001 Overload your senses in Kakadu

Kakadu National Park, NT

There are really two things you have to do before you die regarding Australia’s largest national park: see Kakadu in the wet (December to March) and see it in the dry (all other months). In either case, the place has a reputation for overloading the senses.
 

“A pre-Noah’s Ark, not to mention the pre-Noah art. Walk, drive, swim, watch the wildlife and be reminded of the World Heritage worthiness of this beautiful realm.”
- John Borthwick 

 

In the wet the park drowns in water, heat, humidity, bright tropical colours, nature in the raw – all the fundamental elements that make up Australia’s unique natural world. Many say that to see the park in the wet, or early dry, is the best – the only – time.

While that verdant splendour is missing in the dry, it’s a much more comfortable time to visit Kakadu (ie, there’s drought as opposed to torrential, teeming rain), and more areas are accessible.

There’s hardly the space here to describe the extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna, including 75 different kinds of reptile (more than you’ll find in the whole of Europe), 26 types of bat and 10,000 species of insect. And did we mention the 2000 different kinds of plants? Plan to get up early and head off the beaten track a little – you’ll be rewarded with vistas of remarkable colour and significant wildlife. Kakadu is also the place to see plenty of Aboriginal rock art, about which you can learn more on page 96 as entry No. 14 on this list.  

Did you know? Kakadu has three main rivers: the West, South and East Alligator Rivers. Of course, there are no alligators in the park – just crocodiles (both types, friendly freshies and nasty salties). English navigator Phillip King mistakenly named the rivers after the large numbers of crocs, mistaking them for gators.

About Kakadu
Kakadu is Australia’s largest national park, covering over 19,000 square kilometres. A number of different Aboriginal clans, who now share joint management with Parks Australia, an Australian Federal Government body, have called Kakadu home for some 50,000 years. Evidence of their culture can be seen in many rock art galleries.

Kakadu is a landscape of contrasts. Beneath waters dotted with delicate pink lotus flowers lurks the crocodile. Jagged peaks of towering escarpments hide pockets of lush rainforest. Roaring waterfalls thunder down rocky gorges to serene pools fringed with paperbarks, pandanus and cycads. It is also teeming with life. About 1000 plant species, a quarter of all the freshwater fish species found in Australia, and over one third of all the bird species live here. This diverse and fascinating wildlife, along with the exceptional Aboriginal art sites, gained Kakadu its World Heritage listing in 1984.

How to get there
World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park is situated 250 kilometres from Darwin on the Arnhem Highway. There are two entry points into the park: from Darwin on the Arnhem Highway or via Pine Creek on the Kakadu Highway.

Best time to go
December to March – the “wet”, or all other months – the “dry”.

Further information
Useful websites include:

www.travelnt.com
This is the official Northern Territory Tourism site, and contains lots of tips and hints about travelling to and staying in Kakadu.

www.guluyambi.com.au
This website is a commercial site, promoting the Guluyambi Cruise. This is an informative Aboriginal cultural tour of one of Kakadu National Park’s most spectacular waterways, the East Alligator River which borders Western Arnhemland.

www.kakaduair.com.au
This website is a commercial site promoting scenic flights over Kakadu.
 

“What a special place. We camped through Kakadu and the entire family was blown away by the birds, the crocs, Aboriginal culture, swimming holes and the brightest stars you’ve ever seen.”
- David Koch