Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Darwin and Kakadu NP, hotels and sightseeing

I'm thinking about heading out to Darwin on a June trip to Australia. I've heard that Kakadu National Park is high on the list of places people should see down under.

I'm wondering, though, about time. Is two or three days enough time to get the flavor of the park? If we spend a night in Darwin, is there much to do there?

Also, I'd appreciate any lodging recomendations in Darwin and Kakadu. Thanks.

Unlike U.S. parks and the very few conpact attractions in Australia, I would venture to say that the best way to experience Australian parks, especially those in the top end, "red centre" and west, is to camp and hike them. There is very little that one can capture quickly unlike (most of) Yosemite and Yellowstone (and also Uluru (Ayres Rock) and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas)). Tourist infrastructure near/immediately outside the parks in NT and WA (except Uluru) are generally very limited and basic. The population of WA and NT is much smaller than Oregon's in an area that encompasses most of the lower 48 states in the pacific and mountain time zones (and most of these are concentrated in a very few spots).

I don't know how much of Kakadu's 'flavor' I actually managed to capture, but I came away satisfied after only a day tour from Darwin (including both boat and plane inside the park).

[This message has been edited by ajnaro (edited 09-24-2003).]

It is quite an adventure ... just remember to treat it with the respect it deserves. Yesterday someone was killed by a salt-water croc 80 km from Darwin, and his 2 friends were treed for 22 hours while the croc stalked them. This happens every year. Their mistake? Biking by the river and stopping to wash off their bikes. Story is at http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/12/23/1071941695062.html

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by DCAview:
I'm thinking about heading out to Darwin on a June trip to Australia. I've heard that Kakadu National Park is high on the list of places people should see down under.

I'm wondering, though, about time. Is two or three days enough time to get the flavor of the park? If we spend a night in Darwin, is there much to do there?

Also, I'd appreciate any lodging recomendations in Darwin and Kakadu. Thanks.</font>

Two or three days are sufficient. It takes about for hours of easy driving to the main lodge. Accomodations run around AUS $ 80.-
At the lodge itself you can book two to three hours boat trips that are very interesting. The best part though was getting a 4wheel drive in Darwin in order to make a side trip from the lodge. About ten miles out, there are some beautiful lakes with waterfalls and steep cliffs from which one can jump. The driving is quite adventurous on a bush track and in the forest. One has to cross a few rivers and it is very bumpy but, God is it beautiful...

May I add that these spots are unreachable with a normal car.

They give you all infos right at the lodge.

Don't take the warnings lightly. Don't ever waddle into one of those fords and stop rather 200 feet away. Those crocs really mean business.

Sorry I forgot about Darwin.

The city is uninspiring and not worth the trouble. The best is to arrive late afternoon, get a car and check into a hotel (we stayed at the Novotel, not too bad but don't expect wonders)and leave early in the morning for Kakadu.

Just one thing: if you are getting another hotel, and by chance get a room on the ground floor, don't open your door in the morning too impulsively... Check first. We were met once by a big varan who did not like to be disturbed in his morning walk...

For those that do not know!!!!!

Definition[n] any of various large tropical carnivorous lizards of Africa Asia and Australia; fabled to warn of crocodiles


Synonyms: monitor, monitor lizard


See Also: African monitor, dragon lizard, genus Varanus, giant lizard, Komodo dragon, Komodo lizard, lizard, Varanus,Varanus komodoensis, Varanus niloticus

How many nights is just right to stay in the Darwin area. Thanks !

Darwin is really not interesting, a day alone is sufficient, but if you plan on going to Kakadu National Park, count at least two to three days. Many things to see.

Darwin is really not interesting, a day alone is sufficient, but if you plan on going to Kakadu National Park, count at least two to three days. Many things to see.
Darwin is a sweet little town, but agree that it is most useful as a jumping-off point for a visit to Kakadu.

Make sure not to miss out on Katherine Gorge or Litchfield National Park while you're in the area as well. It's easy enough to do a round-circuit from Darwin to see all the sights - three nights would be a bare minimum and would be rushed, five nights would allow a more relaxed pace, while still seeing all the highlights (and many people could easily spend a week or more doing the circuit). There's both tours available or you can rent a car, and most of the roads are in pretty good condition (there's only a couple of attractions in Kakadu that aren't possible to do in a regular car, most are reasonably accessible).

Thanks all for the info. One last question, about how many kilometers would i drive to do the circular route. As I have two options for my car rental.

You should be safe if you budget for 1000km all up, that'll give you a buffer for side-trips off the main roads, and general round town driving each day too. Fortunately most roads up that way once you're out of town have no speed limits, so you can get around pretty quickly.

Thank you!!!!

We will be in Darwin for a couple of nights in August. What are your opinions as to the best lodgings in town? I think it seems to be the Crowne Plaza from what I have seen on other websites. Any other suggestions? Any food recommendations? Thanks in advance for your informed and helpful opinions.

