Cobourg Peninsula
What doesn’t kill you will amaze you at the tip of the Top End, writes
THE Top End is full of creatures that can do you damage. The most dangerous is Crocodylus porosus, known to locals as the “Salty”. So when we arrive at one of the most remote national parks in the Northern Territory — Garig Gunak Barlu, deep in West Arnhem Land on the Cobourg Peninsula, 570km from Darwin — we decide against a swim, even though the weather is typically hot and sticky and the sparkling turquoise waters of the Arafura Sea are almost irresistibly inviting.
The official warning on swimming at Garig reads as follows: “Saltwater crocodiles cruise the beaches and sharks, box jellyfish, blue ringed octopus, stonefish and sea snakes also live in these waters.” Yep, pretty much all of the planet’s marine creatures that can kill you are here in the one place.
Fancy a dip?
So how remote is Garig? About as remote as it gets on mainland Australia.
You first have to travel to Kakadu National Park and enter West Arnhem Land via the causeway at Cahill’s Crossing on the East Alligator River, 40km east of Jabiru.
Don’t try it at high tide. As the water rushes over the causeway, as many as 50 crocs assemble on the upstream side, mouths agape, waiting for the barramundi to be swept across in the torrent.
It can turn into a feeding frenzy, with the crocs attacking each other if the barra aren’t coming over the causeway fast enough.
A few tourists and fishos ignore the warning signs and get way too close for comfort.
Several have been taken by crocs over the years, most recently in 2017.
Dozens of cars and caravans are washed off the crossing every year, too.
Once across the East Alligator, it’s a 270km drive on rough, corrugated, dirt roads to the park ranger station at Black Point.
There’s no fuel, supplies or services en route. Jabiru is the last fuel stop before the park.
At Garig, there’s no fuel either and only limited bore water, so you need to bring your own drinking water, plus food, a first aid kit and all the tools and spares necessary to keep your vehicle on the move.
Mobile reception? Not a chance.
“Garig” is the local language of the Iwaidja speaking peoples who have occupied this country for 40,000 years. “Gunak” means land and “Barlu” deep water.
The park includes the Cobourg Peninsula, the surrounding waters of the Arafura Sea, plus small islands off the coast.
It is a true wilderness, with dazzling white sandy beaches backed by extensive dune systems, grasslands, mangrove swamps, lagoons and rainforest.
The sea floor features coral reefs and sea grass meadows.
Garig’s wetlands were the first on earth to achieve World Heritage listing, in 1974.
So a visit is a low key affair, with few organised activities.
You’re in one of the most pristine coastal environments in Australia, as far from the white noise of the modern world as it’s possible to go. That’s why people come here.
There’s no accommodation.
Two campgrounds near Smith Point, behind the beach, feature individual sites, showers, firepits, tables and, at some sites, shelters.
The no generator campground is the one to go for because the sites are more spread out and private.
Walking along the beach or around the wetlands (keeping an eye out for you know what), fishing (there’s a boat ramp near the ranger station), photography and birdwatching are about as organised as things get in Garig.
Gunbalanya, also known as Oenpelli, is a large Aboriginal community, 18km from Cahill’s Crossing.
It’s home to Injalak Arts and Crafts, a community arts centre where the local Kunwinku, Mengerrdi and Erre people display and sell their works, including original art and prints, fabrics, bags and clothing.
Sales are a significant source of income for the community.
Many artworks depict animals and spirit beings in the X-ray style, characteristic of the Kakadu/West Arnhem Land region. injalak.com
A specific permit is required to visit Gunbalanya. nlc.org.au
In 1838 the British established Victoria Settlement, 25km south of Black Point in Port Essington, in response to fears of French and Dutch expansion into Northern Australia.
It was a complete disaster with many settlers succumbing to heat and disease, and after being hammered by a cyclone in 1849 was abandoned.
You can visit the extensive ruins, accessible only by boat.
Wildlife in Garig includes dugongs, Indonesian Banteng cattle and six species of marine turtles.
One morning, as we’re walking along the beach, we notice turtle tracks in the sand.
They emerge from the sea at night, lumber up the beach, dig a hole in the dune and deposit their eggs.
When we mention this to the rangers, they get a bit excited.
Monitoring turtle breeding is part of their job, so we’re invited to come along in the afternoon while they check the eggs.
Baby turtles have to dig themselves out of the sand before they suffocate, then crawl down to the sea.
Most don’t make it that far. Sea eagles and kites, circling overhead, pick them off for a snack.
As the ranger digs into the dune and locates the eggs, baby green turtles are hatching from several of them.
We hold these frantically-flipping, impossibly fragile creatures, each about the size of a 50 cent piece, in our hands for a moment, then place them gently on the sand.
They’ve hatched prematurely, so they’re weak, but they know where to go and struggle down the beach towards the sea.
You want nature in all it’s raw, magnificent, unforgiving glory? This is it.
We cheer our little guys on, fight off the swooping raptors, and shepherd them to the water’s edge.
That’s as far as we go, though.