Leaving Darwin, I headed along the Arnhem Highway, through a little town with the evocative name of Humpty Doo. The road ultimately leads further east, but I turned off for a stay in Mary River NP.
The Mary River has a large floodplain and even in the Dry season is covered by amazing wetlands. These provide refuge for vast quantities of birds and animals in this currently arid landscape.
Shady Camp
Located beside a billabong of the Mary River, Shady Camp is actually below sea level. A short walk from the campground a platform has been built, which gives a great view of the billabong. Large numbers of pink lotus lilies and smaller blue waterlilies in flower make this a beautiful spot to contemplate awhile.
Set above the water level, the platform provides a shady and safe vantage point to watch the resident crocodiles.
I counted eight large saltwater crocs (these are the ones I could actually see, there may have been more lurking) sunning themselves on the mud banks.
It was fascinating to watch these creatures, knowing they are probably watching you right back and contemplating you for dinner!
In the heat of the afternoon, a couple of the crocs slid menacingly into the river and patrolled the waterway. Hardly visible in the water, they are affectively camouflaged. Watching them slowly sink, disappearing completely under the water without even a ripple makes you realise what very dangerous predators these animals are.
Not far downstream, a causeway is built across the river, and it is recommended people don’t stay here, as it is literally only a few inches above the water level. I was fascinated watching people fishing from the causeway, completely ignoring this advice. They were standing so close to the water and seemed oblivious to the crocs that were obviously sizing them up!
(It is known that Salties can jump up to 2/3 their body length out of the water, so the causeway is a really dangerous place to hang around, especially given the number of large crocs nearby).
Rainbow Bee-eaters were darting out over the waterlilies searching for insects. These beautiful little birds seem to enjoy showing off.
A large and rather glorious Jabiru Stork wandered along the shore and I guess he was concentrating on finding a snack. But I bet he was keeping a very wary eye on his close neighbours!
That evening at the campground, a northern Blue-winged Kookaburra was hunting. These guys are funny looking birds and they make me laugh. But these kookaburras don’t laugh like their eastern cousins. They still have a distinctive harsh, raucous cackle.
Two beautiful sea eagles were flying effortlessly over the river, on the lookout for fish.
They both suddenly perched in a nearby tree, giving me a great opportunity to get some close-ups of these magnificent birds.
There were lots of wallabies around the campground. They completed the image of a peaceful evening at the camp.
Mistake Billabong
This permanent, spring-fed waterhole is home to an amazing numbers of birds. Named in the 1950s, no one remembers now what ‘mistake’ gave the waterhole its name.
Masses of white waterlilies were flowering in the billabong. Because of these, most of the birds are pretty hard to see.
I did eventually see the Green Pygmy-geese, which were almost invisible amongst the foliage.
The Comb-crested Jacana actually walks across the waterlily leaves. It was virtually undetectable and I only caught sight of it because it moved.
Couzen’s Lookout:
This spot offers spectacular views over the Mary River. There is also a very nice campground here, so I stayed on for a couple of days.
I wandered up to the lookout each evening to watch the sunset. Sitting on the bank, a good distance from the river, I watched large crocs floating by. As if I needed any further reminding to keep well clear of the water!
As I was enjoying the sunsets, Whistling Kites relentlessly searched the river bank for their dinner, occasionally using a tree as a vantage point.
It was amazing watching the sun set over the water, seeing the sky turn orange and then fiery red through the smoke of a large scrub fire on the opposite side of the river. As it grew darker, the fire formed a beautiful but scary sight with the red glow of the flames lighting up the night.
At night, dingoes were howling nearby, which is a beautifully eerie sound.
I enjoyed Mary River NP, but it was time to head off to the next national park I really wanted to visit; Kakadu.
