5FIVE KAKADU FAVOURITES

KAKADU NATIONAL PARK, NORTHERN TERRITORY

01 DO IT BY 4WD

Some areas of Kakadu can only be accessed by 4x4. These include West Alligator Head in the north and Twin Falls, Jim Jim Falls, Maguk and Jarrangbarnmi in the south.

02 JIM JIM FALLS & TWIN FALLS

Spectacular Jim Jim Falls is Kakadu’s biggest waterfall, plunging some 200m from the Arnhem Land escarpment to a plunge pool below. Farther along the 4WD access road, the Twin Falls gorge has a split cascade that drops from a 150m-high cliff face to a deep pool below. The road to these falls is subject to seasonal closures, and the best time to drive is during the dry from mid-june.

03 JABIRU

Jabiru is the main township in Kakadu National Park. It has all the services you’re likely to need and is a perfect base for exploring the park. Facilities include shopping centre, medical clinic and pharmacy, police station, library, service station and workshop, nine-hole golf course, sports and social club, and 50m swimming pool. Accommodation includes the Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel, Aurora Kakadu Lodge and Caravan Park, and Anbinik Kakadu Resort.

04 YELLOW WATER

Yellow Water (Ngurrungurrudjba) is part of the South Alligator River floodplain. In the dry season, there is a 2.6km return walk across the floodplain to a viewing platform on Home Billabong. A boardwalk offers incredible views of Yellow Water’s wildlife including some impressive saltwater crocodiles. If it’s too wet for a saunter, take a Yellow Water boat cruise that operate throughout the year. Apart from seeing huge crocs and birdlife in a World Heritage-listed wetland, Yellow Water is also a top fishing spot for trailer boaters.

05 ART SITES

Kakadu’s main rock art galleries are at Ubirr and Burrungkuy (Nourlangie), depicting paintings of animals, x-ray art, and depictions of early contact with Europeans. The park is said to have one of the world’s greatest concentrations of rock-art sites, with some paintings up to 20,000 years old, making the artwork one of the longest historical records of any existing group.