Kakadu National Park
Northern Territory
Kakadu is well known for its world heritage listed wilderness with soaring escarpments, gorges and billabongs but this is just the start of this spectacular national park. The park is over 19,000 square kilometres and is teeming with wildlife. It also offers you the chance to experience and learn about traditional aboriginal culture with guided tours, ancient rock art and the interesting Warradjan cultural centre.
Despite the remoteness of Kakadu, you can drive here from Darwin in about 3 hours and the park caters for all types of budgets with accommodation and meal choices.
A bit of planning before you arrive at Kakadu will ensure you get the most out of your trip. If you have limited time, pick one or two areas rather than trying to see everything - it's just too big and spread out. You could also consider a scenic helicopter or plane flight that lets you see a whole lot in a short space of time.
The park is divided into seven areas to help you plan your trip:
South Alligator Region
Home to the South Alligator River and the Mamukala wetlands, this area lets you experience the varied habitats of Kakadu. From April - October you can witness the thousands of migratory magpie geese congregating to feed at the wetlands. There is a 3km walk adjacent to the wetlands, and also the Gu-ngarre Walk which is along the Anggardabal Billabong.
Jabiru Region
Jabiru is the main township of Kakadu and it's here that petrol, groceries, banks and cafes can be found. The Bowali Visitor Centre is here and has a wealth of information available about the park. The Marrawuddi Gallery is also here and sells a large variety of aboriginal arts and crafts.
There is a lot of accommodation in Jabiru including a hotel, cabins, camping, powered sites and bush bungalows. You can also bush camp in the Jabiru region.
East Alligator Region
The East Alligator region has a diverse landscape with rainforests, floodplains and stone country. No trip to Kakadu would be complete without a stop at Ubirr, with spectacular views over the floodplains into Arnhem Land and abundant ancient rock art on show. It is a popular spot at sunset but is stunning throughout the day. There are boat cruises on the river in both the Wet and Dry seasons here and plenty of good walks. Take a walk through the Manngarre Monsoon Rainforest or take a picnic to Cahill's Crossing where you can look out over the East Alligator River.
Accommodation in the East Alligator region consists of a camping and caravan sites at Meri.
Nourlangie Region
Nourlangie is home to magnificent rock art and affords stunning vistas of Kakadu. The Anbangbang Billabong at the foot of the Nourlangie Rock is covered in water lilies and is a haven for waterbirds.
Nourlangie offers safari tent accommodation with local Aboriginal families as well as managed and bush camping facilities.
Yellow Water Region
The Yellow River Wetlands are spectacular, particularly when viewed from the water at either sunset or sunrise. Teeming with a large array of amazing birds and some rather large saltwater crocodiles, the wetlands also boasts dense paperbarks, lilies and pandanus. There is a boardwalk that is open in the Dry Season which takes you out over the billabong as well as cruises on the river.
The Warradjan (pig-nosed turtle) Aboriginal Cultural Centre can be found in Yellow Water and has wonderful displays and explanations of many of the elements of the local traditional culture.
Yellow Water has various types of accommodation including motel rooms, powered caravan sites and both managed and bush camping. It also has fuel, a small shop and a bistro that serves excellent hamburgers.
Jim Jim & Twin Gorge Region
Seen from the ground in the dry when the falls might be just a trickle or by air in the wet when they are a raging torrent, the Jim Jim Falls are a sight to see. You can walk to the base of falls via the signed Jim Jim Falls Plunge Pool Walk.
Twin Falls Gorge is about 10kms further along the 4wd track and provides an equally stunning outlook to Jim Jim. You get to bottom of these falls via a boat shuttle through the gorge which drops you at a sandy beach and there is a boardwalk which offers beautiful views of the red coloured escarpment. If you have the time, there is a walk to the plateau at the top of the falls where you can get a different perspective.
Land access to both Jim Jim and Twin Falls is only possible in the Dry season via a 4WD only track off the Kakadu Highway. Do not swim in the Falls pools as saltwater crocodiles inhabit the area.
There are no real accommodation options in this area, apart from camping which is available at Garnamarr, 50kms from the Kakadu Highway.
Jim Jim & Twin Gorge Region
The south entrance to Kakadu National Park takes you through the Mary River Region. The area has spectacular walks, waterfalls and billabongs. Accommodation in the Mary River region includes motel rooms, backpackers, managed and bush camping options.
Click on the above image to purchase this great Kakadu National Park map from
The Outback Travellers Track Guide.
Kakadu Weather - Average Temperatures and Rainfall
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Avg. Max (°C) | 33.5 | 33.2 | 33.4 | 34.5 | 33.5 | 31.6 | 31.8 | 33.6 | 36.1 | 37.6 | 36.8 | 34.9 |
| Avg. Min (°C) | 24.6 | 24.4 | 24.3 | 23.5 | 21.6 | 19.2 | 18.4 | 19.1 | 21.4 | 23.8 | 24.9 | 24.8 |
| Avg. Rain (mm) | 351.2 | 365.6 | 325.8 | 77.7 | 10.8 | 1.3 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 6.5 | 36.2 | 146.9 | 226.4 |
| Avg. Rain Days | 21.1 | 20.9 | 20.0 | 7.5 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 11.3 | 16.1 |