Croc Hunting in Kakadu

In the remote northern lobe of Australia's Northern Territory, west of a crocodile-filled river known misleadingly as the East Alligator, lies a landscape of ancient and holy secrets. It goes by the name Kakadu, a white man's tone-deaf approximation of a softer Aboriginal word, Gagudju.

Aboriginal history is long in this place, and has been kept alive though the oral history and rock art passed down through a thousand generations. Credit for keeping this ancient culture intact often goes to the massive crocodiles that have, until recently, discouraged the probing outside from impacting this dreamy world. A world where Aborigines live in perfect symbiosis with the ruthless, beautiful Kakadu floodplain.

To put things in perspective, the vast riverine wilderness of Kakadu National Park is more than half the size of Peninsular Malaysia, sparsely populated by aborigines, park rangers, and by far the biggest crocodiles on the planet.

Kakadu is divided by a great ribbon of sandstone cliffs, or escarpment, between the Arnhem Land Plateau to the east, and the seasonally flooded lowlands to the west. Arnhem Land is autonomous aboriginal land and is not open to visitors.

In 1978, the Director of National Parks signed a 100-year lease with the aboriginal clans of the Kakadu lowlands. A year later, UNESCO recognised Kakadu as a World Heritage Site, both for its natural and cultural richness. Kakadu - just 2 hours east of the capital city Darwin - has been welcoming visitors hungry for a more 'real' experience ever since.

What makes a visit to Kakadu 'real' is that even now, some 20 years after its opening, you still feel like you are entering an utterly wild place where Nature is still very much in charge, and visitors have no choice but to accommodate her sometimes prickly mood.

Sudden rains may wash out roads, stranding you among crocodiles that have been known to grow over 6 meters long (that's as long as a minibus!). This ain't no trip to the Opera House, if you know what I mean. Shoppers in high heels yearning for a decent decaf latte need not sign up.

Jumping Crocs

There is just one road in and out. At the East Alligator River - the entrance to Kakadu - the tour stops at the base of a goofy 20-meter high statue of a croc next to an Outback-style restaurant. "This beauty is only slightly bigger than the real thing, mate!" says our tour-guide Sam with a wink. Here, visitors board boats for what must be one of the most spectacular sights most of us will ever see.