And it cost us an extra $400.
We do try to follow the rules, clearly they are there for a reason and in this case, we also feared a fine for disobeying. Or perhaps we feared getting stuck and losing out on precious time. So, as much as Ross didn’t want to, and debated going with just a small SUV, he did what the national park website said he needed to do to get to our destination– he rented a 4WD and paid a premium to do so. (Rental cars can be one of the biggest costs on a birding trip. We typically like to get the most financially economical option.)
The “top end” as it is affectionately called, is the northernmost section of the Northern Territory and in my opinion, a must visit. The top end is gorgeous, from its seemingly plentiful waterfalls and waterholes, to the stunning landscapes and rich culture, to the sunset show every night at dusk followed by the clear night sky perfect for gazing. (I was also a big fan of all of the cathedral termite mounds dotting the landscape!) This area of the continent is home to several popular national parks, but none of those parks are as popular among birders as Kakadu National Park.
Kakadu National Park in far north central Australia is recognized for its biodiversity, natural wonders, and cultural history. Beyond being home to a number of different species, there are places to view aboriginal art thousands of years old because aboriginal people are said to have lived in Kakadu more than 65,000 years and according to Kakadu’s website, these people make up the oldest living culture on earth.
Obviously we had come for the birds, but we would be sure to see all of the rich history that was now at our fingertips. Kakadu provides habitat for 290 species of birds, AKA one third of all of Australia’s birds! Kakadu also happens to be home to several range-restricted species like Black banded fruit dove, Chestnut-quilled Rock-Pigeon, Purple-backed Fairy-wren, and even White-throated Grasswren, the holy grail of Australian grasswrens due to the core of its range being in publicly inaccessible areas. All of these were targets!
We had great success tracking down Rainbow Pitta, Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove, and Varied Lorikeet as we entered the park, all lifers for me, but as we wandered open grassy areas in search of Partridge Pigeon (the red-eyed ssp) we kept turning up empty.
Kakadu national park also has several waterfalls and plenty of opportunities for camping. We recently learned that Roger doesn’t mind camping so we’ve been doing it more and more to save a bit more from the cost of hotel rooms (by far our largest expense on this trip.) We opted to camp at the campground near Jim Jim Falls and on the park’s website as well as Avis’s, it says the Jim Jim Falls track is 4WD only. So we went with that. What we didn’t realize is that the campground was 6km before the falls and the entire track to the campground was wide, flat, had zero ruts and was occasionally paved! It is only the last 6 km to the falls themselves that requires 4×4 but even then, we saw multiple cars make the final leap past the campground with no issues whatsoever, several of them Aussies, I guess knowing there would not be any ranger at the end issuing fines. We really did not need to follow the rules spend so much extra on this 4WD Ford Everest!
At this time of year Jim Jim falls doesn’t have any water pouring over the edge, but even without the waterfall, I still found myself standing in the middle of the canyon staring up at some pretty impressive cliffs with beautiful pools of water and being impressed by the pretty amazing views. I had gone my separate ways from Ross who had other birds on his agenda. Surprisingly, Roger and I were only the second people to reach the “falls” that morning, and would have been the first had I not been birding the walk in and letting a family pass me. But soon the family left and it was just me and Roger surrounded by an amazing natural feat that we had entirely to ourselves. That is until the troves of people started showing up to swim in the pools, a popular activity amongst those who visit but an activity I was not prepared to do with an 11 month old solo.
Ross, on a mission to see all of the grasswrens, did the much harder hike at Jim Jim falls and climbed to the top of the escarpment. Once on top in spinifex habitat, he tracked down White-throated Grasswren, the holy grail of grasswrens, effectively cleaning up all recognized grasswren species and a majority of the remaining subspecies. Jim Jim was a very successful place to visit and we had a Partridge Pigeon walking around the campground as we packed up our tent! I plan to do an entire post dedicated to the grasswrens of Oz so stay tuned for that!
