Helicopter is the only way to travel

"Arnhem Highway" - the red dirt section is in Arnhem Land,
that leads to the East Alligator River crossing (low tide)
and onto the bitumen into Kakadu National Park
on the right (just below the smoke)

Gunbalanya Health Clinic has three doctors working currently and one of them is Sophie; a GP registrar who has just finished her final exams. Sophie is a fabulous doctor who has been very generous in helping me settle into work at the clinic and life in Gunbalanya. On day one she asked me if I was interested in playing for a mixed touch football team that night. Turns out the pilots in Jabiru have a touch team but struggle to find girls who want to play. Keen to make friends, I of course said yes, and that evening we climbed into the 4WD ute and drove back through Arnhem Land, across the East Alligator River and into Jabiru for touch.   

Simon, Sophie and me

This journey may seem simple enough however there is no bridge across the East Alligator River. Even at low tide you need to drive through shallow water to get to the other side. When the wet season comes the river will flood and there will be no way to drive back to Kakadu- our only option will be to fly. Now the East Alligator River is inappropriately named. It doesn’t contain alligators at all; it is actually home to large numbers of salt water crocodiles. It’s different to Darwin where you look out to the ocean and imagine the hundreds of crocs swimming out there. When you drive through the East Alligator River you can see the crocs all around you. They are terrifying! You can see pairs of eyes, snouts, a flick of a tail or a giant splash as they swim or run into the water. There’s always a sigh of relief when you get to the other side.    

Pelicans

I feel like once we cross the river I am closer to normality. On Mondays I have my regular touch game in a team full of super-fit pilots. Touch reminds me of my high school days at St. Leo's and the finely manicured grounds in Jabiru may not be the MCG but they do make me feel more at home. Sophie’s husband Simon is in the touch team, lives in Jabiru and is a helicopter pilot. If we have a late game or the tide is high we often stay at his place before heading back to work in the morning. On Wednesday afternoon Simon came to visit Gunbalanya. Sophie and I went to the airport to pick him up and he was in the middle of removing the doors from his helicopter. He put them in the back of the ute and asked us if we were interested in a flight. Interested? I’d practically jumped in the chopper before he’d finished the sentence.    

Wild brumbies

For about an hour we choppered around west Arnhem Land and north-east Kakadu. It was honestly one of the best things I’ve done in my life. It was early evening, the sun was low and the light was beautiful. We were open to the elements with the doors off and had an uninterrupted view of our surrounds. The temperature was a balmy 30 degrees and the wind was perfect for flying. We flew over dramatic orange and black sandstone cliffs painted with Aboriginal rock art. We saw wild brumbies, dingoes, boars, crocodiles and hundreds of birds like pelicans, jabirus, brolgas, magpie geese, whistling kites and eagles. The photos will not do the scenery or the exhilarating experience of flying in a helicopter justice. But trust me, it was amazing!       

Boar

Oenpelli