Top End

Safari Country - wildlife, Aboriginal heritage and adventure

The Top End is a spectacular area rich in Aboriginal culture and with a ragged coast of tidal inlets and islands with huge quantities of endemic and introduced wildlife, impressive bird life and thousands of square kilometres of national parks criss-crossed by waterways, spectacular gorges and valleys.

Kakadu National Park has been declared a World Heritage area for both its natural and cultural importance.  Covering almost 20,000 square kilometres it is Australia’s largest National Park housing a magnificent collection of flood plains, billabongs, woodlands, rock escarpments and plummeting waterfalls.  Recorded to date are 275 species of birds, 75 species of reptiles, 25 species of frogs and over 10,000 species of insects including 1,500 species of butterflies and moths.  This land is over 2,000 million years old and has been inhabited by Aboriginal Australia for more than 50,000 years. 

Arnhem Land’s harsh environment resulted in the region’s Aboriginal culture better surviving the impact of European settlement.  It is important to visit the region with a guide who understands this rich heritage and respects the wishes of the traditional land owners.   The labyrinth of caves and rock overhangs around Mount Borradaile reveal paintings that detail the spiritual and daily life of the Aboriginal people.  Hand prints in red ochre date back 50,000 years, a painted crocodile is still vibrantly coloured despite being more than 20,000 years old; spirit figures wear elaborate head-dresses and X-ray paintings of fish and birds date from 4,000 years ago.

Arnhem Land is not only a cultural destination – the escarpment, floodplains and woodlands are teeming with wildlife.  Whilst fishing for Barramundi or boating on a billabong it is not unusual to see huge crocodiles sunning themselves on the bank while whistling duck and magpie geese line the shore and White-bellied Sea Eagles next high in the paperbarks. The Cobourg Peninsula is an idyllic setting where fish are abundant and people are sparse.  Prevalent marine life includes dolphins, sea turtles, crocodiles and Dugongs.  In addition to the marine life, historic sites, scenic beauty and the Aboriginal community, the Cobourg peninsula boasts a wealth of flora and fauna, much of it endemic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Access

• Darwin is the regional gateway

Seasons

• May to October days are mild, nights are cool and humidity is low; it is a time of idyllic weather, sunshine and fresh breezes
• From November to April is a time of high humidity, thunder and lightening storms, gushing waterfalls and lush green countryside.  Day temperatures average 32C but a late afternoon storm is guaranteed to cool.  Year round it is beautiful, take your pick – wet or dry?

Travel Tips

• A safari of up to 8 days allows time to combine a luxury bush camp, a station homestead and either a few days camping with an expert guide or some time on the coast
• If time is short, 2 or 3 nights at Bamurru Plains on the Mary River Flood Plains provides a fabulous glimpse of the Top End and easy access to Kakadu National Park
• Enjoy a sunset cruise on Darwin Harbour
• Stay in an ex-buffalo hunter's bush camp to explore the catacomb of rock art galleries in Arnhem Land
• Glide across the seasonal floodplains by airboat to experience the region's prolific birdlife
• Take a swag and picnic hamper by helicopter and camp out beside pristine freshwater swimming holes
• Sit back over a glass of wine in one of Darwin's waterfront restaurants and watch the light show in the wet season storm skies
• Enjoy a glass of wine and the golden light of dusk on the river as you wait for the barramundi to bite, then land a big one to have cooked on the BBQ just an hour or so later ...  fish was never sweeter