Kakadu in the Wet!! Immersion in Nature in Darwin, Litchfield, Kakadu and Arnhem Land with Ian Morris and Mike Jarvis February 1-9, 2017

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1 Kakadu in the Wet!! Immersion in Nature in Darwin, Litchfield, Kakadu and Arnhem Land with Ian Morris and Mike Jarvis February 1-9, 2017 Visit one of the Earth's greatest Living Edens and Australia's largest National Park at the height of the green season on a well tried and popular itinerary. World Heritage Kakadu blends some of Australia's richest wetlands with rugged, ancient sandstone topography and a great cultural heritage. See ancient rock art and the people today that are part of the oldest continuous living culture on the planet. Discover Kakadu's prodigious array of endemic plants and animals and its dynamic landscape. Fly into Arnhemland to appreciate Aboriginal art and culture and see Kakadu and the Arnhem plateau, wetlands and waterfalls from the air. Also discover Nitmuluk and Litchfield, other great Top End National Parks, and many natural and cultural wonders of the Territory's Top End at the height of the Gudjewg, the monsoon season when the landscape is green and its wildlife is most active. Ian Morris is a biologist, educator, conservationist, author of Kakadu National Park and co-author of A Natural History and Field Guide to Australia s Top End and one of Australia's most acclaimed naturalists. He has worked with Aboriginal Traditional Owners of the Arnhem Land region for decades, and was involved in forming Kakadu National Park. Ian promotes the magic of the bush as an NT based environmental consultant for many national parks in Australia. He greatly values his continued connection with his Indigenous mates across the north. It is my privilege to offer another great tour with the added value of Ian s expert guidance. Kakadu will yield some of it's 'Green Season' secrets to enthusiastic nature lovers seeking a unique opportunity to encounter birds, reptiles, mammals, invertebrates and plants. We will travel at a relaxed pace, immersing ourselves in the whole range of biodiversity in the Top End. Be prepared for some nocturnal experiences as well! Mike Jarvis is an accomplished birder, naturalist guide and tour operator, specializing in nature and culture tours in the Top End. Mike and Jenny Jarvis are the owners and operators of Experience the Wild and, together with Ian, assure you of a very interesting, unique and well run tour. The Season: Gudjewg is monsoon time in Kakadu, a great time for naturalists. Rivers flood, forcing floodplain wildlife to higher ground, yam vines festoon trees and the green spear grass reaches full height. Much wildlife breeding occurs. Intermittent monsoon events bring low blankets of cloud streaming in from the northwest. Alternatively, there are regular thunderstorms. It doesn t rain continuously. Cloudless skies and sunny days are not uncommon.

2 Style: A maximum of 15 adventurers/naturalists will travel in an air-conditioned bus and stay in comfortable air-conditioned accommodation with *shared ablutions. Breakfast and lunch will be prepared by Mike with assistance from members of the group. Dinner is ala carte menus at local restaurants. (*accommodation can be upgraded to rooms with ensuites at most places if required, at extra cost.) Cost: $3,725 per person twin share. Single supplement $390. Price includes all transport, accommodation and meals, a scenic flight over Kakadu and Arnhemland, the Guluyambi Magela Creek cruise and Yellow Water boat cruise. Kakadu Park entry fees. Cold water, tea and coffee and refreshments available at all times. Exclusions - Alcoholic drinks, purchases of a personal nature such as souvenirs, internet use, etc. Kakadu National Park: With an area of 20,000 km², Kakadu has more than 1275 plant species, 10,000 insect species, 25 frog species, 123 reptile species, 51 species of freshwater fish, 280 species of birds and 62 species of mammals. Kakadu is World Heritage listed on all four natural criteria, as well as cultural criteria. It adjoins the large Arnhemland wilderness in the east and the Nitmuluk National Park in the south. Ian features in this episode of the ABC documentary 'Kakadu' see him from 19min on or enjoy the whole documentary and the other three Kakadu episodes. Warning: If you watch this you WILL want to