 4 metres

07:05long.

07:06Nevertheless, they're always very careful where they tread, ever mindful they could

07:11step on a submerged croc.

07:19Hunting for fire snakes means probing the mud with a stick.

07:29In all, they'll haul 4 fire snakes out of the mud today.

07:36Then comes the task of killing them.

07:39The hunters take the snake's head in their mouths, then break its neck.

07:45A campfire is started, then the snake is thrown onto the red hot coals to bake, then consumed

07:52with much gusto.

08:00Kakadu was also rich in aboriginal rock paintings.

08:04From time immemorial, aboriginal people have left their marks in caves on rocks, and because

08:09rock is durable, we can still see today their rock paintings.

08:14Although many were made for ceremonial purposes, there are undoubtedly also markings just done

08:19for fun.

08:22Some paintings are very ancient, executed many thousands of years ago.

08:27But not all paintings need to be that old, some were made within living memory.

08:32Whatever their age, the aboriginal people of Kakadu have left a lasting legacy of their

08:37culture in the form of art that can be found in caves and rock overhangs where it's protected

08:43from the elements.

08:50One final aboriginal cultural experience in Kakadu is a basket weaving demonstration,

08:55a cultural display amidst the very rich diversity of wetlands and wildlife that has made Kakadu

09:01so famous.

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