Monday 28th October 2024
Oh it's the glamping life for me! The Cooinda Lodge is a large and diverse site in this wilderness oasis. Cooinda means Happy Meeting Place in the Aboriginal language. Crocodile hunter Tom Opitz and his English wife Judy opened a Tent Store here in June 1964 and that is where it all began. Against all comments at the time, it was Tom that insisted on the name of the place, and now it is on the map. It developed into a more general Store plus fuel then hotel. Now it has chalets, pools, restaurants and the glamping chalet we are staying in for the week. Judy, 90 widowed and living back in England now was the true life inspiration of the character Nicole Kidman played in the film Australia! We have surprised ourselves by actually liking our circumstances here. The canvas chalet is very comfortable and the air-conditioning very efficient. The 'facilities' block, not usually necessarily high on our list of must haves, preferring our own private department, is 20 meters away, very clean, quiet and functional. It also contains a small communal kitchen which is useful. Were the site busy, we might have a different opinion possibly.
The plan today was to head south from Cooinda to the Baramundi Gorge, for here are to be found the waterfalls that pour into the oh so deep rock pools of Maguk. Reaching this beautiful geological feature is not so easy. The first obstacle one spots is at the turning to Maguk itself. For there's a big sign telling you that this is an unsealed road and is suitable only for 4WD vehicles. Happily I know all about the switch that mystically makes our Ford so equipped. Secondly we would need to keep very quiet about travelling a road such as this with Mr Europcar. As we set off down the track, creating clouds of dirt in our wake we form the opinion that this is a piece of cake. However, this is a 10km bit of road, and before long we discover why it is felt a 4WD vehicle might be better suited. Clearly during wetter seasons than we are in now have taken their toll on this road and ruts have been made which would cause the British Army some difficulties. We navigated our way through as best we could, then along sections of ridges that certainly would have thoroughly tested the bits of the car that are usually sensitive to vibration. Then, all was done and we parked up in an empty car park. We are in rainforest, the path we are now taking is on foot and weaves through forest foliage and to either side, swamp. Occasionally there is boardwalk and then a section of boulders to negotiate and climb. And all the way along are signs warning of crocodiles. We came across a monitor lizard or two, none of his larger mates. Then, just as you wonder how much further it could possibly be, the sound of cascading water comes crashing around the rock formation and there is the pool, as deep as deep can be and it was fantastic.
What a relief to be back in the Ford and rumble back over those unsealed roads and back to the lodge with the aircon full on. Cup of tea, pint of Pale Ale and then a free concocted meal using breakfast sausages. All washed down with SB we brought from Darwin. Great day.
ps. There's a cheeky cockatoo that sits on a tap here and drinks from its drips. The next step on evolution might be that he turns the tap?