come!! Itinerary Day 1 - Induction to the Top End Monday 1st February: Pick up from Darwin accommodation at 8.00am. Visit the Territory Wildlife Park explore the wonderfully curated displays depicting the natural habitat regions of the Top End. The park showcases many wildlife species native to the Top End and is situated on 400 hectares of natural bush including savannah woodland, wetlands, riparian and monsoon forest habitats. Guided tour at Ian's property Riyala. Discover woodland ecology as Ian leads around his eight hectare 'backyard' of natural and cultivated bushland and introduces us to resident Rainbow Pittas, Emerald Doves, Double-barred Finches and possibly even some Johnsons Crocodiles. Dinner and accommodation - "Riyala", Noonamah. Day 2 - Explore Litchfield National Park Tuesday 2nd February: Visit the 1461 km² Litchfield National Park, where many spectacular waterfalls pour off Tabletop Range. Discover remarkable termite mounds and learn about the contribution termites make to the savannah woodland habitat. Explore monsoon rainforests and sandstone formations. Look out for Dingoes, Agile Wallabies, Antilopine Wallaroos and Partridge Pigeons. Lunch at the Table Top Swamp Swim at Buley Rockholes and the beautiful Florence Falls. Dinner and accommodation - Pine Creek. Day 3 - Litchfield to Pine Creek Wednesday 3rd February: Drive to Pine Creek to learn of its colourful mining history from one of its colourful characters and pan for gold. Explore the Pine Creek area. Pine Creek is the best place to see Hooded Parrots and several other members of the parrot family. A Great Bowerbird tends his bower only metres away from the cabins we are staying in. Picnic lunch at Edith Falls. Explore the rock pools above the falls. Dinner and accommodation - Pine Creek. Day 4 - Explore Kakadu Thursday 4th February: See some very rare cycads just out of Pine Creek. Explore some of the many features at the southern end of Kakadu National Park, Moline Rockhole (possible swim), Yurmikmik

3 walks, Boulder Creek (possible swim). Picnic lunch at Bukbukluk lookout. Dinner and accommodation - Gagadju Lodge, Cooinda. Day 5 - Kakadu Culture and Cruise Friday 5th February: Take the 6.45am cruise on Yellow Waters one of Kakadu's most renowned highlights. Learn more about the rhythm of Aboriginal life at Warradjan Cultural Centre. After lunch do the two kilometre circuit walk through historic Aboriginal wet season habitation areas and see ancient rock art at Burrunggui Rock and Anbangbang gallery. Dinner and accommodation: Anbinik Resort. After dinner Ian does a preflight talk and slideshow to ensure we get the most out of tomorrow's scenic flight. Day 6 - Arnhem Land Scenic Flight Saturday 6th February: Scenic flight over Arnhem Land, see the rugged escarpment and flooded plains of the East Alligator River and Magela Creek from the air. Ian does the commentary as we fly over his old stomping ground when he was head ranger at Kakadu in the 1980's. Picnic lunch at Jabiru Lake. This afternoon choose to rest or swim at the pool at Anbinic Resort or go with Mike and Ian to explore more gems around the township of Jabiru. Dinner and accommodation - Anbinik, Jabiru. Day 7 - More Kakadu Culture and Cruise Sunday 7th February:Visit Kakadu's Bowali Visitor Centre before exploring the flooded Magela Creek and Ubirr with Aboriginal guides. This has great rock art and grand wetlands panorama, without the usual large dry-season crowds. Accommodation - Anbinik. Day 8 - Kakadu Rock art and Waterfalls Monday 8th February:Take in Nanguluwurr art site and walk to Gunbara for a swim in some waterfalls set in attractive monsoon rainforest. Accommodation - Anbinik, Jabiru. Day 9 - Fogg Dam and Return to Darwin Tuesday 9th February: Stop at Fogg Dam, formerly a rice growing experiment, now a wonderful wildlife habitat for birds and reptiles, and Window on the Wetlands Visitor Centre before returning to Darwin. Scheduled arrival back at your Darwin accommodation around 5.00 pm. Price based per person on minimum of 10 passengers, max 15. Because of the uncertainty and unpredictability of the monsoons, this itinerary may be varied. Some alternative activities may have to be substituted at times. Group - $3725 per person twin share, single supplement $390. All prices are in Australian dollars. For booking information please visit this page Kakadu-In-The-Wet

