We have been eyeing for another trip to the northern part of Australia for a long time. It soon became clear that WA is not going to be an option anytime soon, with their pattern of hard border closures at zero notice. Accordingly, we had been studying our trusted Willis's Walkabouts NT program and eventually honed in on a January 2021 trip to the Kakadu.
In late November 2020 we arranged for everything, including booking flights and accommodation for the first couple of nights—of course, all the bookings fully flexible, just in case. And then, indeed, on 20 December NT imposed a 14-day quarantine on us Sydneysiders which made it a no-go zone for us, only to revoke it 4 days later on 24 December—meaning it was on again. Just as well we had not yet cancelled our bookings on the earlier 'quarantine notice'. On 31 December, less than 24 hours before getting on the flight, the NT closed down yet again, and we postponed of 10 days, rebooking flights, accommodation and reorganising the food we had already prepared for the 2-week hike. Sadly, not even this latest re-arrangment came to fruition: the NT stayed closed and eventually the Kakadu trip got cancelled completely, as Gernot was flying to Europe in late January, returning in mid-February, followed by two weeks of mandatory hotel quarantine.
All the more we are so grateful that Russell, Séb and team are very patient, flexible and resourceful. Together we eventually made a two-week, two-part trip happen in March—but not without yet an other hick-up (this time from our side), resulting in cutting the second part short to a one-day event. Here are the stories:
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