Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel, Northern Territory, Australia
We did enjoy staying at Cooinda Lodge, but it was time to move on again. Our first stop was at the Mirray Lookout carpark where we had stumbled across a faint mobile signal the previous day. Not knowing when we would have internet access again, we were keen to check our emails, and send messages to family, and of course I wanted to get another couple of blog entries posted. Missions accomplished, we continued on our way. The distance between Cooinda and Jabiru was only 60kms. In planning the trip, Gretl and I had been keen to keep moving forwards, rather than do any backtracking to see the sights.
We considered stopping at Nourlangie Walk, but it was too hot for walking, and so we drove on to our destination — Jabiru’s Mercure Crocodile Hotel, a building shaped like a crocodile, although this fact can really only be appreciated from a distance, or better still from the air. The hotel is looking a bit tired and could certainly do with a refurbishment. However, the bed felt comfortable, and that’s what really counts!
After we’d moved in to our two rooms, we set off on the short walk to the supermarket where we topped up our dinner supplies.
To our delight, the phone reception in Jabiru was excellent, and so we caught up on emails, blogging, etc.
Late in the afternoon, Michael and I drove back to Nourlangie (less than 25 minutes away). We were pleasantly surprised to find that most of the walk was now in the shade, making the heat more tolerable. The easy walk took us past an ancient Aboriginal shelter and some outstanding art sites. Some of the paintings have been estimated to have been painted about 20,000 years ago. A moderate climb took us to up to Kunwarddehwardde lookout which afforded us some impressive views of Kakadu’s escarpment and extensive savannah woodlands. We completed the ‘1.5-hour walk’ in about 40 minutes, allowing us to return to Jabiru before sunset.
Not unexpectedly, we found Nola swimming in the pool when we arrived back at the Crocodile Hotel. She wasn’t very happy when Gretl finally dragged her out of the pool for dinner — chicken/tuna and salad wraps that we ate outside our rooms (in the crocodile’s stomach!). Gretl and Nola headed off to bed early, although I do believe that Gretl ended up editing photos until about midnight. Michael and I watched TV for a while before calling it a day.
2025-05-22