Last weekend I was chatting to another parent at a kid’s birthday party and she confessed to me (not knowing I was a travel blogger) that she’d never left Australia (not even to go to Bali). Travelling at home was all she needed, she said.
You can probably imagine that I didn’t know quite what to say, but she seemed very nice so I decided to run with it and started chatting about all the great places Australia has to offer. I’ve seen quite a few of them, but there are still some parts in the northern half of the country which I haven’t managed to make it to yet. (Which is not unreasonable since they are several thousand kilometres away!)
High on my wish list: Kakadu National Park
I’ve been lucky to see a lot of Australia, but there are several things prominent on my list still to do: visit the Kimberley region of Western Australia, ride the Indian Pacific train across the continent, and explore the Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. The first two feel to me like adventures that require my son to be quite a few years older, but Kakadu is a place I can imagine exploring sooner. (And my less-well-travelled new friend agreed.)
Since I have such a great audience of experienced travellers on my Facebook page, I asked for advice about the best part of Kakadu. The answers were very enthusiastic, but not entirely helpful, because nearly everybody said that their favourite part of Kakadu was everything! Literally – I had answers like “the whole shebang”, “Every. Single. Thing.”, “loved every moment” and “loved it all”. Which all clearly make me very keen to go, but still not sure what to do!
Some Kakadu tips from Gagudju
Fortunately I had some experts to give me some more specific tips. Gagudju is an indigenous-owned group of accommodation, cultural centre, tour and cruise operators in Kakadu and they have heaps of good suggestions on exactly what to do to make the most out of a Kakadu adventure.
Rock art
I’m fascinated by indigenous rock art – the relatively little-known Mulka Caves in Western Australia are one of my favourite spots, simply because you can experience it quietly and without a stampede of people. In Kakadu, I’m keen to get to the Nourlangie Rock art site (there is even a depiction of a European ship there – an impression from when we immigrants first started sailing around the area – amazing!). There are also several interesting cultural centres within the Kakadu National Park which help visitors learn more about the history and culture of the area.
Jim Jim Falls
Jim Jim Falls was one of the few suggestions my Facebook readers made beyond “everything”! They are heritage listed and you have probably already seen photos of them, even if you didn’t know where it was. They look incredible. Apparently the equally stunning Twin Falls are not that far away (as long as you are 4WDing that is but I’d say that either using a 4WD or joining a 4WD-based tour is pretty much essential out there).
Cruises
Taking a quiet cruise through the wetlands of Kakadu sounds like something I would thoroughly enjoy. Apart from any crocodile encounters, I must confess. Fortunately there is enough other natural beauty and wildlife to make it sound absolutely worthwhile!
So do you have any specific Kakadu tips now?
After only getting tonnes of positive encouragement without too many specific suggestions on Facebook, I wonder if there are more readers out there with Kakadu visiting tips for me! You don’t need to convince me to go there – I have long been convinced of that – but I would love to hear of the best bits from your experience. Go! If you haven’t been: do you want to? (We should go together!)
This post was sponsored by Gagudju – Kakadu Tourism but as always, the opinions are all mine (well, and a few of yours, if you chipped in with a comment on Facebook!).
Well, I’m sitting here dreaming of a visit to Kakadu National Park – its been on the bucket list for a while now, and we will be visiting in the next few years. Cheers for the great pics and advice