What do you get when you put 23 agents and one Karryon writer on a Darwin sunset cruise? A very good way to raise a glass to a fun and action-packed famil trip to experience some of the highlights of this corner of the NT.
After spending the day networking at Tourism NT’s NT Round Up annual domestic trade event and before the NT Round Up famil, we have the warm wind in our hair and cool sparkling wine in our hands as Sail Darwin’s 50ft catamaran takes us on a three-hour cruise past the city and beyond.
The more I chat with people, the more I realise I’m far from the only one who can’t wait to see more of the Northern Territory and by the time we’re back ashore and strolling to our rooms at the Adina Waterfront I can see those famil friendship bonds starting to form.
Meet the crocodiles
When our Autopia Tours minibus pulls up in the morning, we’re all raring to go on what will be the first trip to Kakadu for most of our group.
While Autopia Tours has created a special trip for us, their tours include one-day Darwin to Kakadu trips, including a jumping croc cruise and Indigenous rock art and a five-day tour taking in Kakadu, Nitmiluk and Litchfield national parks.
As we head out on the Arnhem Highway, we soon discover our bus driver and guide, Dani Sinn, is an absolute wealth of knowledge about the land we’re going to be travelling through and has spent most of her life sharing her insights with visitors to the NT.
Our first stop is just under an hour’s drive from Darwin at the Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruises. Here, we take our seats on a small boat and head out onto the Adelaide River where one of the world’s highest concentrations of saltwater crocodiles lurk beneath the surface.
Even though I know I’m on a boat with croc experts I still feel a little adrenaline urge for flight (I mean, I’m not going to fight) when I see a large saltwater crocodile cutting through the water as it swims towards me.
What happens next as they tempt the crocodiles to rise out of the water to snatch meat off the
ends of poles is a lesson in croc safety that you never forget.
Yes, I’m impressed by the crocodiles’ moves. But I’m mostly realising just how important the “keep your arms and hands inside the boat” warnings are in this part of the world and gaining a healthy respect for the whole “staying five metres away from the water’s edge” idea.
Spectacular Jumping Crocodile Cruises is owned and operated by Arirrki Aboriginal Corporation with profits going back into supporting the community and as well as learning a lot about crocodiles, I also had a chance to admire the whistling kites soaring overhead before we hit the road again.
After a comfort and drink stop at The Bark Hut Inn and a group photo at the Welcome to Kakadu National Park sign, we see the biggest crocodile of our trip and get ready to sleep under its skin.
The Indigenous-owned Mercure Crocodile Hotel is found in the Jabiru township in Kakadu National Park and as the name suggests, is shaped like a huge crocodile. They say never smile at a crocodile, but I can’t help it when I see its huge yellow eye as we drive into its mouth.
The hotel has 110 rooms with a shaded swimming pool in the crocodile’s tummy. While my room may not be the most modern with older-style furniture, it feels spacious, comfortable and clean and I love finding the full-size Kakadu Organics products in the bathroom along with a dedicated makeup remover face washer.
I’m also impressed by the hotel’s art gallery and the huge painted flying foxes hanging from the ceiling and after a three-course dinner where our choices include barramundi, buffalo and kangaroo, I watch a dingo wander by as I make my way back to my room.
Kakadu – three ways in one day
Before heading to Kakadu, visitors need to purchase an NT Parks Pass. Prices vary depending on the season, ranging from AUD$19 in Tropical Summer for a concession to $100 for a family pass in the Dry Season.
Passes may already be included in tour prices, do not apply for NT residents and are valid for seven days after they’re purchased online.
Once you have a pass you have to decide how to spend your day. And boy, did we have a good one planned for us.
We start with a half-hour Kakadu Air scenic flight where we are given a bird’s eye view of this incredible Top End landscape and watch it change from ancient rock formations to wetlands.
Kakadu Air offers helicopter and fixed-wing scenic flights and we strap into our seats on planes that carry up to eight passengers where everyone has a window seat.
It may only be 8:45am but our plane is already so hot I’m glad I’ve brought my fan and a bottle of water. Our pilot tells us it is hotter inside the planes than out, which considering the NT temperatures can be a lot, it’s worth trying to get the earliest flight you can to beat the heat.
That said, for these views, the heat is well worth it and adds to the ‘I’m really in Kakadu now’ moment.
