Mercedes Magazine
November 2009

by Lee Mylne

In a flurry of black and white, a small flock of magpie geese rise into the sky, surprised from the water as our boat skims over the Mary River floodplain just 5km from Australia's northernmost coastline.

Long reedy grasses sway in the waters that have engulfed the land. In summer, the rains transform this part of Australia turning the normally dry and dusty country into a lush paradise of colour, heat and life.

Buffalo and brumbies splash through the water, the birdlife is prolific and everywhere the green is dazzling. This is “the Wet”, and for first-timers to this part of the Northern Territory in this season, it is a revelation.

To Aboriginal people, the magpie geese are bamurru and it is these birds that give their name to my base for a few days: Bamurru Plains.

Bamurru Plains is a luxury bush lodge on Swim Creek Station, 10km from the western entrance to Kakadu National Park. With accommodation in nine safari-style bungalows, it provides an exclusive chance to experience this wild and extraordinary part of the world in comfort.

I have a taste of what's to come as we drive from the station's airstrip after a 20 minute light plane flight from Darwin (guests who choose to take the three hour 100km drive are required to leave their cars at the gate). Along the way, we stop to check out wildlife – a pair of buffalo wallowing in a waterhole, agile wallabies, a blue kingfisher, a soaring whistling kite, sulphur crested cockatoos, cattle egrets and more. By the time I reach the lodge, I am able to tick off 12 species in Bamurru Plains' handy booklet of flora and fauna you are likely to see on a visit.

Three walls of each bungalow are one-way screens, ensuring privacy while providing a clear view of the vast floodplain beyond and admitting welcome breezes. Three bungalows have air-conditioning, but in keeping with the lodge's commitment to sustainability its use is discouraged (a $100 per night surcharge applies). Each has a spacious ensuite bathroom with solid walls.

Most of the lodge and bungalows' electricity is solar, and there's a welcome absence of televisions, CD players, telephones, mini-bars and internet access. The only soundtrack here is provided by nature.

Meals are prepared by Bamurru Plains' chef and shared around a large communal table in the lodge, hosted by managers Garry and Marcia Cross or one of the trained guides based at the camp. Lunch might be on the deck beside the swimming pool, overlooking the floodplain. There's also a lounge and library area for quiet time or pre-dinner drinks.

Leisure time in the sultry afternoon – when it is too hot and humid to venture far – sees me dozing over a book in my bungalow until a noise wakes me. Through the airy screen, it seems almost dream-like to gaze out on wild brumbies frolicking through the water outside. When I walk out, movement in the grass reveals a large floodplain monitor lizard foraging for insects. Wallabies graze nearby; the passing parade of wildlife seems never-ending.

The next day, we skim across the floodplain on one of the lodge's airboats. The floodplain is alive with birds. We spot a juvenile Jabiru, idly picking food from the water untroubled by a small crocodile nearby. Tiny jacanas – or “Jesus-birds” – skip across lily pads. We glide through fields of bright waterlilies and swaying gold and emerald reeds, and when the sun heats up seek shelter in the shadow of paperbark forests.  

Asian water buffalo – a handful of the 5000 on the station - lumber through the water away from the boat, and during our exploration we spot four crocodiles, lurking low in the water. By the time the water is too shallow to continue north, we can easily spot the sand dunes marking the coastline.

In the late afternoon, we take a four-wheel-drive tour of part of the station, which covers 303 square km. The cooler temperatures bring more animals out, wallabies skipping through the trees and buffalo, their hides glistening in the light rain, splashing in the water.

On my last day, a small helicopter lands on the lodge's front lawn for a day trip to Arnhem Land and Kakadu. In the “Wet” the road to Arnhem Land is often impassable, so the helicopter - or a light plane - is a necessity in getting to this remote spot.

Our first stop is the wonderful Injalak Arts and Craft Centre at Gunbalanya, an Aboriginal community (also known as Oenpelli), near the East Alligator River in Arnhem Land. 

The backdrop to the town is a massive escarpment and Injalak Hill, where sacred sites and many rock paintings are a source of inspiration to the artists who live and work here. Tours are available, or you can just spend time at the gallery, where the paintings, prints, carvings and weavings irresistible. 

We drop in and out of special, secret places, flying over ancient escarpments. We land on a pristine inland beach for lunch, explore hidden rock painting sites, look down on magnificent waterfalls and marvel to each other – yet again – at the brilliance of the green landscape below.

While convention wisdom is that travelling to the Northern Territory in the “Wet” is not recommended – undeniably, summer brings heat, humidity and tropical down-pours – after a few days in the intense lushness of the season, it is easy to see why many people prefer to describe it instead as the “Green”.

After two nights, I feel overwhelmed by the extraordinary lushness of the place. The rains have created, for a few months at least, a magical world full of nature's surprises.

Bamurru Plains is open from February 1 to October 31. www.bamurruplains.com