Darwin Escapes: Kakadu National Park - North

IGNORE the grumblings of “Kakadu, Kaka-don’t”, this globally famous 20,000km² national park can fill half a year’s worth of weekend adventures – and you’ll need all that time to do this huge world wonder some kind of justice, with some of the lesser-known areas of the park worth exploring just as much as the more popular ones.

Our northern Kakadu adventure kicks off with a leisurely 1.5-hour run from Darwin via the Arnhem Highway before you reach the park entrance. The temptation here is to punch through to the main tourist hub of Jabiru, but to do so means you’ll miss one of Kakadu’s less-visited highlights: the Waldak Irrmbal (West Alligator Head) track, which heads north to Pococks Beach located on the park’s northern coastline, abutting Van Diemen Gulf.

This drive is a cracker and if you have a spare day it is well worth camping somewhere along this route. Two Mile Hole and Four Mile Hole are great fishing spots, with Two Mile Hole (12km in from the turn-off) allowing some access to the Wildman River, plus a billabong just before the river.

However, be aware that this is saltwater croc country; this writer has seen a sizeable salty sunning itself in the long grass beside the billabong at Two Mile, only spotted when its head moved as we walked toward the billabong’s banks. There is a small campsite here.

Four Mile Hole is even better for fishing and is reached by backtracking four kilometres south from Two Mile to the Two Mile/Four Mile junction. Four Mile is, itself, reached via another junction – turning left and driving for about 15 minutes will see you at the Four Mile camping area, which has no facilities. So, if you’re looking to doss down here, be prepared.

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Returning to the main Waldak Irrmbal track and continuing north for a farther 50km is challenging in parts, but a great experience overall; the near-flat Manassi Floodplain that dominates this part of the park is only occasionally interrupted by stands of savannah forest, which increases in density (and is joined by huge palms) as you near Waldak Irrmbal and Pococks Beach itself.

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The facilities at Waldak Irrmbal are relatively basic, but both Jungle Camp and Pococks Beach campsite offer a far more remote camping experience than you’ll find at one of Kakadu’s more easily accessed (and thus popular) campsites.

You can explore Pococks Beach (be croc-aware; saltwater crocs are found here) by foot, and it’s also worth exploring east of the campsites. The rocky outcrops and mangroves near the mouth of the West Alligator River are full of things to check out.

It’s also worth keeping an eye out for the native orange-footed scrub fowl – or easier – its nest. This ground-dwelling bird builds what is more appropriately dubbed a huge mound (they can be up to 4.5m tall and 9m in diameter) that is quite a sight. Just be prepared for noise during the night if your camp is too close to said nest...

The next day is the 80km return south via Waldak Irrmbal track, before reaching the Arnhem Highway and turning left. However, instead of following the highway all the way to Jabiru, follow it until you see a signposted 4x4-only track that leads south.

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This is a great ‘shortcut’ that, again, takes you away from the heaving dry season crowds on the bitumen roads and passes by some beautiful waterholes – Bucket, Alligator and Red Lily billabongs – before you ford the southern ‘tail’ of the Alligator River and join Old Jim Jim Road, another 4x4-only route.

Eventually, and a bit sadly, you’ll have to rejoin the bitumen at the Kakadu Highway, the park’s other main thoroughfare. For this second night we’d recommend camping at Yellow Water (located slightly north just after you rejoin the Kakadu Highway) and partaking in the next morning’s sunrise cruise on this huge waterhole; birdlife, saltwater crocs and turtles can be easily seen here.

For the final day continue north along the Kakadu Highway to the Nourlangie turn-off. Nourlangie contains some brilliant rock art and some short walks that take you to all the main sites.

Next stop is Jabiru for the excellent cultural centre before (hopefully) timing your drive right and reaching Ubirr – another globally lauded rock-art site – where, after perusing the eons-old artwork, you walk to a vantage point that looks over the park’s northern floodplains for sunset. It’s brilliant.