This morning, we had
breakfast at the hotel and after advice from Kath, I tried Vegemite on toast for the first time. I think it
tastes a lot like Marmite.
After breakfast, we drove
to East Alligator River for our crocodile cruise. Our first stop was the bridge to Arnhem
Land, which is sacred land to Aboriginal people. You can only enter at
certain times of the year and each visitor needs a permit. The river acts as a
border between Arnhem Land and Kakadu. During the wet season, the land floods which often leaves people stranded. The water can rise over 2m about the ground.
When we got on the boat,
we met our aboriginal guide called Terence. He explained all about aboriginal
culture and the different animals that live in the river, including sharks and
crocodiles.
Aboriginal people believe that
they belong to the land rather than the land belonging to them, so it is their
responsibility to look after it. Each member is given a totem animal when they
are born, so it becomes their responsibility to look after and protect that animal.
It was really interesting to learn about their traditions.
We saw lots of crocodiles
on the banks of the river bed and some in the water. We were really lucky that
Terence let us step into Arnhem Land.
Whilst we were there, another aboriginal guide called Robert taught us about the different types of
spear and how they are made.
He gave us a demo of how
to use them, and managed to throw one the entire width of the river, which was really impressive.
We then got back on the boat and traveled back to Kakadu.
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