The Unesco World Heritage Kakadu National Park is Australia’s largest national park, stretching more than 100km from east to west and more than 200km from north to south. It has a wide range of habitats from savannah grasslands to monsoonal rainforests and the richest wildlife in Northern Territory. It is also home for Aboriginal people and has one of the largest collections of Aboriginal rock painting in Australia. Here is some information about the park and in the end of the page is accommodation, and a map.
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Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Kakadu Geology The obvious geological feature of Kakadu is the Arnhem Land Escarpment – a 200m-high sandstone cliff range which stretches some 500km through eastern Kakadu and forms the natural border to Arnhem Land in east. You can reach this eastern part of the park either via Arnhem Hwy from Darwin, or via Kakadu Hwy from Katherine.
Escarpment. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Kakadu Vegetation More than 80% of Kakadu National Park is covered by pandanus and savannah woodlands. Other habitats include open grasslands, eucalypt forests, monsoon rainforests, wetlands and billabongs, all containing plenty of wildlife.
Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Wetland Birds There are more than 280 species of birds in Kakadu National Park – finches, parrots, honeyeaters, and migrant birds during the wet. Ducks and magpie geese can be seen in huge flocks, and large, up to 150cm-tall brolgas and jabirus walk around alone or in couples as they look for food on grasslands and in shallow water.
Birdlife. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Australian Animals Animals include 65 species of mammals such as wallabies and wallaroos, quolls and bandicoots; 120 species of reptiles including lizards, freshwater turtles and goannas; 25 species of frogs; 55 species of freshwater fish; and both of Australia’s two species of crocodiles.
Australian Crocodile. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Ubirr and its Aboriginal Rock Painting There are three visitor information centres in the park: Bowali on Kakadu Highway, Wadjarran Aboriginal Cultural Centre near Cooinda, and the Northern Land Council Office and Jabiru Travel Centre in Jabiru – the largest settlement in the park and its service centre, which also has a bank, a post office, a supermarket, a medical centre, newsagency and a service station. North of Jabiru is Ubirr, known for Aboriginal art examples and spectacular views from Narab Lookout. Guluyambi Cruises offers tours with Aboriginal guides to East Alligator River during the dry season (April to September) and to Magela Wetlands during the wet (October to March).
Ubirr. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Nourlangie Rock and the Aboriginal Art Examples South of Ubirr is Nourlangie Rock, a spectacular part of the Arnhem Land Escarpment, the start of which can be seen from the nearby Gunwarddewardde Lookout. There is also a 12km walk, Barrk walk, on top of the Nourlangie Rock, but Nourlangie Rock is most famous for its Aboriginal art examples in Anbangbang rock shelter that feature aboriginal animal art. This is one of the best and most accessible aboriginal rock painting of Kakadu’s 5000 others, many of which are 50,000 years old.
Aboriginal rock painting. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Yellow Water and Australian Crocodiles Southwest of the Nourlangie Rock, across the Kakadu Hwy is the famous Yellow Water waterhole next to Cooinda. A Yellow Water Boat Trip is the most classic way to see the large crocodiles and lots of wetland birds in Kakadu National Park.
Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Jim Jim, Twin and Gunlom Falls South from Yellow Water are the beautiful Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls. Both are nice for a cooling swim and best seen in the early dry when plenty of water is still running down the falls. Both waterfalls are only reachable during the dry season and by 4WD. Swimming in the Twin Falls is only permitted at the top of the escarpment, due to the freshwater crocodiles in the Twin Fall Gorge. Another excellent swimming hole is further south off the Kakadu Hwy at Gunlom Falls, where there is also a campsite.
Gunlom Falls. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Other Camping in Kakadu Other places where you can camp in the bush are at Koolpin Gorge, Maguk, Giyamungkurr, Jim Jim Billabong (not the same as Jim Jim Falls), Sandy Billabong, Yellow Water, Red Lily Billabong, Alligator Billabong, Burdulba, Malabanjbandju, Meri, Two Mile Hole, Four Mile Hole and West Alligator Head.
Picnic at Gunlom Falls. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Kakadu Tours There are plenty of tour operators that will take you around in Kakadu National Park: Adventure Tours Australia , Kakadu Animal Tracks, Kakadu Gorge and Waterfall Tours, Wilderness 4WD Adventures and Xplore Backpacker Wilderness Tours. Lord’s Kakadu & Arnhem Land Safaris and Magela Cultural & Heritage Tours will even take you to the neighbouring Arnhem Land, where you can learn about aboriginal weapons, aboriginal hunting, aboriginal religion, aboriginal mythology, and anything else you can imagine about Australian Aboriginal People. Scenic flights can be a good idea, particularly when roads are inaccessible during the wet season. Kakadu Air and North Australian Helicopters will take you for a flight.
Here's a map of Kakadu National Park, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
