Couple of questions about Kakadu

gooba53 · Guru

Couple of questions about Kakadu

Explorer · Guru

Dianne Hi, Arnhem Hwy& Kakadu Hwy are both sealed & good roads as are most within the NP. The roads into Gunlom etc is fairly rough & would suggest not taking Your van in. likewise Jim Jim ( will prob be still closed in May). Definately not suitable for vans.
If You are self sufficient The NP camps are very well set up, those that have showers & toilets were years 2 ago $10.00 pn. without facilities $5.00 pn. I stayed at each camp 2/3 days & reckoned could have stayed longer.
Happy to go into more detail if You wish.
Mike.

gooba53 · Guru

Thanks Mike, will take you up on that. I'll check what I'd like to know and get back to you.

Dianne

Roving-Dutchy · Guru

Don't listen to those that say Kakadon't, if you ask them how long they stayed in Kakadu, you will usually find they had a flying visit of one day, you need plenty of time to see the wonders of Kakadu, it's a remarkable place and is justified being listed as a World Heritage Area.
Cheers
David

Fringe Dweller · Senior Member

Do do do . My preference is to go to Douglas-Daly , then Litchfield into Darwin , then do Kakadu.

Been to Kakadu twice & spent a week there both times & went to Ubir both times as well.

We had our m/h then , so missed Jim Jim & some of the other off road adventures.

Enjoy . Have a SAFE trip.

leajoy · Veteran Member

Hi we too were told Kakadont but for us it was definitely Kakadoo. The main roads are all suitable for towing a caravan. Kakadu is a huge NP. We based ourselves at Jabiru in the caravan park. There is still lots of driving to see the top half even by doing this. We then moved on to Mary River Roadhouse for the bottom half and this for us worked well. Staying here they even directed us to a fabulous waterhole not on tourist maps. We checked out all the camps but they all had too many mozzies and we didnt think they were that well looked after. Tge pool in the caravan park was much appreciated. If you have time make sure you do a rangers talk, they are amazing.

warhorse · Senior Member

never mind the kakadont brigade, you just gotta see it,so it costs,so doe's every thing else, the bird life is stunning,try to do the yellow waters sunrise cruise,yeah they pack them in like sardines but who cares, just switch off and just absorb the beauty,should plan to spend a week or so, lots of walks etc, there is so much to see...cheers ray

Desert Dweller · Guru

Definitely KakaDOO! We did a fly drive trip in September last year 5 nights Darwin, 3 night each in Jabiru, Cooinda, Pine Creek & Adelaide River. We did Litchfield NP from Adelaide River.

The highways are all top notch bitumen. We went to some of the camping areas & they were all very good. What a fantastic place Kakadu is! We would have loved to have had more time there.

Ubirr is a real highlight. If you look in the ''Sharing Photos section of the forum you'll see our posts of Kakadu birdlife (Page 2, Top End Trip Images) & rock art. We'll be heading back real soon! ENJOY!

-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Friday 24th of February 2017 06:53:28 PM

TheHeaths · Guru

Dianne,

Kakadu very worthwhile to go to. Definite see Ubirr/Cahills Crossing and rock art, Noorlangie Rock and rock art, the billabongs around the place and the couple of interpretive centres. Other places may not be open due to being early part of dry/late part of wet.

We stayed at Merl last year, but be aware that as early in the year as you are going, the dry may not be established, and the humidity and mossies could be VERY bad at Merl. Also cost of Merl was $30 for the 2 of us, and without power, and with leaky showers, mossies and humidity (early June last year), wasn't our favourite stop. I would suggest either Jabiru or Cooinda Caravan Park if you feel the heat/humidity badly, so you can use aircon.

Would also suggest a stay at Corroboree Roadhouse, and evening cruise on Corroboree Billabong, which was a highlight for us last year, on your way into or out of Kakadu.

wendyv · Guru

You are going at a really good time to see Kakadu, especially as there is a good wet this season and the waterways should be well filled.

gooba53 · Guru

Gee thank you so much for your help and positive comments. I know it's early in the season, sounds like it might have some goods and bads about that. We are so looking forward to it. I'll definitely have the spots you've mentioned on the must do list.

Have read a bit about the Yellow Water cruise and the Corroboree Creek cruise. Would you suggest doing both or is there a preference for which one Or would they be different from each other??

TheHeaths · Guru

Dianne,

both the Yellow Waters and Corroboree Billabong cruises are good. We did Yellow Waters in 2008, and Corroboree last year.

If we had to choose one we would do Sunset on Yellow Waters. The sunset cruise on Corroboree was good but not in the same league as the Yellow Waters one. We saw plenty of crocs and birdlife on both of them, but Yellow Waters is just a bit more interesting for the scenery. I wanted to show Kathy Corroboree as my son and I took his boat there in 2004 and had fished there.

