Kakadu National Park

Kakadu: Older Than Almost Everything

Somewhere in Kakadu National Park, 90 kilometres from the sea, there is a rock painting of a European sailing ship. Nobody is quite sure how it got there, how word of tall ships reached so far inland, or exactly when it was made. That painting is a small symbol of the larger puzzle: Kakadu contains more than 5,000 recorded rock art sites, and the oldest paintings may be 20,000 years old. You are not just visiting a park. You are visiting one of the longest continuously inhabited places on earth.

Kakadu sits in the Northern Territory, about 250km east of Darwin. It covers nearly 20,000 square kilometres, which makes it roughly the size of Slovenia. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under both natural and cultural criteria simultaneously, which is rare. The park is jointly managed by its Aboriginal traditional owners (primarily the Bininj and Mungguy peoples) and Parks Australia, an arrangement that has been in place since 1978.

When to Go

Two seasons, two very different parks. The dry season (May to October) is when most visitors come: roads are open, waterfalls are running from the wet-season rains, swimming holes are cleared of crocodiles (rangers assess them before June/July), and the weather is manageable. The wet season (November to April) cuts off large sections of the park to all but 4WD vehicles, brings extreme humidity, and makes most waterfalls inaccessible. It also brings spectacular lightning storms over the escarpment and almost total solitude if you are determined enough to get there. For a first visit, dry season is the obvious choice.

Park passes are $40 per adult for the dry season and $25 during the wet season (November to 14 May). The pass is valid for 7 consecutive days. NT residents get in free. Buy at the park entry stations or online before you arrive; rangers do check.

Ubirr

The rock art gallery at Ubirr, on the edge of the Nadab floodplain in the park’s north, is the place to come for the most concentrated experience of what Kakadu is actually about. Multiple shelters contain paintings spanning thousands of years: naturalistic animal figures, X-ray style art (which renders animals as if showing their internal skeletons and organs), and paintings made after European contact that include metal axes and ships. The most sacred site within the complex is the Rainbow Serpent Gallery, where Aboriginal people believe the Rainbow Serpent rested during the Dreaming, singing the land, plants, animals, and people into existence.

Get there for sunset. The walk up to the main lookout is short and not difficult, and the view over the floodplain as the light goes amber is one of the better things you can do in the Northern Territory. Come in the dry season and the floodplain below may be largely dry; come in April and it is a sheet of water as far as you can see.

Ubirr is open daily from 8:30am to sunset from April to November and stays open for the night sky in other months. Check the Kakadu Access Report before visiting, as road conditions after the wet season can change quickly.

Burrungkuy (Nourlangie)

Burrungkuy is the rock formation most people know under the colonial name Nourlangie. The Anbangbang Gallery here was excavated by archaeologists in 1981 and found to have been first occupied more than 6,000 years ago, with occasional use going back to 20,000 years ago. Aboriginal people sheltered here during wet seasons, harvesting waterlilies, fish, freshwater mussels, and up to 70 types of animals from the surrounding floodplain.

One painting here, created by the artist Nayombolmi, depicts Namarrgon (the Lightning Man), shown in X-ray style but rendered using a blue European pigment, the kind used in washing by European settlers. That one painting captures the entire arc of cross-cultural contact in a single image.

A lesser-visited gallery at Nanguluwurr, a 25-minute walk from the Burrungkuy carpark, contains some of the most striking paintings in the park with far fewer people around them. Make the effort.

Yellow Water

Yellow Water (Ngurrungurrudjba) Billabong, near Cooinda Lodge, is where the wildlife concentrates in the dry season as the surrounding land dries out. The boat cruises run in the early morning and at dusk; the morning cruise (around 6:45am) is better for birdwatching while the air is still cool and the light is good for photography. The dusk cruise tends to produce more crocodile sightings, since the animals favour warm water in the afternoon. Both are worth doing if you have two days in the park.

The roster of birds is genuinely impressive: Kakadu holds over 280 species, including the rare Gouldian finch and the brolga, a large crane that is something close to sacred in the region. The saltwater crocodiles visible from the boats are wild animals and sizeable. Do not lean over the railing for a better angle.

Cruise bookings: meet at the Cooinda Lodge bus stop 20 minutes before your departure time. Book ahead during the dry season. The boats have cold water and toilets aboard, which matters in the heat.

Jim Jim Falls

Jim Jim Falls drops 200 metres off the Arnhem Land Escarpment into a plunge pool at the base, and in the early dry season when the fall is still at full volume, it is extraordinary. The drive from Cooinda takes about 90 minutes; the last section is corrugated dirt requiring a high-clearance 4WD. A return walk to the base of the falls adds another 45 minutes each way over boulders. Swimming is permitted from around June once rangers have cleared the pool; earlier in the season it is off-limits due to crocodiles.

Jim Jim is genuinely remote. The nearest services are at Cooinda Lodge, 1.5 hours back down the track. Bring more water than you think you need, food, proper footwear, and sunscreen. The plunge pool is deep and cold and worth every minute of effort.

Twin Falls

Twin Falls, a further 10km from Jim Jim, requires a boat transfer across the gorge (arranged through Kakadu Tourism), then a boardwalk walk to the falls. The canyon is narrower and arguably more dramatic than Jim Jim. It also attracts fewer people. Check current access conditions; the boat service does not always run in early dry season.

Where to Stay

Cooinda Lodge is the main accommodation hub near Yellow Water and the most convenient base for the southern and central sections of the park. Rooms are functional rather than luxurious and booked out early in peak season (June-September). Book months ahead if visiting July or August.

Aurora Kakadu (Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel) in Jabiru is the other principal option: a hotel shaped, from the air, like a crocodile. The rooms are comfortable and the swimming pool is genuinely useful in the heat. Jabiru is the park’s only town and has a supermarket, medical centre, and petrol station. For the northern sections of the park, including Ubirr, it is the more convenient base.

Camping is available at designated campgrounds throughout the park, some with powered sites, most without. The campgrounds at Mardugal (near Cooinda) and Merl (near Ubirr) are well-run and popular. Book powered sites ahead; unpowered sites operate on a first-come basis.

Eating

Do not expect culinary variety in Kakadu. The Cooinda Lodge restaurant serves reliable meals and is effectively the only dinner option in the southern park area. Stock up in Darwin or Katherine before you enter; the Jabiru supermarket covers basics but at elevated prices. If you are camping, plan meals before you arrive.

Getting There and Around

Darwin Airport handles the major international and domestic connections. Kakadu’s main western entrance is about 2.5 hours from Darwin on the Arnhem Highway. A standard 2WD car handles most dry-season roads including access to Ubirr, Burrungkuy, Yellow Water, and Jabiru. Jim Jim and Twin Falls require a 4WD and a high-clearance vehicle. Do not attempt either in a rental sedan; the corrugated tracks will cause damage and leave you stranded.

Do not drive in the park after dark. The combination of nocturnal wildlife and unfenced roads makes it genuinely dangerous. Build your itinerary around this.

Darwin-based tour operators run day trips and multi-day tours into Kakadu. For a first visit with limited time, a guided tour with someone who knows the conditions, the tides, and the art sites is worth the cost.

One Practical Note

The scale of Kakadu catches people out. Driving from the western entrance to Ubirr is about 100km. From Jabiru to Jim Jim Falls and back is 200km. Budget at minimum two full days in the park, preferably three, and accept that you will not see everything. The park covers 20,000 square kilometres of some of the most remote country in Australia. That is the whole point.