Tag Archives: Cooinda

Yellow Waters Sunrise Cruise, Cooinda, Kakadu

Posted on by
1

A Yellow Waters Sunrise Cruise is the perfect companion to the Sunset Cruise, especially if you book them together as I wrote about here.  It will be an early wake-up call so you can get the shuttle to the dock but the sunrise is spectacular!

The birds gradually fly in……………… Nankeen Night Heron

Water Lilies

Royal Spoonbill

Radjah Shelduck

White-bellied Sea Eagle

Little Kingfisher

Black-necked Stork

Comb-crested Jacana

Crocodile

Azure Kingfisher

Our guide, Adam knew the birds a lot better than I did and it was with his help that I was able to log them all on eBird.

Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Cooinda, Kakadu

Posted on by
Reply

Located only a few minutes from Gagudju Lodge, Cooinda is the Warradjan Cultural Centre which is well worth a visit to see the Aboriginal art and culture exhibits.  It is open from 9-5 daily and is free to visit.  This is an excellent way to while away a hot afternoon in Kakadu!

They don’t allow photos inside so I only have a few exteriors.

You can find both souvenirs and Aboriginal art in the gift shop.

Yellow Waters Sunset Cruise, Cooinda, Kakadu

Posted on by
Reply

The best way to see LOTS of birds (and a few crocs) with no effort at all is to book a Sunset Cruise with Yellow Waters at Cooinda.  It’s a short drive from the Kakadu Lodge Cooinda and they have a shuttle bus between the lodge and the boat dock.  Not only do you see more birds but you avoid the crowds at the mid-day cruise who are day-tripping from Darwin!

When you book, do it online and be sure to scroll all the way down to where you can add a Sunrise Cruise the next morning (incl bkft) for $36!

The boats are open but try to sit in the front if you are into photography.

Crocs before even leaving the dock.

Darter

Darter

“I will eat you!”

Plumed Whistling Duck

Black-necked Stork

Rainbow Bee-eater

White-bellied Sea Eagle

Darter

Little Corellas

Comb-crested Jacana

Nankeen Night Heron

Azure Kingfisher

Whistling Kite

Towards the end of the cruise, they parked the boats at a nice vantage spot to watch the sunset.

I actually saw more birds than I got photos of.  Here is my full eBird list.

Lodge Review: Gagudju Lodge, Cooinda

Posted on by
Reply

Staying at the Gagudjdu Lodge Cooinda in September wasn’t cheap!  For some reason, this month was higher than August or October and I did plan the trip outside of school holidays.  I was able to bring the cost down somewhat by using Le Club Accor certificates.  40 Euros was equal to about $60 each and between my husband and I we had a few of them.  If you are birding in Kakadu, you really do need to stay at least one night here because this is where the Yellow Water Cruises depart from and they are a MUST!

This was our room in a building that had 4 rooms (I think), 2 on each side.

Very neat and tidy room.  Since it was my birthday, they gave me a bottle of white wine!

Nice assortment of toiletries!

One thing is that they don’t have that many tables in the restaurant.  We ended up on a couch with a coffee table in front of us.

I had a lamb shank which was really good.  They  didn’t have birthday cakes so I ordered this pineapple flavoured dessert.

The next morning, a breakfast buffet was included as part of the Yellow Waters package I bought.  It had a good selection, but again we had to take the same couch as the tables were all full.

We weren’t in a hurry to leave so had a quick swim after breakfast.

A few birds were hanging around the pool, including a Blue-faced Honey-eater, a Great Bowerbird and a pair of Torresian Imperial Pigeons.

There is a small gift & food shop and info centre near reception.

I really liked this lodge for the location and the nice rooms.  The people were very nice and helpful.  There is no wifi but you are way out in the bush!  I was sorry we could only afford one night here, 2 would have been better.