Day 39-43 Kakadu National Park

It was time to hit Crocodile Dundee country. We didn’t quite know what to expect but who can say no to a natural infinity pool or swim along small pools above a waterfall, where crocodile signs says ‘swim at own risk’.

Perhaps not as wild as we hoped for, Kakadu still offered plenty of nice spots. Some 4-wheel-driving in the heart of the park was an unexpected treat where mud driving and water driving was all awesome.

The flies, the heat and the humidity were all a bit unbareable at times, we must admit. The celcius reached 35+ most days and longer walks needed to be done in the morning or afternoon. However, we would still recommend visiting Kakadu at this time of year rather than earlier. We got told the camping sites were all overflowing just a month ago, and we would rather deal with the heat than too many people around and no place to stay.

Unfortunately both Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls were closed due to rain a few days prior to our arrival. They were under 2 meters of water and a new crocodile survey of the area was most likely to be done before allowing access to both falls again. So next time it is.

Our top picks in Kakadu (in no particular order):
1. Gunlom waterfall and natural infinity pool – one of few places where it was safe (at your own risk, though) to go for a much needed swim, both at the top pool and the plunge pool at the bottom of the waterfall.
2. Ubirr and Cahills crossing – at Ubirr lookout you get an amazing view of the wetland and also into Arnhem land. This is the place to watch the sunset and also to explore Aboriginal rock art, which some are many thousand years old. At the nearby Cahills crossing you can see saltwater crocodiles lurking in the muddy waters, waiting for some barramundi to swim by.
3. Rock Hole – a hidden pearl in the monsoon forest. It’s not listed on any of the maps you get from Bowali visitor centre and there’s no sign to tell you where to go either. We were told by a tour guide and we decided to quickly stop there, and boy was it an amazing little waterfall and pool with crystal clear water. They said it was safe to go for a swim but we didn’t want to risk it… Apparently you could see turtles if you took your goggles along and went for a dive.

Kakadu is a definate DO!