MARY RIVER
| WORDS: LINDA LEE RATHBUN IMAGES: STEVEN DAVID MILLER / NATURAL WANDERS
IT WOULD BE A TRAGEDY TO SKIP MARY RIVER WHEN ON TOUR IN THE TOP END.
Many travellers who approach Kakadu along the Arnhem Highway, NT, speed past signs pointing the way to Corroboree Billabong, Mary River and Point Stuart without so much as a curious glance – and without realising how much they are missing. So let us introduce you to this remarkable area, and give you four good reasons to visit.
1. BEAUTIFUL BILLABONG
To visit this region and not do a wetlands cruise amounts to a tragedy, and you couldn’ t possibly do better than one at Corroboree Billabong. This sprawling Mary River wetland is studded with water lilies, banked by green‘ meadows’ stretching to the horizon, throbbing with birdlife and, of course, patrolled by crocodiles, both estuarine and freshwater. The Wetland Cruise’ s late afternoon trip offers the most birdlife but, honestly, anytime is heaven on Corroboree Billabong. If time and the budget allow, use the cruise to familiarise yourself with Corroboree, then hire a boat with Mary River Houseboats and explore on your own for a few hours, a full day or even overnight.
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