We couldn’t leave Kakadu without visiting Nourlangie Rock, an amazing historical aboriginal art site with some of the oldest rock art in the entire world. We saw art depicting the story of Lighting Man and The Rainbow Serpent, two creation beings responsible for seasonal changes and the life cycle of plants and animals. These aboriginal stories are fascinating. The fact that ground clays mixed into paints have withstood the elements for thousands of years and still show brightly to this day is an amazing feat. It was also deja-vu for Ross visiting a place he had visited 15 years ago.
This art site also is home to many of the aforementioned targets and it was here that we saw Chestnut-quilled Rock Pigeon, White-lined Honeyeater, Sandstone Shrike-thrush, and heard Black-banded Fruit Dove, a bird Ross had previously seen so he didn’t mind only hearing it on this trip, but we were disappointed nonetheless not to see this stunning pigeon. Unfortunately Roger’s schedule and the fruit-dove’s did not mesh well.
While I was at Kakadu, I met an Australian (one who made it to the falls without 4WD I might add) who told me that Litchfield National Park just south of Darwin is rumored to be even better than Kakadu. Whether or not that’s true, I don’t know, but we did venture to Litchfield and I can definitely say it is a beautiful park with beautiful waterfalls and swimming holes. (The waterfall photo at the top of this post was from Litchfield and as I stopped to take the picture I was jealous of all of the people swimming in the waterfall down below. Sadly I couldn’t convince Ross to change up the itinerary so we could jump in!)
Red Goshawks, probably Australia’s most difficult raptor to track down, are routinely found nesting at Litchfield. Outside of a nest site, Red Goshawks are rarely seen. These birds on a nest were the impetus for our visit as Ross had noticed a recent eBird sighting at one of the campgrounds. We didn’t think it would be a big deal or huge time commitment to drive to the campground, but as soon as we turned down the access road we were almost immediately stopped by a river crossing! This was a surprise to us! The murky water, potentially home to a saltwater crocodile, appeared to be around 550mm deep and the end of the crossing was not in sight. We didn’t know what to do. We drove 2 hours out of our way to get to Litchfield just so we could see these goshawks and now we were so close yet so far. Potentially impossibly far.
We got out of our car to take a closer look at the situation at hand. Another vehicle without a snorkel showed up as well and was equally as surprised as us to find a river standing in the way of continuing forward. (Engines in cars need oxygen in order to burn fuel. If the engine is under water it can’t “breathe” and will drown and die. This is called flooding. Nobody wants to flood an engine because it would need to be replaced and engines are expensive. Many people put a snorkel on their vehicle so that the necessary oxygen is being pulled from above the vehicle. The engine can’t be flooded and thus they can traverse deep water crossings.) This was far more intense than any river crossing we did on our way to Mitchell Falls. We watched a few vehicles with snorkels traverse the deep waters and soon the other car was certain they weren’t going to risk flooding their engine just to see some ancient ruins on the other side so they turned around. But we weren’t going for ruins, we were going for Red Goshawks! We just couldn’t give up on them without making sure it wasn’t doable in a vehicle without a snorkel. We stayed and watched as at least 15 vehicles made the crossing, including 3 without snorkels. In the end, Ross and I stood at the edge of that water for nearly 40 minutes before we decided we would go for it. Was it risky? Yes. Especially given that the bow wave (the water that is being moved by driving) that our Everest created surely was at the top end of what the wading depth limit was listed as online. But did we make it without any issues? Also yes.
We drove to the campground and quickly found a Red Goshawk on her nest. Luckily we had some exact details on where to search so it took no longer than a few minutes to locate the distant nest and watch as the bird sat on her eggs before standing up to reposition. An absolute mega!
But we truly didn’t feel like we were out of the woods until we had safely arrived at the other side of the river crossing. We may have made it once, but we had to do it again. We headed back, crossed our fingers, and took it slow and steady through the deep waters. Luckily our Everest, with an 800mm max wading depth limit made it across once more. Would Ross do it all again knowing just how close it was? Maybe. Maybe not. I went on and on about paying extra for the Everest but as it turns out, we did need that 4WD.
This birding occurred August 20-22, 2023
Sample eBird checklist from Kakadu here, here, and here.