Both the Arnhem and Kakadu Highways are good roads into and out of the park, with a variety of scenery.

-- Edited by TheHeaths on Friday 24th of February 2017 09:46:40 PM

gooba53 · Guru

Thank you, I think we'll try to do both. We might only get there once smile

gooba53 · Guru

Desert Dweller wrote:
Definitely KakaDOO! We did a fly drive trip in September last year 5 nights Darwin, 3 night each in Jabiru, Cooinda, Pine Creek & Adelaide River. We did Litchfield NP from Adelaide River.

The highways are all top notch bitumen. We went to some of the camping areas & they were all very good. What a fantastic place Kakadu is! We would have loved to have had more time there.

Ubirr is a real highlight. If you look in the ''Sharing Photos section of the forum you'll see our posts of Kakadu birdlife (Page 2, Top End Trip Images) & rock art. We'll be heading back real soon! ENJOY!

-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Friday 24th of February 2017 06:53:28 PM

Checked them out. Oh wow great photos. I can't wait to see these for myself.

PeterD · Guru

Explorer wrote:
likewise Jim Jim ( will prob be still closed in May). Definately not suitable for vans.
If You are self sufficient The NP camps are very well set up, those that have showers & toilets were years 2 ago $10.00 pn. without facilities $5.00 pn.
Mike.

Jim Jim Falls is 4WD and camper trailers only. However there is Jim Jim Billabong which is access off the better part of the road from the Jim Jim Falls road. When we were up there it was one of the more primitive cam areas with just a long drop dunny. I would recommend basing yourself at Mardigal camp-ground which is just around the corner from the expensive Yellow Waters caravan park. It is the mid level camping with solar hot showers and solar lighting in the block. From there shift your camp to Merle camp-ground.

Kakadu Map You will find links to more detailed maps in the top LH corner.

-- Edited by PeterD on Saturday 25th of February 2017 10:27:26 AM

Desert Dweller · Guru

gooba53 wrote:
Desert Dweller wrote:
Definitely KakaDOO! We did a fly drive trip in September last year 5 nights Darwin, 3 night each in Jabiru, Cooinda, Pine Creek & Adelaide River. We did Litchfield NP from Adelaide River.

The highways are all top notch bitumen. We went to some of the camping areas & they were all very good. What a fantastic place Kakadu is! We would have loved to have had more time there.

Ubirr is a real highlight. If you look in the ''Sharing Photos section of the forum you'll see our posts of Kakadu birdlife (Page 2, Top End Trip Images) & rock art. We'll be heading back real soon! ENJOY!

-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Friday 24th of February 2017 06:53:28 PM
Checked them out. Oh wow great photos. I can't wait to see these for myself.

A couple more tips:

If you go to Anbangbang Billabong near Nourlagie & Mamukala wetlands near Jabiru you've seen basically everything that you would see on the Yellow Water cruise.

If it's crocs that you want to see go to Cahill's Crossing on the way to Ubirr, they're in profusion! Up to 20 of them lay adjacent to the concrete causeway with their jaws wide open swallowing fish as the tide comes in. The rest of the day they are easily seen as they skulk around looking for a feed.

Cooinda is a great camping ground.

gooba53 · Guru

Peter, thanks for the Map link and your other tips.

Desert Dweller I hadnt heard of the Anbangbang billabong, I'll suss it out. I've got the other places definately on my to do list!

Again seriously thank you all, your help is really appreciated, nice to hear from people who've done it, not just a book or Internet.

Dianne and Stuart

Santa · Guru

Loved Kakadu Dianne,try not to miss it, everything they say it is and more.

al · Senior Member

I"m a Kakadon't over priced over rated overly controlled far to many restrictions Camp sites are pretty ordinary it is purely set up to rip as much money as they can off the tourist. They had a big conference a couple years ago how to bring back tourist numbers the big out come was put up prices, great plan. All the Kakadoo's are just trying to justify being ripped off. There are plenty of other places far better at little or no cost and better amenities.
I have been to Kakadu many times over the years and spent many weeks at a time in that area. Over the years the powers that be have screwed up a great place. May be you should see it now it is only going to get worse in the future.

AL

C00P · Senior Member

We thoroughly enjoyed Kakadu. Stayed at the Caravan Park at Jabiru. Cahill's crossing is worth an extended visit just to watch the tide coming in and going out and all he croc activity associated with it. (Don't stand too close to the water's edge.)

Cheers

C00P

gooba53 · Guru

Thanks COOP. Cahills crossing is in the plan. There's two caravan parks in Jabiru I think, which one did you stay at? We are tossing up between bush camps (which is our usual style) or caravan park. Only because I've read (if correct) that, that early in the season there might be huge amounts of mosquitoes in the bush camps due to their proximaty to water. ?? Dunno!!!!