We woke this morning to the sound of heavy rain on the roof of our safari tent and thought the weather had changed for the worse, but it turned out to be the sprinklers! Then a bloody crow decided to have a chat to his mates and we couldn't get back to sleep. There are also Barking Owls in the park which we thought were dogs at first and a large number of Fruit Bats.After brekky we rode to the Bowali Visitor Centre to have a look. It had a range of displays about the park and we watched a film about the Wet Season that had some fantastic shots of the animals including one of an Eagle grabbing a just hatched Frill Necked Lizard. There was some bark paintings for sale and Colin bought one of two serpents and had it sent back to Melbourne.
We rode on to a Gumumarai (used to be called Nourlangie) which had lots of art sites and a big billabong. We ate our lunch before starting a 2 km walk up to the base of the towering sandstone outlier. 
There was a 12 km walk over the top and round the other side, but we knew our limitations! The walk took us first through a large 
shelter cave that was used for 1000's years and has 2 m of archealogical debris on the floor. Then we walk along the base of the vertical rock cliff and saw 3 art sites with the iconic images 
often associated with Kakadu. Most were in better condition than Ubirr but it said some had been touched up by a local aboriginal artist. Last we climbed up to a lookout and saw the 3 rock pillars away to the east on the main Arnhem Land escarpment. These 3 pillars represent the gods of lightning. The floor of the valley was covered in Euclaypt woodland with billabongs. We intended to have a look at the Anbangbang billabong nearby but it was closed to tourists so we climbed another rocky hill to get a good view back to Gumumarai and the escarpment. It was very pleasant sitting in the shade with a nice breeze. The surface of the rock was like exposed aggregate concrete as the rains would wash down it in a torrent in the Wet. Some parts have eroded 1m in the last 100 years.
There was a 12 km walk over the top and round the other side, but we knew our limitations! The walk took us first through a large 
shelter cave that was used for 1000's years and has 2 m of archealogical debris on the floor. Then we walk along the base of the vertical rock cliff and saw 3 art sites with the iconic images 
often associated with Kakadu. Most were in better condition than Ubirr but it said some had been touched up by a local aboriginal artist. Last we climbed up to a lookout and saw the 3 rock pillars away to the east on the main Arnhem Land escarpment. These 3 pillars represent the gods of lightning. The floor of the valley was covered in Euclaypt woodland with billabongs. We intended to have a look at the Anbangbang billabong nearby but it was closed to tourists so we climbed another rocky hill to get a good view back to Gumumarai and the escarpment. It was very pleasant sitting in the shade with a nice breeze. The surface of the rock was like exposed aggregate concrete as the rains would wash down it in a torrent in the Wet. Some parts have eroded 1m in the last 100 years. Then it was back to the camp site for a nana nap. Later we sampled the fare at the bistro in the sports club - not bad at all. We were served by two nice sorts from Sweden and Chicago - last night it was a girl from NZ. When Colin asked for a light beer he was served a full strength low carb XXXX - not what he expected.
We have rejigged our itinerary over the next few days to cut down on too many long rides. Now we will stay at Cape Crawford for only one night and stop an extra night in Mt Isa. These miles are taking their toll! We're off to Mataranka tomorrow.
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