We will be going in August. Sorry no one has replied to your post.

Aurtralian Paciific Tours (APT) uses the following three hotels for their tours Novotel Atrium , Holiday Inn and the Mirambeena Resort (cheapest).

You might go to the web sites and see if any of these meet your needs.

Hopefully you (me?), will get some informed responses from others.

You could try the hotel at the Casino.

I've never been to Darwin (http://www.wotif.com/Search.jsp?refine=simpleSearch&country=1&region=2416) so cannot help with accomm/restaurant recommendations, however wotif.com is one of the more popular last minute accomm websites => even if you plan to book > 14 days in advance, still worth calling the establishment to see if they will give you a good rate.

It has worked for me in the past.

Best of luck & safe travels.

Cheers, gb.

I have friends living in Darwin who said the Atrium is a nice hotel

I thought I would provide an answer to my own question here. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza, and while I wouldn't highly recommend it, it is acceptable. I had some questions about the cleanliness of our shower, and I was aggravated that we could not open our windows. Yes, Darwin is hot and muggy, but sometimes you need a little fresh air, and the AC can just be too much. The staff were quite gracious, however.

I was intrigued by a hotel down the street - the Palms City Resort located right on the Esplanade. It was a group of bungalows situated in the middle of a tropical garden, and all in the center of Darwin. The website looks pretty good, but I did not personally look at the rooms. Worth checking out, in my opinion, since it looks like quite a unique local experience, as opposed to just another hotel.

I spent a night at the Palms City Resort last week, and wasn't pleased with it. The hotel and outlying cabins was just built in 2003. I found that surprising, as my room had the decor of a 60s roadside motel.

I stayed in a duplex cabin. The room was barely wider than my bed. Along one wall was a small closet and built in kitchen unit - refrigerator, burner, and microwave oven. You could sit on the bed and cook. There was a very small bathroom, a wall mounted TV, a chair, and a chest with a top designed to hold a suitcase. The nicest part was the spacious porch/deck, with a table and 3 chairs. There was a bbq on the deck.

The duplex cabins were built quite close together. The landscaping was lush, but the density of the cabins meant very little light reached the rooms. Breakfast was not included in the rate. The breakfast room was really unappealing.

However, the hotel was in a very convenient location. The Airport Bus dropped off in front, and the Tour Tub picked up there. It was an easy walk to an internet cafe on the adjacent street, as well as restaurants and pubs. I had a delicious meal at Hanuman (www.hanuman.com.au), which specializes in Thai/Malay/Tandoori food. This was just one block away.

I didn't rent a car and regretted it. Darwin was lightly trafficed, and appeared very easy to get around in a rental car.

We just were in Darwin and stayed at two among the supposedly best hotels in town, the Crowne Plaza and the Saville Park Suites (Premier room). Both were OK -- neither was even close to luxury. They were both usefully located downtown, which the casino and its hotel are not. Saville Park suites did include a full size washer/dryer in the room which would be quite nice if you plan to arrive there with dirty laundry!

We had lunch at Hanuman. It was pretty good but not memorable. The food was better than the service.

If you stay in Kakadu, the nicest hotel is the Gagaduju Holiday Inn, which looks like a croc from the air, where no one actually sees it from. But, and this is a HUGE but, the second floor rooms (called the "deluxe" rooms) have been remodeled and the ground floor rooms have not. The second floor rooms are quite decent and the ground floor rooms are grim. This is one hotel where you need to get an upgraded room.

We spent two nights in Kakadu and found things to do to fill the time, including driving to Gunlom Pond which was used in one of the key scenes in "Crocodile Dundee" -- the one where the heroine gets attacked by a croc. It's pretty and, ironically, one of the few ponds in the entire park where there are no saltwater crocs and hence safe to swim. However it's 26km of dirt road to get to it and 100km from Jabiru, so not many make it there. 4wd is often recommended (we had a Land Cruiser) but not always necessary.

The Yellow Water cruise is touristy but worth doing. Do either a sunrise or sunset trip if at all possible. And of course you need to see one, or preferably both, of the Aboriginal rock art sites.

We also paid a "permit fee" of AU$13.20 per person to drive into Aborigine land by fording the South Alligator River and proceeding 16km to an arts and crafts center. Worth doing only if you're a big fan of traditional Aborigine artwork, as, despite guidebook claims to the contrary, prices weren't any better than elsewhere.

We saw a fair number of wallaroos on a short park bush walk around one of the billabongs.

The waterfalls at Litchfield are also nice, but the main ones can all be seen in about 3-4 hours (once you get there!).

I noticed now on Trip Advisor that the Darwin Airport Resort now seems to get the top rating for Darwin hotels. The airport location may not be the best, but Darwin is very easy to drive around. I wonder if anyone here has any experience with this hotel. We seem to get through Darwin pretty regularly now.