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| OUR BIG TRIP MARY & OLI GOING AROUND AUSTRALIA |
TOP END - Page 25
14 August 2007, Tuesday
Today we drove to Jim Jim Falls - the real first 4WDriving we did in Kakadu. The first 50 km's are corrugated dirt road - not
very pleasant. At the campground you enter the one lane 4WD trek and it does get more interesting - nothing to difficult, but
some water and suspension work with patches of soft sand and ruts. At the first dry creek crossing a Victorian pick-up was
blocking the road and in front of him a Hertz rental RAV4 was bogged. Bloody tourists - Italian's and can't even speak much
English. Also German and Spanish did not help much, so we just told them to step back and we will recover the vehicle. A
tour truck also stopped and did not wanted to go around the scene. Obviously all our shackles were too big for the towing
eye at the rear of the RAV4. Luckily the tour driver had a small but unrated shackle which should be o.k. for just towing the
vehicle back the track without using a snatch trap. They just bottomed out on the sand driving in the ruts - shitty softroaders.
I pulled him back a few meters and they turned around and went off. The guys from Shepparton, the tour and us continued
our way to Jim Jim Falls. The parking was quite full of tours and real 4WD's. The walk to Jim Jim Falls is quite interesting over
rocks along the creek. The scenery at the Beach and Plunge Pool is just amazing - the pictures really do not tell the story
because of the light difficulty for the camera to choose the correct exposure. The guy from Shepparton was telling us that his
brother came through the water crossing to Twin Falls at the beginning of the Dry Season and that it was only about 0.7 m
instead of the 1.1 m the Rangers are telling us. He was still planning to go through until the tour guide told us a few stories of
cars being written off at the place. Later after we walked back to the car we continued to the water crossing to see for
ourselves. The sign said 1.05 m measured 4 days ago. Hmmmm that means the water will be over the doors and the tailgate -
which for us means that we would catch fish in the car. Therefore - no crossing for us. My storage system is only MDF and
also I do not want to dry the car for the next two days. Technically the crossing is boring - has a concrete bottom, just deep !!!
I know that now the whole 4WD community will say - CHICKEN !!!! but we are just half-way through our trip and still have a
long way to go - therefore better safe than sorry. We saw the first Britz Landcruiser arriving - again Italians with not much
English speaking ability. I tried to explain to them the signs and that the car will make it across easily, but might fill up. O.k. -
off they went - stopping at the other end telling us that they have about 10 cm of water inside the car - he he he. We saw two
other rentals going through and waited for the Victorians, but they never turned up. So we decided to head home. Pictures
below from Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls water crossing. One last point - do I regret not doing the crossing? Yes, but I have so
many holes in the dash and underneath the car from the electrical work on the car that it would fill up and petrol and electrics
do not work very well with water compared to Diesels with a snorkel. Again, technically capable - absolutely, but not water
tight enough for the crossing over about 0.7-0.8 m.
14 August 2007, Tuesday
Today we drove to Jim Jim Falls - the real first 4WDriving we did in Kakadu. The first 50 km's are corrugated dirt road - not
very pleasant. At the campground you enter the one lane 4WD trek and it does get more interesting - nothing to difficult, but
some water and suspension work with patches of soft sand and ruts. At the first dry creek crossing a Victorian pick-up was
blocking the road and in front of him a Hertz rental RAV4 was bogged. Bloody tourists - Italian's and can't even speak much
English. Also German and Spanish did not help much, so we just told them to step back and we will recover the vehicle. A
tour truck also stopped and did not wanted to go around the scene. Obviously all our shackles were too big for the towing
eye at the rear of the RAV4. Luckily the tour driver had a small but unrated shackle which should be o.k. for just towing the
vehicle back the track without using a snatch trap. They just bottomed out on the sand driving in the ruts - shitty softroaders.
I pulled him back a few meters and they turned around and went off. The guys from Shepparton, the tour and us continued
our way to Jim Jim Falls. The parking was quite full of tours and real 4WD's. The walk to Jim Jim Falls is quite interesting over
rocks along the creek. The scenery at the Beach and Plunge Pool is just amazing - the pictures really do not tell the story
because of the light difficulty for the camera to choose the correct exposure. The guy from Shepparton was telling us that his
brother came through the water crossing to Twin Falls at the beginning of the Dry Season and that it was only about 0.7 m
instead of the 1.1 m the Rangers are telling us. He was still planning to go through until the tour guide told us a few stories of
cars being written off at the place. Later after we walked back to the car we continued to the water crossing to see for
ourselves. The sign said 1.05 m measured 4 days ago. Hmmmm that means the water will be over the doors and the tailgate -
which for us means that we would catch fish in the car. Therefore - no crossing for us. My storage system is only MDF and
also I do not want to dry the car for the next two days. Technically the crossing is boring - has a concrete bottom, just deep !!!
I know that now the whole 4WD community will say - CHICKEN !!!! but we are just half-way through our trip and still have a
long way to go - therefore better safe than sorry. We saw the first Britz Landcruiser arriving - again Italians with not much
English speaking ability. I tried to explain to them the signs and that the car will make it across easily, but might fill up. O.k. -
off they went - stopping at the other end telling us that they have about 10 cm of water inside the car - he he he. We saw two
other rentals going through and waited for the Victorians, but they never turned up. So we decided to head home. Pictures
below from Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls water crossing. One last point - do I regret not doing the crossing? Yes, but I have so
many holes in the dash and underneath the car from the electrical work on the car that it would fill up and petrol and electrics
do not work very well with water compared to Diesels with a snorkel. Again, technically capable - absolutely, but not water
tight enough for the crossing over about 0.7-0.8 m.
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Jim Jim Creek coming from the almost dry falls - in the
background the gorge of the falls. Just fantastic place.
background the gorge of the falls. Just fantastic place.
The walls are up to 150 m high along
the gorge and falls and pretty
colours.
the gorge and falls and pretty
colours.
What can you see here? Again just amazing when you
are sitting on the beach of the falls and see a
White-Bellied Sea Eagle flying and circling the gorge.
are sitting on the beach of the falls and see a
White-Bellied Sea Eagle flying and circling the gorge.
The force of water is amazing -
during the wet this area is closed
and from the pictures you see
around the force of the full running
falls must be amazing.
during the wet this area is closed
and from the pictures you see
around the force of the full running
falls must be amazing.
| The next few pictures show the gorge, including the beach pool and the plunge pool which can be reached crawling over the rocks. An amazing place to be and so far the best we have seen in Kakadu. |
