The page you are viewing has been archived. Find the latest lodge news, offers and events here.
The seasonal rhythms of Australia’s Top End…
Aboriginal Seasons
The seasonal rhythms and encounters in Australia’s Top End provide a constant ebb and flow and Kakadu’s Traditional Owners have honed thousands of years of local knowledge into six distinct seasons, defined by the skies, rainfall, flora and fauna. The transitions between seasons are marked by subtle variations in the weather, the plants in flower and the bush foods that are most abundant. Right now, it’s Kurung into Kunumeleng, which happens from September through October.
Kurrung
It’s is hot and dry from mid-August to mid-October. While the waterfalls have usually dried up by this time, the dry heat makes it comfortable for touring and cruising on the Mary River Floodplains. Along the coast, sea turtles lay their eggs on the sandy beaches of Field Island and West Alligator Head and goannas are out to scavenge and rob the nests. White-breasted wood swallows arrive as thunderclouds build, signalling the return of Kunumeleng.
Kunumeleng
This can be a tumultuous time of year with the weather from mid-October to late December varying enormously from year to year. The season can last from a few weeks to several months and is usually associated with a build up of humidity as the monsoon arrives, which is why the lodge closes November to January when it’s frightfully hot and wet.
During this period, thunderstorms build in the afternoons and scattered showers bring a tinge of green to the dry land. As the streams begin to run, the water washes out the floodplains in preparation for the new breeding season. Barramundi move from the waterholes downstream to the estuaries to breed and and waterbirds spread out with the increased surface water and plant growth.
Nature’s Calendar
As with everything in nature, nothing is scripted and sighting variations is where magic happens. For guests of Bamurru Plains, this nature calendar barely touches the sides of what you’ll come across on your Wild Bush Luxury experience but serves as a good guide on just some of the species you might encounter.
As the dry season has been going for some time now it has created specific zones of water concentration, where birdlife congregates in extraordinary numbers rarely seen elsewhere in Australia. This is a time of year when you can see over 10 raptor species in a day. White-necked herons and white-browed robins start breeding along the rivers. Brolgas strut their dramatic courtship display. It’s no wonder First Nations people dedicate a dance to it. Great-billed herons are a special one to see as they are very shy, solitary and their call is a deep prolonged, resonant, guttural roar that sounds similar to thunder! Australian pratincoles and other migratory species appear at this time of year while Australian bustards are attracted by late-season fires as are kites and falcons. Not all doves look as superb as the rose-crowned fruit-dove sporting a pink forehead and a colourful belly of greens, yellows and pinks.
Water is a precious resource during the dry season and when the floodplain shrinks into concentrated areas it draws wildlife to it, including the wild brumbies that roam the Top End year-round. In this hot environment conserving energy and resources is incredibly important so rather than wandering for long distances the brumbies, water buffalo’s and agile wallabies instead prefer to stay close to a water trough located close to the lodge. This artificial watering hole creates its pecking order from tallest to shortest which creates some interesting situations as the brumbies, the tallest and bossiest of the bunch, push the other animals around to get their share of the water.
The flowers on the cyclone-resistant milkwood trees are a favourite perch for egg-cracking black-breasted buzzards and honeyeaters make regular appearances too. Red flowers of the northern kurrajong are particular features of the woodlands and when ‘cocky apples’ blossom we know that flying insects are incoming. Their flowers bring in moths and bats at night and they are often used as sentinels to protect the booming mango industry. The elliptical looking banyan figs produce vast crops that sustain many feathery friends and mangroves along the Sampan Creek system do heavy lifting in reducing bank erosion and providing a safe harbour from predation.
The drying floodplain opens up access to new regions waiting to be explored by
4WD, quad bike and by foot and the Sampan Creek provides a hive of activity on croc-spotting river cruises. Saltwater crocodiles are the world’s largest living reptile with the strongest recorded bite of any animal in the world. They are extremely stealthy prehistoric creatures that will remain unseen using the minimum exposure posture. This posture of crocodiles allows the bulk of the body to remain unseen underwater while only the nostrils, cranial platform, eyes and ears remain above the surface. You might be lucky and see a yellow-spotted monitor standing up on its hind legs as it does when threatened or to get a better look at its environment, supporting itself with its tail.
This is a time of increasing humidity and heat, with the build-up of massive cumulus clouds and exciting thunder and lightning shows. Along with the barking owl, black-fronted dotterel, azure kingfisher, great-billed heron, brolga, rose-crowned fruit dove, blue-winged kookaburra, migratory birdlife continues to congregate in extraordinary numbers in October. With the dry season coming to an end, the floodplains remaining pockets of water are an abundant source of wildlife.
