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It was about 17:30 on 27 Aug 2010 when Zig (1+1) and I made it back to the Kakadu Highway from the Old Goodparla Homestead. As part of his ranger job, he needed to check out the nearby Ostejic (or maybe Ostojic?) Road Camp area on Gerowie Creek before we went back. Public access to the area is prohibited (I don't know why). We just made a quick pass through the area; however, I noticed a grave marker when I was taking pictures out the window. Zig had not noticed it before and did not realize that it was there. I just figured it was some guy with the last name, Boydy, who had worked at the road camp, died on 13 Nov 1995, and his family or friends buried him there. It could have also been the nickname for a guy with the last name, Boyd (like Australian footballer Matthew Boyd, who is called "Boydy"). However, in trying to find online information about the Ostejic Road Camp and/or Boydy, I found out that B.O.Y.D.Y. could mean something very different! I hope there is nothing sinister about this grave.
Both going in and out of the Ostejic Road Camp area, we saw many Red-Tailed Black Cockatoos. They are a beautiful bird, but really noisy. Wikipedia mentions a traditional story from western Arnhem Land that tells of Black Cockatoo and her husband Crow, who are Bird-people, sprouting black feathers after becoming afflicted with a sickness from across the sea to the north. In fear of being buried underground, they transform into birds and fly high in the sky. Wikipedia also says that in the folklore of the Tiwi people, the Red-tailed Black Cockatoo is said to accompany the dead to heaven. I wonder if this could have anything to do with the gravesite being where it is? On the way out, there was a large flock of cockatoos feeding in a flat area. I managed to get a videoclip of them.
Updated Sep 15, 2012
There is a metal footbridge crossing three large boulders in the streambed near the base of the Bottom Moline Rockhole. Although the welds on the footbridge say "The Rock Hole I. Fisher 1960," the small plaque on it says: "This bridge was originally built by N. & I. Fisher and the pathway by volunteers from Moline 1959." The footbridge has to be strong and well anchored, since I am sure that it must be covered with torrents of water at certain times of the year. BTW, the pool and stream below the bridge looked like perfect crocodile habitat!
Updated Sep 14, 2012
The first day of my visit to southern Kakadu, Zig (1+1) took me to a beautiful rockhole, which had a small waterfall and a natural pool area with crystal clear water. When I was there in August 2010, I did not realize that there are actually two Moline rockholes, Top and Bottom. I believe that where we went was the Bottom Moline Rockhole. The Top Moline Rockhole is closed to the public. There was literally no one else there, including saltwater crocodiles (thank goodness); however, that is not always the case so be careful! The Goymarr Tourist Park includes the Bottom Moline Rockhole in their list of Waterfalls of Southern Kakadu. Their website also indicates that they are in the process of developing a walking track between the Tourist Park and the Rockhole.
Updated Sep 14, 2012
The unmarked turn northwest to the Bottom Moline Rockhole access road is ~5.5 km northeast of the southern entrance to Kakadu National Park on Hwy-21. The access road runs ~1.0 km to a parking area next to a picnic table. It is an easy ~200 meter walk from the trailhead to the Rockhole. Please note the danger signs about turbulent water and crocodiles. It would be good to check at the Goymarr Interpretive Center when you get your park pass whether a special permit is required to go to the Bottom Moline Rockhole.
Updated Sep 14, 2012
The Goymarr Interpretive Center (as it is called on the Kakadu Visitor Guide map) is part of the Goymarr Tourist Park (formerly the Mary River Roadhouse), which calls it the Visitor Information Center. It is located near the south entrance to Kakadu National Park on Hwy-21 about 60 km northeast of the Stuart Highway. You can get your park pass, Visitor Guide, Aboriginal artwork, and souvenirs there. A park pass costs 25 AUD for 14 consecutive days. All international and interstate visitors aged 16 years and over need to buy a park pass before they arrive at Kakadu National Park. All Northern Territory residents and children under 16 are free.
Updated Sep 14, 2012
The south entrance to Kakadu National Park is on the Kakadu Highway (Hwy-21) just north (~0.5 km) of the Goymarr Tourist Park, which is ~60 km northeast of the Stuart Highway . On 26 Aug 2010 it took Zig (1+1) and I ~35 minutes to get there from the Stuart Highway. Along the way you pass many creeks and the Moline Golf Course (see a separate travelogue).
Updated Sep 14, 2012
The Park Notes on the Geology of Kakadu tell us that an unconformity is where there has been a period of erosion between the formation of an older rock and the deposition of a younger rock. The Ikoymarrwa Lookout is located on the unconformity north of the Goymarr Tourist Park, where red weathered basalt sits under a lighter coloured sandstone cap. Although the Ikoymarrwa Lookout is a very unassuming place on the Kakadu Highway, it has some interesting aspects.
Ikoymarrwa is the descriptive Jawoyn name for the Moline Rockholes. The view is nice to the west but if you know where to look toward the northwest, you can see the cliff tops above the Top and Bottom Moline Rockholes from the Lookout. Another interesting thing is that the stream which forms the waterfall between the two Moline Rockholes used to cut through the unconformity ~200 meters to the southeast of the current gap. The former cut is the one closer to the Lookout. I included a view from Google Earth that shows this.
Updated Sep 13, 2012
Joe Fisher Bridge crosses the Mary River ~250 meters north of the turn to the Goymarr Tourist Park. It is ~270 meters north to the Kakadu National Park boundary. There are warning signs about crocodiles by the bridge. Zig told me that just the year before they found a 4.5 meter long saltwater crocodile in the river ~20 meters above the bridge. They named it "Moline." It was tagged and tracked by satellite. Saltwater crocodiles generally spend the tropical wet season in freshwater swamps and rivers, moving downstream to estuaries in the dry season, and sometimes traveling far out to sea. Fortunately when I was there in August 2010, "Moline" was doing a saltwater tour.
Updated Sep 13, 2012
The turn to the 700 meter access road for the Bukbukluk Lookout is located off the Kakadu Highway (Hwy-21) about 13 km north of the Ikoymarrwa Lookout. There is a picnic table near the trailhead. It is a ~400 meter roundtrip to two lookout areas with views of the Old Goodparla Station. See also a videoclip
Updated Sep 13, 2012
There used to be an airstrip at the Old Goodparla Homestead. Believe it or not, it still has an airport code, YGPA. Clearly, no airplane has landed there in a long time, since there are fairly good-sized trees and plenty of tall grasses growing in the runway. From the airstrip it is ~1.5 km to the homestead itself.
Updated Sep 12, 2012
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