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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-31/nt-kakadu-sea-level-rise-climate-change-saltwater-intrusion/105752820>
"Crocodile warning signs break the surface of a flooded Oenpelli Road, as
Jonathan Nadji speeds through the paperbark forest of the Magela Creek system.
Onboard, his partner Dionne and three of his grandkids grip their backpacks.
It is nearly 8am in the East Alligator region of Kakadu National Park, and the
sound of the boat engine drowns out the calls of magpie geese and corellas
echoing off the ancient sandstone outcrops.
Jonathan dodges low-lying branches before breaking through the forest edge.
Where a road emerges from the water, a bus is waiting to take the children the
remaining 20 minutes to school in Jabiru.
This is the morning school run Jonathan does nearly five months of the year.
It is a trip the Bininj man and traditional owner from the Erre region (East
Alligator) of Kakadu has done for decades.
During part of the Top End’s wet season — from December to May — Jonathan and
his family must drive, boat and drive to any shops, schools or hospitals in the
nearest town of Jabiru.
Jonathan oversees all the national park operations in his home — nestled
between stone country, the crocodile-inhabited South Alligator River, and
Kakadu’s famed freshwater wetlands.
It is some of the lowest-lying land in Australia, and it floods as heavy wet
season rainwater flows down from the high stone country.
He knows this area more than most, and he is concerned climate change is taking
a toll.
“Where the floodwater reaches, that’s an indication of where the ocean will
reach in the future,” Jonathan says.
“Nature is warning us, but nobody’s listening.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
