Kakadu Escarpment

Arnhem Land is dominated by an enormous sandstone plateau that stretches for more than 200kms south and 100kms east. The edge of this old and weathered land is marked by a sheer rock face that rises dramatically from the lowlands and floodplains below. In place the escarpment towers almost 400 metres, and extends for almost 350 kms - a huge natural barrier between the interior and the coast.

From the moment Garry first mentioned the Kakadu Escarpment, I knew I had to see it for myself. However, there are only two ways most tourists can view it; a two-hour four-wheel drive along a 60km bone-jarring dirt track or by air. I chose the latter route. We weren’t disappointed.


A quartet of us ventured out to the Cooinda airstrip to catch our eight-seat, single engine aircraft. The airstrip was a classic outback location. It was little more than a dirt track, extending for a kilometre, surrounded by bush. The local terminal was a simple corrugated, lean-too shelter, open the hot, sunny weather. Crocodile Dundee would have been proud. (We later saw the actual bush strip made famous in the movie from the air).


What followed was a magic hour-long flight over Kakadu. We flew over Yellow Waters, where the cruise boats could be seen in action, across the wetlands and dry bush towards the edge of the Kakadu Escarpment. The view that then unfolded was breath-taking. The sheer wall of jagged red rock didn’t fail to impress and neither did the ravine-filled tableland behind it. Garry and I took photo after photo. It was hard not to.


Other highlights of our flight included the Ranger Mine. Commissioned in 1981, this orderly scar on the landscape, supplies 16% of the world’s uranium. Its lease was recently extended and is expected to remain in production for at least another decade. From the air the site looked remarkably well managed and not the ugly, chaotic blight on the landscape that I expected. Royalties from the mine are used to maintain and improve many of the facilities that Garry and I had been enjoying in Kakadu, including the lonely 200km Arnhem Highway we’d driven along days earlier. As our pilot pointed out, the typical sealed highway costs about A$1million a kilometre to construct.


Crocodiles were also a highlight. Naturally, we were prepared to see the Gagadju Holiday Inn in Jabiru which is shaped like a giant, green crocodile – a layout that’s only evident from the air. However, I was stunned by the sight of numerous crocodiles swimming along the mud-brown South Alligator River.


One in particular caught my eye. Even from 600 feet up, it was easy to spot. Its body was easily five metres in length, leaving a long, swirling wake as it made its way up river. The river itself was barely 15-20 metres wide at this point so the scale of this animal simply left me in awe. This beast was big! I’ll need no further reminder to never to go swimming in the Top End.