Why we Love a Jabiru Dreaming Kakadu and Top End Tour

This tour brings the best of Kakadu National Park to life visiting famous Twin and Jim Jim Falls, cruising the Yellow River spotting huge crocs and witnessing ancient Aboriginal Rock Art.

You will also discover Gunlom Falls and Katherine Gorge’s Nitmiluk National Park and *Top Didj experience with renowned Aboriginal artist Manuel Pamkal.

To complete this Jabiru Dreaming Kakadu and Top End tour is diving into the crystal clear pools and waterfalls of Litchfield National Park.

Your nights are spent in private campsites, cooking over the campfire and marvelling at a million stars over the clear Southern skies.

Your tour will include the following highlights;

• Swim in the pristine waterholes of Litchfield National Park
• Yellow Waters cruise spotting crocodiles and other wildlife
• Kakadu National Park & Remote 4×4 Tracks
• Witness 20,000 year old indigenous art of Nourlangie and Ubirr
• Witness the magnificent Twin & Jim Jim Falls up close and personal
• Canoe, hike or cruise the majestic Katherine Gorge
• Hands on cultural experience in Katherine

Inclusions

• Professional guide
• Air-conditioned 4WD vehicle
• Yellow Waters Wildlife Cruise
• Camping equipment including permanent tent with beds and mattress
• All linen: pillow & pillowcase, fitted sheet, sleeping bag, towel
• 4 Breakfast – 5 Lunch – 4 Dinner
• Drinking water (please provide your own bottle)

Itinerary and Sleeping

Camping Accommodation is at private campsites offering shared facilities.
Campsites include hot water, flushing toilets and permanent safari tents.
Tents include real beds, all linen, pillow, sleeping bags and towel.

Day 1:

You will be collected from your Darwin accommodation between 6:00-7.00am for the short journey to beautiful Litchfield National Park.

This park offers the chance to explore stunning waterfalls, spring-fed streams and rugged sandstone escarpments. Discover intriguing cathedral and magnetic termite mounds and swim, hike and explore Florence and Wangi Falls before enjoying a picnic lunch.

After lunch we leave the highway behind and hit the dirt travelling along the Marrakai Road before joining the Old Jim Jim Road taking us deep into Kakadu National Park.

Travelling past billabongs and traversing water crossings brings ample opportunity for wildlife spotting. Arrive at your private campsite complete with comfortable permanent tents at Cooinda where we spend the night enjoying dinner and some stargazing.

Day 2:

Awake for breakfast this morning before joining an iconic Yellow Waters Cruise. A must do activity within Kakadu National Park, the award winning Yellow Waters cruise is Aboriginal owned and centres around a spectacular billabong system that is home to some remarkable and diverse wildlife. Spotting crocodiles is only one of the many wildlife viewing opportunities on this unique water system.

Departing camp we travel to nearby Nourlangie Rock. Here you can see how local Aboriginal people lived in this area through changing times. Environmental and social changes are reflected in the rock art and in the ground, where archaeologists have uncovered over 20,000 years of Aboriginal occupation.

After lunch visit the Bowali Visitor Centre, a Gun-djeihmi name for the local area and creek on land owned by the Mirarrclan. See the audio-visual presentations and Marrawuddi Gallery showcasing Aboriginal art by artists from within Kakadu and the wider region.

Later this afternoon we arrive at the culturally significant Aboriginal art site of Ubirr, located within the East Alligator region of the Park. Here you will view a wide range of ancient Aboriginal art which will be interpreted by your guide. Learn the story of the Rainbow Serpent and climb the Nadab Lookout for panoramic views over the floodplain and beyond into Arnhem Land.

After learning about the area, it’s time to pick out a quiet spot to sit while we watch the sun set over the Kakadu escarpment before making the short journey to our private and permanent campsite for the night where you can choose to spend the night in our comfortable permanent tents.

Day 3:

Today the jewels of Kakadu National Park await as we depart early travelling to Twin and Jim Jim Falls.

Explore Twin Falls Gorge which is accessed by 4-wheel drive track, a boat shuttle service and a rocky walking track and boardwalk. Once there relax on the sandy banks and admire the falls.

There’s more 4-wheel driving as we make our way to Jim Jim Falls where a walk through monsoon forest and over boulders takes us to the waterfall and plunge pool which are surrounded by spectacular 150 metre cliffs.

Notes:

• • Twin Falls boat shuttle service is additional $12.50 paid direct on day

Day 4:

Today, the pace relaxes as we head into Gunlom Falls for a full morning to enjoy all the spectacular area has to offer.

Relax around Gunlom’s lower plunge pool before hiking to the top of the falls where an amazing view is on offer, while you can enjoy the many rock holes. For the energetic, keep going to the rear fall where you will be rewarded with a swim under the waterfall.

After a tasty lunch it’s all aboard as we travel on to the Katherine Region. Later today stop at Edith Falls for a refreshing dip in the plunge pool there before retiring to our private campsite near Katherine for dinner, good company and a well deserved rest.

Day 5:

It’s up early this morning to get into Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge) before the masses arrive.

You can go on a boat cruise, energetically canoe (both optional and own expense) or walk along the sheer rock walls that make this place so spectacular.

Spend some time here exploring the spiritual home of the Jawoyn Aboriginal people before enjoying lunch.

Afterwards we visit the award winning *Top Didj Cultural Experience. Interact with Top End Aboriginal artist Manuel Pamkal and ask questions about aboriginal culture while being enlightened on the significance of his painting style, weapons used and how he lives off the land.

Later on, it’s time to sit back and relax for your journey back to Darwin where your guide will deliver you at your chosen accommodation.

Notes:

• • Optional Boat Cruise & Canoe Hire at own expense

Departs/Returns:

This tour runs seasonally only.

• Departs Darwin:
  1 May 2019 – 31 October 2019
  Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday
  Pick-ups from 6:00am
• Returns Darwin:
  Day 5 approx. 6:00pm

What to Bring

• Wide brimmed hat, sunscreen, insect repellent
• Sustainable Water bottle/container (at least 1.5 litres)
• Walking shoes/boots
• Toiletries, swim wear, towel
• Comfortable and casual clothing
• Head Torch and Camera

Eco-Certification Awards

The following Eco-Accreditation from Eco Tourism Australia had been achieved.

• Eco Certified Advanced Ecotourism

Australia’s leading and most innovative ecotourism products, providing an opportunity to learn about the environment with an operator who is committed to achieving best practice when using resources wisely, contributing to the conservation of the environment and helping local communities.

• Climate Action Business

Businesses have undertaken a set of adaption and emissions reduction actions but are not necessarily measuring their carbon footprint.

• Respect Our Culture (ROC)

The Respecting Our Culture (ROC) program encourages the tourism industry to operate in ways that respect and reinforce Indigenous cultural heritage and the living cultures of Indigenous communities.

ROC certified tourism operators are committed to protecting cultural authenticity and integrity, developing sound business practices, environmental protection and acknowledging Indigenous peoples spiritual connection to the land and water.