The "Top End" of Australia should be on everyone's "bucket list" - and still holds a place as our last real frontier. With European settlement only really building in the last 100 years we are only really a couple of generations on from the "Unruly Days" of the Territory in the 1920's. The local vibe is more laid back than the south - and there are still places that are relatively untouched and unexploited.
The below (with links) constitutes our own "Top End" itinerary once I'd driven, and the rest of the family had flown into Darwin:
June 21-24 (3 nights): Darwin and Surrounds: There is more than enough to see and do in Darwin to keep you entertained for 2-3 days, including museums, markets and pubs. If the "Top End" is your only destination, you could (and should) also use Darwin as a base to visit the amazing Litchfield Park which is just 100km or so down the road - and could be explored as a day trip from Darwin, or an overnighter.
June 24-26 (2 nights): Kakadu: Depending on your route, it is either side of 300km from Darwin into the main attractions at Kakadu. We had two nights in Kakadu - which effectively constituted just one and a half day's exploring, which probably was not sufficient given the traveling distances within the park. We camped at Cooinda and Gunlom Falls, and also visited Nourlangie Rock and did the Yellow Waters Cruise.
June 26-June 29 (3 nights): Wiligi, Arnhem Land: 200 kilometres, four hours and a thousand years from Jabiru lies Wiligi - on the Coburg Peninsular in West Arnhem Land. The stay here was the highlight of our Top End Trip. The only thing we would have added would have been a visit to the Injalak Arts Centre on the way in at Gunbalanya. We could have easily spent another night or two at Wiligi - particularly if we'd been towing a fishing boat!
June 29-July 1 (2 nights): Katherine: It was a solid 585km drive from Wiligi to Katherine (the first 200km to Jabiru being pretty rough) - and after 5 nights under canvas, it made sense for us to stay in a motel room at the Knotts Crossing Resort and get some washing done. Edith Falls (Leliyin) and the Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park were the key attractions for us in this region - and are a must.
July 1- July 2 (1 night): Daly Waters: 100km down the road from Katherine, we visited the beautiful Bitter Springs in Elsey National Park on our way down to Daly Waters (330km from Katherine) for a great pub stay and Territory Day Celebrations (and associated home grown Fireworks spectacular)! The thermal pools at Mataranka (just a few kilometres from Bitter Springs) would be an alternative - and it is possible to camp at either.
What Would We Do Differently?
1.) For a range of reasons, we probably didn't get the best out of Kakadu that we could have. It is really important to realise the distance and time required to travel between "attractions" in the park.....and the reality that the "best bits" are along the Kakadu Highway on the Southern end of the park. We had planned to include Maguk and Ubirr Rock (but ran short of time) and perhaps would have also included Koolpin Gorge and maybe Jim Jim falls....and it would have been good to schedule in some ranger guided walks.
2.) If this was a "once off" Top End trip, we would definitely have included Litchfield Park - which holds some very readily accessible attractions including Buley Rockholes, Florence Falls, Tolmer Falls and Wangi Falls.
The Long and The Short
We loved our time in the Top End - and could easily have included more, including Litchfield Park and perhaps some more fishing (or a fishing charter) and a visit to Douglas Daly. If doing a stand alone Top End trip, it would be quite easy to fly in and out of Darwin and include this in a "loop" type trip. After all, it is only 590km straight up the Highway from Daly Waters to Darwin.
Where to Next......Click right for The Red Centre!
Comments