Kakadu from Darwin & Surrounds: What Not to Do
You can visit Kakadu from Darwin on a day trip by we did a little more than that. Darwin, Kakadu, and Nitmulik were on our six-week trip around Australia as part of our outback section. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can read about our whole trip here.
We spent the first part near Adelaide, then Margaret River, went up to Exmouth, then made our way to Darwin via Broome and the Kimberleys. It was fantastic and I’ve loved sharing all the great parts and the not-so-great parts. Darwin & Kakadu were definitely our favorite so get ready!
When I travel, I tend to over plan, it’s just who I am. Please don’t tell me not to over plan, that just doesn’t work for me. In fact, whenever I don’t book something ahead of time or don’t do the planning on my own, I end up disappointed in at least some part. For me, that was this part of the trip.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I was not disappointed in the area at all, we just did it completely wrong. Thus, today I’m sharing our itinerary of the area and how I think you should change it. It’s rare that I leave and area and think “well I did that completely backwards”, but this time I did. There are some great National parks in this area so to help you see it better, I’m breaking it down.
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6 Days in Kakadu from Darwin & Surrounds: How We Spent it
To start us off, here’s the breakdown of what we did.
First Day: We drove 7.5 hours into the Katherine Gorge area, traditionally called Nitmulik.
Second Day: Around Nitmulik
Third Day: We drove 3.5 hours to Kakadu National Park
Fourth Day: Around Kakadu. We did the Gunlom Falls Walk, the Maguk Walk, the Nawurlandja Lookout Walk at sunset, and the Nourlangie Rock Walk.
Fifth Day: We drove 4 hours to Darwin via Litchfield National Park
Sixth Day: Around Darwin. We drove to do jumping croc cruise in the morning, then we went to lunch in Darwin, dove with the Crocs at Crocosaurus Cove, had dinner at the Mindil Beach night market, and watched the sunset over the Mindil Beach to end the day. It sounds like a lot but it really wasn’t too much, it was just right.
5 Mistakes to Avoid
So now that you know what we did, I would say we made 5 big mistakes and here they are.
1. We spent 2 nights at Nitmulik
While the gorge is lovely, the only way to really see it is by boat and it only takes a couple of hours. You can definitely do this in half a day. It was nice to have some down time, but we had to rush in other areas, which I don’t recommend. I would say if you’re going to drive in from Lake Argyle (which is what we did), spend one night there, do the cruise the next morning, and then head to Kakadu. You’ll be glad you did.
2. You need to spend at least 3 nights in Kakadu
Kakadu is a very special place and I don’t think it gets the love it deserves. There’s so much culture and a lot of great trails to off-road and lovely waterfalls to see. We did not get to see Jim Jim Falls as we would have needed another day.
3. Kakadu is large and we didn’t know this
In order to get a brochure and map you have to go to the visitor center which is about an hour into the park. You’ll need to plan the walks you want to do and pay attention to how far apart they are, because it is a very large park.
4. We did not spend the night near Litchfield
We basically drove through it on our way to Darwin. You need more time, I wish we would have stayed a couple of nights here and not at Nitmulik.
5. Spend another night in Darwin if you Can
I wouldn’t say we missed anything or that I wished we had more time, but it would have been nice to have another day in Darwin to relax.
8 Places Not to Miss Near Darwin
You now know what we did and the mistakes we made, but I also want to share the parts you do not want to miss. So to end, here are my favorites in the area and what I think you should definitely not miss.
1. Gunlom Falls (Kakadu)
Be sure to walk up to the top and see natures infinity pool. You can also swim up there because the crocs can’t get up the waterfall. It’s a very serene place. I could have spent the entire day there.
2. Maguk Falls
Maguk is a fun little off-road track that takes about 30-45 minutes and then about a half hour easy hike down to the falls. It’s a lovely waterfall and usually croc safe, but check with the visitor center to be sure and head the warning signs.
3. Aboriginal Art
There is great aboriginal art in and around Darwin. Don’t miss your chance to buy it.
4. Tolmer Falls
This is a waterfall that is accessible to everyone as it can be seen from a platform.
5. Florence Falls (Litchfield)
We loved swimming here and it’s a popular one so get there early!
6. Wangi Falls (Litchfield)
This is a great place to swim but there’s no need to do the whole walk. You can walk around to the look out and get a great photo of the falls and then swim under the waterfall.
6. Jumping Crocs
You can’t go to the Darwin area and not see crocs. The jumping croc tours are definitely worth the trip out.
7. Crocosaurus Cove
You don’t need long, but you do need to stop in and dive with the crocs if you’re an adrenaline junkie like me.
8. Mindil Beach Sunset Market
I seemed to have not taken any photos at this market, but it’s a great place for food, a little shopping, great atmosphere, and you can walk down to the beach to see the sunset.
Avoid our Biggest Mistake
Top Tip:
Our biggest mistake was too much time at Nitmulik.
In order to avoid this, I recommend a tour from Darwin to see the gorge.
That way, you can see it but spend more time in other areas.
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