Kakadu National Park

Introducing Kakadu National Park

You’ve probably absorbed many of the images and information that abounds about this NT icon. You would have heard that it’s Australia’s largest national park, sheltering a variety of habitats and wildlife, including saltwater crocodiles. And it’s well known that the park is World Heritage listed. But experiencing the extraordinary natural and human histories kept at Kakadu defies anything you’ve read (including this). Even old-hand nature buffs will find for the first time seed pods, insects and animals unique to the area. The 2000 million-year-old rocks tell 20, 000-year-old stories: of the existence of long-extinct giant kangaroos and thylacines. There are hundreds of square kilometres of park, so allow at least three days to discover a smidgen.

The park is joint managed by Parks Australia and the traditional owners, the Bininj in the north and Mungguy in the south, who have lived in Kakadu for at least 50, 000 years. There are several settlements in the park, and much of Kakadu is Aboriginal land, leased to the government for its current use. About one-third of the park rangers are Aboriginal people.

Enclosed by the park, but not part of it, are several tracts of land designated for other purposes, principally uranium mining at Ranger.

Last updated: Mar 24, 2009