Back on land, it’s just a half-hour’s drive to see some of the world’s oldest rock art. The Burrungkuy site in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed national park has in the past mistakenly been called Nourlangie Rock and is home to a 1.5km circular walking track that includes the Anbangbang gallery.
Here, Dani talks us through the symbolism and stories behind rock art that’s up to 20,000 years old
and adds a whole extra dimension to the experience that makes me all the more grateful to see this with my own eyes for the first time.
Then it’s time to head to Cooinda Lodge, a village-style resort owned by and on the land of the Murrumburr people.
While we stay in the hotel lodge rooms, which sleep up to four people with private ensuites, we have a chance to see Cooinda’s latest way to stay, the Yellow Water Villas. Introduced last year, there are five safari tent-style villas designed for the luxury traveller with a soft king-size bed, private bathroom and an outdoor bathtub and barbecue on the verandah.
Cooinda also offers 20 glamping tents with shared amenities as well as a camping ground with powered and unpowered sites.
As we’re visiting when the water is still high, we’re able to walk from our rooms straight down to the boats for a Yellow Water Billabong sunset cruise.
In the dry season, guests have to travel to another spot on the banks of Jim Jim Creek to board their boats, so it feels like an extra treat to cruise along a channel from the lodge.
I’m soon mesmerised by the views and as if I wasn’t feeling lucky enough just to be looking out at the waterlilies and lotus flowers, we see the first buffalo and osprey of the year along with crocodiles and comb-crested jacanas (aka ‘Jesus birds’, thanks to their ability to appear like they’re walking on water).
When we return to the lodge for dinner at Mimi’s Restaurant, we go from watching to eating crocodiles along with other Kakadu-inspired dishes at an Indigenous Tasting Platter dinner.
Katherine & Nitmiluk National Park
It’s hard to leave Kakadu behind but with so much still to see in Katherine and Nitmiluk National Park, we’re back on the road after breakfast.
Just outside of Katherine, we meet Top End Aboriginal artist Manuel Pamkal, who soon has us hooked on every word as he shares his life story, before teaching us how to make fire and use a spear and woomera at Top Didj Cultural Experiences and Art Gallery.
Then we learn about the way NT farmers work the land from horse and dog training to camp drafting, with some country songs between lessons, at the Katherine Outback Experience, which won the Best Tourist Attraction at the 2023 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.
From Katherine, it’s only around 20 minutes to the Nitmiluk Gorge section of the national park. Once again, if passes aren’t included in your tour you will need an NT Parks Pass with options starting from $10 for adults and $5 for children for single-day passes up to $150 for a 12-month family pass.
While you can camp in the park, we are treated to the most luxurious way to stay in Nitmiluk National Park, Cicada Lodge, which is 100 per cent Indigenous-owned and -operated by the Jawoyn Association. The lodge has 18 spacious rooms with private balconies in bushland above Nitmiluk Gorge.
As we sip drinks by the pool, I feel the bliss that comes with staying in a luxury lodge in a very special place. And after a delicious dinner and a deep sleep in a soft bed, I start a new day just a few
minutes’ drive away from an NT highlight: a Nitmiluk gorge cruise.
Also known as Katherine Gorge, Nitmiluk is a 13-gorge system where rocks tower more than 70m above you. From May until August, you can do a four-hour three-gorge tour that includes a chance to go swimming, but during our April visit the water was still too high to reach the third gorge, so we cruised through two of the gorges instead.
Jawoyn Association’s Nitmiluk Tours runs the river cruises and, apart from the natural beauty of our surroundings, I loved hearing about the Dreamtime stories from our cultural guides as well as learning about the plants, animals and geological features of the gorge.
Final stop on the NT Round Up famil: Darwin
When we step back onto the minibus and Dani starts the drive back to Darwin, I can’t believe how much we’ve seen and done with just three nights away from the city.
But our NT Round Up famil adventure isn’t over quite yet.
For our last night, we join a special Darwin Gourmet Tour that includes an introduction to the city’s street art scene, including using the Darwin Street Art Festival app to see murals come to life, drinks at The Stone House where you can try Darwin Distilling Co gins and dinner at Snapper Rocks back down on the waterfront.
And what appeared at our last dinner? You guessed it. Crocodile. And it was delicious.
For more information, visit northernterritory.com
Amanda was a guest of Tourism NT.
