Kakadu - Yellow Billabong
Aurora_b
Mike and Liz Downing
Tue 15 Oct 2013 18:22
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Having arrived in Mauritius and found good Internet,
it's a good opportunity to send up the Australian photos that we didn't manage
to send before we left Australia. It was only just under 6 weeks ago, but
after 4,500 miles at sea it now seems an age away.
The Yellow Billabong is a wetland area within the
Kakadu National Park and is famous for bird life and
crocodiles. If you're lucky you may also see wild horses and buffalo,
both having been introduced by early settlers and allowed to run wild.
Apparently the numbers of buffalo exploded to plague proportions and they
started destroying the habitat, so were culled in huge numbers to allow the
terrain to recover. The bird life is spectacular - the banks are alive with
activity. The boat trip that we took takes you through the
Billabong and along the adjoining river.
 The wetland stays wet even after 4 months of
drought. It was all very picturesque.
 A masked lapwing.
 A lot of the river
banks were covered in water lilies.
  An Australasian Darter drying it's wings in
the sunshine.
 The first of a dozen or so crocodiles that
we saw.
   Little Corellas
  Cruising down the
river!
 Egrets (they have a lot of different
varieties) and ducks (possibly whistling ducks).
 We didn't get that close - a long lens on
the camera helped!
 A White-bellied
Sea-eagle.
 Australasian Pelicans fishing
together.
 A Black-necked Stork - locally known as a
Jabiru.
 Comb-crested Jacana - adult above and
juvenile below.
 It's not easy to see, but it is
there!
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