The Natural History Museum is also
worth a few hours of your time, but
let’s face it you don’t come to
Darwin to stay in the city. You want
to get out to the World Heritage-
listed Kakadu National Park and the
stunning Litchfield National Park!
There are many tour companies that
will do day and overnight tours to
Kakadu and day tours to Litchfield.
Personally, I would rather hire a car
and drive myself: there’s more
privacy; you can take in more on
your own; you can see what you
want without feeling rushed; and you
end up saving money without paying
a tour guide. I’ll take you out myself
for a fee!
Kakadu is one of my favourite places
to visit. It has so much cultural
significance to the Bininj Aboriginal
people who have lived in the area for
thousands of years and have a deep
spiritual connection with the land
and the animals they share it with.
It’s this ancient culture and the
wildlife of Kakadu that really draws
me to the place.
1.
The town within Kakadu is called
Jabiru and it has all the advantages
of the big city, including internet
coverage so you can update your
social media! I will usually stay in
Jabiru while in Kakadu as it means
you can get an air-conditioned
bungalow and private toilet/
bathroom combo. The older I get the
more essential this becomes.
Ubirr is a 30km drive from Jabiru
along a tarred road which follows the
sandstone escarpment for much of its
length, but also passes through a
variety of different habitats including
savannah and floodplains. Keep an
eye out for snakes and lizards
crossing, as we wouldn’t want any of
them to get run over! Once you get
to Ubirr you have access to one of
the largest indigenous rock art sites
1. & 2. Frilled Lizards
(Chlamydosaurus kingii) and
Spotted Tree Goannas (Varanus
scalaris) are both fairly common in
the city region.
3. You might get lucky and spy a
2.
Mertens’ Water Monitor
(V. mertensi).