Yellow Water Billabong

Yellow Water Billabong (Ngurrungurrudjba) is incredibly beautiful – it is home to crocodiles, wild horses, buffalo, and abundant birdlife. We booked a sunset and sunrise Yellow Water Cruise. The guide on the sunset cruise was a young Aboriginal man, who was knowledgeable about collection of traditional foods and a keen wildlife spotter. He encouraged and challenged all of us to spot animals, and stopped the boat to allow us to get a better view and photograph animals. He was very engaging; he spoke quietly and didn’t waste words.

Smoky horizon

Australian pelican, magpie geese, and paperbark trees

Brolga and insect

Brolga

Crested whistling ducks

Magpie geese

Little pied cormorant

Darter in a dead tree

Pair of white bellied sea eagles

Male comb crested jacana with chicks

Comb crested jacana on a waterlily pad

Rainbow bee eater

Tree snake

Darter drying its feathers

Jabiru flying at sunset

Jabiru walking – crested whistling ducks near the edge of the water

Cruise boat at sunset

Crocodile facing the setting sun

The guide on the sunrise cruise was a young British man who spoke non-stop but didn’t say much. He told sensational and gory stories about crocodiles jumping out of the water to attack people and how they store their prey underwater. He seemed more interested in returning to Cooinda for breakfast than in spotting animals.

Just before sunrise

Forest kingfisher

Nanking night heron

Darter

White bellied sea eagle and a flock of magpie geese