Make Kakadu. The Next Thing You Do!

Kakadu, Kakadu Tourism -

Make Kakadu. The Next Thing You Do!


Moline Rockhole (Ikoymarrwa) (c) @katrina_ashleighh. 

We all have our hiking and travel wish lists that we’re constantly adding to, and you can trust that ours is probably just as long as yours! 

We’re still determined to explore as much of our beautiful home Australia 🇦🇺 as possible in the time we have. However, there’s one Australia destination we believe should be at the top of everyone’s list and that’s the Iconic Kakadu National Park @kakadutourism. 

Kakadu National Park is one of the largest NP’s in Australia covering almost 20,000 sq kms and is a place of enormous ecological and biological diversity. Home to such epic locations including Jim Jim Falls, Twin Falls, Ubirr, Maguk Gorge and the Yellow Water Billabong.

Maguk Gorge (c) @all.about.adventure

With its distinct dry season (April to October) and the wet tropical summer (November to March) it gives people great travel options such as flying over thunderous waterfalls or hiking into these falls during the dry season. 

So Hike AU created the slogan:

Make Kakadu.
The next thing you do!

Amazing facts about Kakadu National Park that you might not know:


Jim Jim Falls (c) @hockeys_cruise_oz

🔹It’s one of the largest National Parks in Australia. Kakadu is almost 20,000 sq kms, that’s about half the size of Switzerland.
🔹 Aboriginal people have lived in Kakadu for more than 65,000 years-making it the oldest living culture on earth.
🔹 It’s home to around 280 different types of birds making up around a third of all the bird species in Australia.

(c) Kakadu Tourism

🔹 Its home to more than 10,000 crocodiles, 1/10th of all the crocs in the Northern Territory!


Yellow Water Billabong (c) @oscarwastaken

🔹 Some of Kakadu’s rock art is up to 20,000 years old with ‘first contact’ paintings at Nanguluwurr showing the tall ships that first brought Europeans to our land.


Burrungkuy (Nourlangie) (c) @lazylapofoz

Seeing we’re all about hiking, Kakadu NP has more than 30 established walking trails, from short, easy strolls to challenging multi-day treks. Roam the world-class rock art sites, climb to the top of waterfalls and plunge pools, hike along escarpments or spot birds and wildlife on a stroll around a billabong. Keep to the designated paths and take plenty of water, a hat and sunscreen.

A must-do is the free guided walks through Kakadu’s Aboriginal rock art galleries where park rangers share stories behind the paintings. They run every day from April to October.

Popular hikes include:

 🥾 Ubirr Aboriginal Art Walk: a 1 km circular track taking you past rock art sites before a steep 250m climb to a rocky lookout with 360-degree views of Arnhem Land and the Nadab floodplain. Allow at least 1hr for this walk, or more if you want to sit at the lookout and soak in the views.

Ubirr (c) Kakadu Tourism

🥾Jim Jim Plunge Pool Walk: a 2km, 1-2hr return walk. 🥾Jim Jim Falls is an iconic part of Kakadu famous for its astonishing cliffs and thundering waterfalls. In the dry season the falls stop running and you can hike into the heart of the gorge and sit in the shadow of these spectacular cliffs. This walk takes you through monsoon forest and over boulders to a deep natural pool, all surrounded by dramatic 200m cliffs.


Jim Jim Falls (c) @__kc________

🥾 Twin Falls Gorge Walk: dramatic scenery leads to a white, sandy beach and plunge pool. The gorge can only be accessed during the dry season, when the waterfall slows to a trickle.


Twin Falls (c) @Lozula

Access is via a shuttle boat. Drift through the gorge while your guide points out the ancient secrets of the escarpments and a fantastic array of aquatic life. In the crystal-clear water are barramundi, saratoga, black bream, rainbow fish, long-necked turtles, Mertens water monitors, freshwater crocodiles and the elusive pig-nosed turtle (warradjan).

After you dock, follow the creek upstream over rocks and boulders and along the floating boardwalk while taking in the grandeur of the massive 150m escarpments.

So if it’s hiking or adventure you’re after, and you’re not locked into anything yet, then it’s definitely time to…

Make Kakadu.
The next thing you do!

Mark Williams @mark_hikeau

Owner

Hike AU

Information courtesy of www.northernterritory.com, www.parkaustralia.gov.au, and @Kakadutourism.

Images courtesy of Kakadu Tourism.