Even Nicole at the Flight Centre told us not to miss a morning boat trip on the Yellow Waters Billabong. It is home to thousands of birds, resident and transient crocodiles and huge barramundi, the Top End's most sought after gamefish. At $A99 a head it seemed overpriced but what the heck, we won't be back this way again.
The bus to the landing surged through the flooded road and dropped us at the dock, heavily fenced against crocodiles. Fifty of us clambered aboard to watch the sunrise (ho-hum this cloudy morning) and search out wildlife while Dave, our skipper/bus-driver, regaled us with Aborigninal lore. The water is still high and not yellow; that's caused by the tiny florets from the melaleuca trees settling on the surface. It has dropped 2 meters in the last few weeks and will get smaller and smaller as the Dry continues.
The myriad birds were new to most of the passengers but we have seen them all in the past few days. We did, however, get some good photos. The crocodiles were the big draw - unless, of course, you had spent a lot of time in Africa. Now those are crocodiles! If we hadn't gone we would have felt that we missed something and we really chowed down at the complementary buffet breakfast.
The Cooinda campground was disappointing. Yes, the pool is wonderful. But the BBQs don't work, the camp kitchen has no sink, the toilet blocks are barely adequate and the cost was outrageous - forty-six bucks a night! Since campsites weren't assigned and no one seemed to keep track of who was where we stayed without paying for a second night. Now we don't feel cheated.
