SURVIVOR KAKADU
We light a fire to guide the chopper down. Once the flames take hold, Dan adds armfuls of ironwood leaves, generating plumes of thick white smoke. We form a circle around the bush clearing to show the helicopter where to land.
The pilot spots the smoke, passes overhead and banks away before returning to land cautiously on the uneven red ground. An intense wind gust blasts dust into our faces and rips hats from heads.
The pilot introduces himself as Simon. In his worn moleskins, scuffed boots and blue shirt he’s the epitome of outback Australia. He guides Jake and Larry onto his craft and loads their packs. They wave as the chopper powers up and curls away above the dry woolybutt forest. Two down, nine left.
Three days ago our party of 11 had been dropped off at the South Alligator River in Kakadu National Park. We’d hiked past old mining camps to Koolpin Gorge and then up onto the Arnhem Land Plateau. Our aim is to complete a circuit of the plateau, passing through rarely visited areas as well as dropping in on some of Kakadu’s more famous highlights. Due to the area’s extreme weather, remote location and plethora of permit conditions it’s not a hike we would attempt without a guide. Our guide Dan is a font of knowledge on the region’s geography, plants, animals and indigenous history.
It’s January, and the wet season is late. It’s over 40 degrees and so humid that even stopping to pick up my hat leaves me in a sauna of
