Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
donistic haven (…depending on your mood, you might want to head for bed before or
around 1am, after which things can get messy). Shopping-wise, the commercial galleries
in Darwin are great for making an informed, ethical purchase of some Aboriginal art.
A few hours south on the Stuart Hwy you'll run into some superb national parks.
Litchfield National Park
(
Click here
) is famous for its plummeting waterfalls, bush-
walks and cooling swimming holes - so welcoming on a hot day. From here, backtrack
50km north then head east into World Heritage-listed
Kakadu National Park
(
Click
here
), a wetland of international significance with amazing rock outcrops dappled with
equally amazing, millennia-old Aboriginal rock art. Check out the Kakadu wildlife too:
crocs, lizards, snakes, brolgas, jabirus, barramundi and flocks of raucous birdlife.
Further south is
Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park
(
Click here
), where the
Katherine River cuts its way through 13 jagged ravines. Take a walk, a swim, a scenic
flight, or paddle a canoe to find an isolated spot for lunch.
Katherine
(
Click here
) is the
regional 'big-smoke': there's not a lot going on here, but it's a good place to stock-up for
your road trip or take a dip in some thermal springs. Continuing south, there are also
thermal springs at
Mataranka
(
Click here
) − soak off the road dust in a (free!)
naturally-heated swimming hole and wonder what the folks back home are doing this af-
ternoon.
