Kakadu National Park.Kakadu National Park is a World Heritage listed area that has been listed for it's cultural and natural heritage and it is the largest national park in Australia and the second largest national park in the world. Kakadu National Park is located in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia and covers an area of 1,980,400 hectares, or 4,894,000 acres, extending nearly 200 kilometres from north to south and over 100 kilometres from east to west. It’s approximately the same size as Isreal, about one-third the size of Tasmania and nearly half the size of Switzerland. It’s a big place… It’s a place where time stands still and an ancient culture lives on.
For more than 40,000 years, the Aboriginal people of Kakadu and Arnhem Land have lived in harmony with nature. Their history is intrinsically linked with the land, and their stories, told in their rock art, endure. Although a lot of the artwork that you will get to see will be fairly recent paintings, or older paintings that have been touched up or even completely replaced by new ones, they are definitely worth seeing. It is also worth visiting one of the many Aboriginal Cultural Centres around the park to find out more about the history of the area and the cave paintings. Indeed, Kakadu National Park contains one of the highest concentrated areas of aboriginal rock art sites in the world; the most famous examples are at Nourlangie Rock and Ubirr. Jabiru is another small town, just south of Ubirr that is well worth a visit. Jabiru used to be a mining town and so its main attraction is a trip around the mine. South again is Nourlangie, where you will come across an amazing sandstone rock and beautiful cliffs rising up behind the trees. Towards the cliffs you’ll find some of the best rock art in Kakadu. 
There are some beautiful lookouts and places to stop on your way to Nourlangie, including Anbangbang Billabong, Anbangbang Rock, Gubara with its beautiful pools and Nawulandja Lookout, looking back over Nourlangie Rock.This World Heritage listed National Park is quite spectacular and extremely diverse, this is a vast amount of land with a huge variety of scenery, wildlife, plant life and Aboriginal Art sites to see and experience. Depending on the season you may see crocodiles, goannas, wallabies, dingos and many species of birds that inhabit or migrate to Kakadu National Park each year. The area also boasts the longest continuous surviving human culture in the world, Aborigines have been living in this region for at least 40,000 years and the descendants of these First Australians still live in Kakadu today. Life in Kakadu National Park depends, to a very great degree, on the water; on the tropical monsoon climate that produces the downpours and the tropical humidity of the summer or "wet" season, and the milder weather of the "dry" winter season. The flora is sensational and will often change dramatically from the tropical summer season, December to April, to the dry season, May to November. Along the coast you will find several swamps, to the south you will find grassland and rainforest and throughout the rest of the park you will find lilly-filled billabongs, (that’s waterholes to the uneducated) rivers and lakes during the wet season, as well as plenty of wildlife. 
The waterfalls are spectacular, especially during the wet season.Jim Jim Falls can dry out during the dry season, whereas the Twin Falls are always running with water however, sometimes both falls are inaccessible due to flooding during the wet season. You also shouldn’t miss the Gunlorn Waterfall Creek which was made famous not only by its natural beauty, but also by the film 'Crocodile Dundee'. There are also both freshwater and saltwater crocodiles in the park so be careful around water and swampy areas. “Freshies” are found in both Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls and “salties” are found in South Alligator and Yellow Water Rivers, as well as numerous other sites throughout the park. The sensible thing here is that no matter how hot you get and no matter how safe it looks unless there’s a sign that tells you that there’s no crocs, don’t get into the water, not even just to cool your feet.
There are also lots of snakes around the park, so be careful of these too. Kakadu National Park is the gateway to Arnhem Land. The sealed road from Darwin to Kakadu is via the Arnhem Highway and from Katherine to Kakadu National Park via the Kakadu Highway. The Bowali Visitor Centre near Jabiru in Kakadu National Park is located about 250 kilometres from Darwin via the Arnhem Highway. If you’re travelling by road you should allow 3 hours travelling time from Darwin. Along the Arnhem Highway to you can detour and take a number of cruises from the Adelaide River to see the crocodiles literally jump out of the water for a feed and if you have the time and the inclination pull over at the Bark Hutt Inn which is about 100 kilometres from Darwin and acquaint yourself with the true outback flavour of this bush pub and tourist spot. The Bark Hut Tourism Centre is a 'must-see' of the Northern Territory. 
Historically, founded back in the days of buffalo and crocodile hunting, they’re now central to your exploration and enjoyment of the Mary River wetlands - a national park in itself.Then you can stop by the numerous towering cathedral termite mounds that abound along the road. Although you can drive yourself in a normal car, a 4-wheel drive vehicle or even a RV Motorhome, a better way to see the park is on a scheduled Kakadu tour. There is a scheduled Kakadu tour to suit every budget and need. Kakadu camping or accommodated tours such as a 4WD adventure safari is an excellent choice to get the best of Kakadu in short time such as a 3 day tour. A tour really lets you experience what Kakadu National Park has to offer if you enjoy adventure and tours have been developed over the years to offer you excellent value and take the worry off you when organising what to see and do in Kakadu. If you like to “rough it” there are a number of campgrounds in and just out of Kakadu National Park. Commercially operated camping areas with power sites are available at the Kakadu Resort, Kakadu Lodge and Caravan Park and the Gagudju Lodge, Cooinda. Other major park camping areas suitable for more sizable groups are Merl, Muirella Park, Mardugal and Gunlom. These camping areas all have solar heated showers, toilets and washing tub facilities. Camping areas are divided into 'generator' and 'non-generator' zones and specific camping grounds in the park allocate areas of their park exclusively for camping tour operators. Free bush camping areas are also located throughout the park. Facilities at these sites are basic or non-existent although some have what is called minimal camping facilities. You also need a permit to camp anywhere other than in the designated campsites. If you’re into bush-walking there are numerous walking trails around the park ranging from 1km - 12km. You can also head off the track, however, the bushwalking in this area is difficult so go prepared and always let the ranger or someone else know where you are heading. The seasons are very distinct in Kakadu and when you visit this is what you can expect:
In April: (Banggereng) expect some violent storms that the Aboriginals call 'knock-'em-down' storms... May – June is Yekke (Mist), water levels are high, but most roads are accessible. July – August is the “dry” (Wurrgeng and Gurrung),when wildlife and birds increase. September – October is Gunumeleng and starts the build up to wet season when humidity, temperature and mosquitoes increase. November - December: Thunderstorms start again and continue into the wet season. The best time to visit would be between May and August. Early on the waterfalls are amazing due to all of the heavy rainfall, although the later dryer season may offer better weather however, if you want to avoid the tourist rush, then avoid the busy dry season. Once in the park there is a range of accommodation to choose from and if you don't have your own transport you can always hop on the Greyhound Pioneer coach from Darwin, which leaves early each day. Yes, Kakadu National Park is one of the world’s best treasures…….enjoy, John. Our RSS feed will be updated periodically with all the latest travel deals and special offers. Please subscribe by clicking the button to the left (XML/RSS) to receive notice of these updates without any risk or obligation. PLEASE NOTE: If you don't know what an RSS feed is just click this link. Click here to return from Kakadu National Park to The Discount Travel Guide home page. |
If you’ve never seen a croc jump, seemingly out of nowhere, to grab something then you’ve missed out, it’s an awesome site but you don’t want to be the “something”.
January - March: (Gudjuek) is the wet season with huge thunderstorms, plentiful rain and high humidity.