With all the windows open the tent gets
light as soon as the sky does, so we tend to be waking up fairly early. We got
up and had breakfast and although we had talked about having a rest day, we
decided to head out to Fogg Dam to see if we could see much wildlife. By the
time we got ready it was a bit after 9, we were relaxed and ready to go for a
bit of an explore.
We’d been told that it’s sometimes possible
to see saltwater crocodiles on the banks of the Adelaide River where the Arnhem
Highway crosses the river (near where the jumping crocodile cruises happen). So
we drove past Fogg Dam and went across the river to see if we could see
anything – the water was really high and there really weren’t any banks to be
seen, and no crocodiles – cool to see the river though and know that it was a
place where big crocs hang out.
We came back across the river and went to
Windows on the Wetland – an impressive looking building on the hill above the
river, looking across wetlands and floodplains. It had a fantastic interactive
and informative display area downstairs, which the kids spent ages exploring.
There were live fish and turtles, a place where they could pop their heads
through a hole and get a mudskipper’s view of the mangroves, lots of
information on termites and snakes and birds and crocodiles, and a quiz where
they had to figure out the mystery animal. LiAM and Caitlin both figured out it
was a crocodile and got a sticker and bookmark as a prize. Upstairs there were
binoculars to view the wetlands, and the ranger came up and gave a fascinating
talk about the animals of the wetlands – how they have adapted their behavior
to better cope with humans or cane toads, how they work together to mean that
the ecosystem flourishes, what kind of numbers of animals are present in the
wetlands area. I learnt heaps and was really glad we were there for it. There
was a video playing continuously about the wetlands and Millie was keen to see
the whole thing, she watched some parts of it several times and loved it
all. We ended up spending about an hour and
a half there, and everyone really enjoyed it.
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| Wetlands |
I got a bit excited at the idea of going
further towards Kakadu and going on a billabong cruise to see crocs in the
wild, but it was quite expensive for the 5 of us and we decided to leave it. We
had sandwiches overlooking the wetlands (and some buffalo) and then drove over the river and back one more time - the water level was much lower now but still no crocs to be seen. We
headed back to Fogg Dam – it was quite a bit later in the day than we’d planned to get there (early morning would have been best) but we’d had such a good morning that it didn’t really matter. There was no walking allowed across the dam wall because of recent saltwater crocodile sightings. At first we didn’t realise that we were driving across the dam wall because there was so little water in the dam. There were some wet areas with lilies in them which were quite pretty. We drove to the other side and got out and went up a viewing platform – there wasn’t much water here but there were still a few birds around, including a black-shouldered kite which was swooping around. On the way back out we saw a Jabiru, I’ve not seen many of them in the wild (and none yet on this trip) so I was quite excited.
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| Fogg Dam |
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| Black-shouldered Kite |
From here we went a bit further south to a
mango farm called Crazy Acres. It’s a family run farm that sells amazing food.
LiAM had a mango and banana smoothie, Tony had mango cheesecake, Caitlin and
Millie had ice cream (scoops of mango, passionfruit and vanilla that each came
out in their own little bowl) and I had coconut chia pudding with mango on top.
All of them were delicious and we all shared everyone’s dessert – a lovely
afternoon tea. It was interesting too to read about the history of the farm and
how they have built the business up from scratch.
I was keen to visit Berry Springs (just
down the road) on our way home. Some of the others were a bit tired and
reluctant, we decided to pop in for a quick swim and see how everyone liked it.
On the way down to the water Caitlin bought a noodle, we got changed and headed
for the main pool. It was very large and quite deep. LiAM and Caitlin and I got
in and swam for a bit, the kids weren’t keen to go too far from the edge.
Millie wanted a snorkel and we had trouble finding one that would fit her and
be comfortable enough – she did try LiAM’s but then LiAM and I decided to swim
up the creek to the top of the springs and he needed his mask and snorkel for
that, so we tried to adjust one of the others for Millie but nothing worked.
Eventually she decided to just use her goggles. Everyone was extra tired and
cranky and still rather hot by this stage.
Tony and the girls walked back up to the
top of the springs and LiAM and I swam. We saw so many cool fish on the way –
archer fish, 2 types of rainbow fish, and some beautiful large flattish black
fish with spots (I did learn their name and have forgotten it again…). We
reached the others and Caitlin came back down the creek a little way to see the
black fish. It was easier to swim here, Millie could stand up and the water was
much clearer. We could move around easily and with our masks and goggles we
could watch the fish. There was a small waterfall which we sat under and could
go in behind, there was a little cave with enough room to pop our heads up. It
was loud in there and so cool, looking back out and seeing nothing but a wall
of water. Everyone went in a couple of times, the girls didn’t like it much
though.
We swam back down the creek, Millie on my
back and popping her head under the water when I saw cool fish, it worked quite
well. We saw a group of 5 little fish like the big black ones, Caitlin saw a
bright yellow fish, and LiAM saw a freshwater longtom – a long, thin fish with
a sword like mouth. We all felt much happier now and enjoyed exploring the
creek and the rocks and playing near the waterfall. The water was quite warm
until we moved up past the area where the waterfall came in from the side, then
it was really cold.
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| Berry Springs |
Once we’d had enough we got out and the
kids got changed. We headed back to our tent – the first time we’ve been back
before dark in a while. Tony cooked pasta and tuna for dinner and the kids had
a swim in our hosts’ pool. Millie and I went to Woolworths after tea to get
supplies and a cake for LiAM’s birthday. Millie swam briefly once we got back
then we all headed for bed and listened to Brisingr.
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