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5 A few notes about what you can expect on tour:- Meals We have a car fridge and ice box to keep drinks, salads and fresh fruit cold. We carry a variety of tinned salmon and tuna. There are plenty of nuts, muesli bars and snacks on hand. Iced water is on hand at all times and we supply stainless steel bottles which can be topped up at any time. On a group tour it is helpful to have an assistant for meal preparation. Breakfast and lunch is enjoyed in the field with the birds, dinner is mostly ala carte at restaurants, alcoholic drinks are usually available at dinner but are at your own expense. Accommodation - In most places accommodation is queen plus single with ensuite. In some places ablutions are in a separate building. All accommodation is with air-conditioning. Campers have natural air-conditioning. Luggage capacity - We have room for a total of 4 full size suitcases and back packs in the trailer. There is also room for 2 mid-sized suitcases in the travel pod on the roof-rack. This breaks down to a suitcase (preferably mid-sized) and back pack per person on a group tour. Excess luggage can usually be stored at your accommodation in Darwin for the duration of our tour. If there are more than four passengers, room for camera gear and big lenses will be limited. We have a spotting scope on board, for everyone s use. Seating The vehicles we use for most tours are seven or eight seaters, all seats including the third row in the back are comfortable for adults. While the third row seats are comfortable, getting in and out is not as easy to access as the other seats. The front passenger s seat gives the best view, so it is a courtesy on group tours to rotate all seating. Dress- Protection from biting insects and the sun is an important consideration. A broad-brimmed hat, light coloured and light weight long sleeves and long pants are recommended. A small backpack for carrying water and other gear is handy for the longer walks. Andrew (right) is well set up for a three kilometre walk! Health and Fitness- The pace of all tours is relaxed and not rushed, but can involve some rocky, steep or long (up to four kilometre) walks. While we are happy to cater to the needs of people with health and fitness limitations, we need to be able to keep together as a group. If you anticipate that keeping up may be difficult, a private charter may be more appropriate. We have a food licence and maintain a very high standard of cleanliness and hygiene with food preparation and serving. Etiquette A relaxed, friendly atmosphere is the norm on tour, so there is not the need for too much in the way of rules. Eating dry food in the car while travelling is fine, but anything milky or messy is to be avoided so that the vehicle remains reasonably clean and odour free for the duration of the tour. Please apply sunscreen or insect repellent on leaving the car rather than while in the car. Some six legged wildlife invariably enters the car when we stop and start. This can be distressing to people who are not used to insects. Insects are best encouraged to leave by lowering the window while moving and shooed away, this is preferable to squashing them on the windows or roof lining! For the comfort of others and consideration for the environment, tours are strictly non-smoking. Safety The car is equipped with a first aid kit (and I carry a small one in my pack when we are away from the car), fire extinguisher, uhf radios and satellite phone. It always best that we keep together as a group. Hand sanitiser, sunscreen and insect repellent is within easy reach for all in the trailer. Weather- June to August are the most comfortable for people not acclimatised to high heat and humidity. September to October will be hotter and more humid, but the birding can be even better in those months. From November on it gets very humid and some species are harder to find. Emergency contact In case your family needs to reach you while we are on tour, we will be in phone range most nights, our office number is and we can be contacted at any time. Mike s phone number on tour is , though we will not always be in range. Our satellite phone ensures we are always within range of emergency services, should the need arise. Thank you for your cooperation in making your experience as enjoyable as we can!