Kakadu National Park

The Kakadu National Park is the largest and most interesting nature park in the Northern Territory. The Kakadu National Park was founded in 1981 and covers an area of ​​almost 20,000 km². The landscape is moist and green, but there are also steep sandstone cliffs that border the park to the east. The tropical rain has created a natural paradise in which many animals and plants feel comfortable. Finds and rock carvings of the Aboriginal people prove that the indigenous people have lived in the area for 20,000 years. For this reason, the Kakadu National Park is a UNESCO natural heritage and a cultural heritage of humanity. Kakadu is not named after a bird, but refers to the Gagudju language of the Aboriginal people. To European explorers it sounded like Kakadu.

The national park borders the sea in the north at the Van Diemen Gulf, where dense mangrove forests protect the shore. The South Alligator River flows through the park from south to north. To the west is a large wetland with many small rivers that form a large lake in the rainy season. In the east, the approximately 500 km long Arnhem Land plateau rises with rock walls up to 300 m high, which are very rugged at the erosion edge. In the south, the Kakadu National Park borders on the Nitmiluk National Park.

The Arnhem Highway leads from Darwin to Jabiru. From Jabiru to the south, the Kakadu Highway leads to the Stuart Highway. Jabiru is the center of the Kakadu National Park, with hotels, a supermarket and a gas station.

Darwin is around 230 km away from Jabiru. In the rainy season (December-March), parts of the park can be closed due to flooding. The two highways can also be flooded. Then there are no tank trucks to supply the park and gasoline is running out. In the sparsely populated Northern Territory you should always be on the go with a full tank and enough drinking water. In the rainy season, you should only drive into the park with an off-road vehicle because you have to drive through the watercourses. You can get stuck with a small car. It is best to ask about the condition of the roads at the Darwin Visitor Center before departure.

 

Kakadu National Park

http://kakadu.com.au

 

Bicentennial Park

Bicentennial Park is located southwest of downtown, right on Darwin Bay. In the well-kept green area there are some monuments from the Second World War. For example, the cannon of the USS Peary, a warship sunk by the Japanese in 1942 at the bombing of Darwin. Darwin was the only city in Australia to be bombed during the war. Darwin is still a garrison town on the northern end of the continent.

 

Bicentennial Park

 

East Point Cliffs

From the centre of Darwin you drive along Fannie Bay, to get to the East Point Peninsula with the Darwin Military Museum. The East Point Cliffs are not very impressive, but you will have a beautiful view over the sea, towards Cox Peninsula.   

 

East Point Cliffs

 

Crocodiles

Crocodiles are the top sight of the Top End. Especially dangerous are saltwater crocodiles, who can swim in the sea as well as in rivers. Who wants to see crocodiles, can visit the Crocosauruscove in Darwin. 

 

58 Mitchell Street

www.crocosauruscove.com

 

Berry Springs Nature Park

The Berry Springs Nature Park is about 50 km south of Darwin. In the dry season you can swim in the Berry Creek. In Berry Springs is also the Territory Wildlife Park, which offers tours into the wilderness.

 

Berry Springs

www.territorywildlifepark.com.au

 

Litchfield National Park

Just 130 km south of Darwin is the famous Litchfield National Park. Highlights of the park include Wangi Falls, Florence Falls and Tolmer Falls, all accessible via Litchfield Park Road. An other attraction of Litchfield is "The Lost City", a natural rock formation of stacked sandstone blocks that look like a ruined city. The park's hallmarks are the "Magnetic Termite Mounds", disc-shaped termite mounds that face north-south, and huge termite towers.

 

Google Maps: Litchfield National Park

https://nt.gov.au/leisure/litchfield-national-park

 

Edith Falls

The "Edith Falls" belong to Nitmiluk National Park. Just take the Edith Falls road from Stuart Hyw, the falls are about 18 km away from the junction. The Edith River breaks through the red rocks with a waterfall and forms a picturesque lake. A bridge will take you to the footpath that leads to the other side of the "Edith Falls".

 

Edith Falls

 

Katherine Gorge

The city of Katherine is about 25 km to the south of Nitmiluk National Park. At the Nitmiluk Visitor Center you can do river tours on the Katherine River or hike the rocks of the gorge. There is a video from the outlook of Katherine Gorge. >> Darwin Video.

 

Nitmiluk National Park

 

Map Nature Darwin & NT

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Nature in the Northern Territory

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