Top End Adventure: Kakadu & Litchfield

An early swim at Wangi Falls (when the ranger has declared it open) and a stop at Tolmer Falls lookout. Then it is the long road east: about 330 km (4 hours) into Kakadu National Park. In the late afternoon you board the included Yellow Water Billabong cruise at Cooinda for two hours among saltwater crocodiles, jabirus, whistling ducks and sea eagles as the light turns gold.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
• Overnight: Cooinda, hotel
• Travel: ~330 km, 4 hours + 2-hour cruise

Begin at the Aboriginal cultural centre near Cooinda, where Bininj and Mungguy explain seasons, kinship and bush foods. Then the real 4x4 adventure: about 60 km of unsealed track (around 2 hours) to Jim Jim Falls, with a 1 km boulder scramble to the plunge pool beneath 200-metre cliffs. A boat shuttle and boardwalk lead to Twin Falls, where swimming is not permitted. The track usually opens from around June, subject to Parks Australia; earlier in the season we visit Maguk gorge instead.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
• Overnight: Kakadu, permanent safari tented camp
• Travel: ~140 km incl. 4x4 track

Drive north to Burrungkuy, also known as Nourlangie, and walk the 1.5 km loop past the Anbangbang rock shelter, used by people for thousands of years, and the vivid painting of Namarrgon, the Lightning Man. Climb to Gunwarrddehwarrde Lookout for a view over the escarpment, then continue to Jabiru and an afternoon by the hotel pool.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
• Overnight: Jabiru, hotel
• Travel: ~130 km, 2 hours

A morning at the Bowali Visitor Centre, then on to Cahills Crossing on the East Alligator River, the border with Arnhem Land, where crocodiles often gather on the rising tide (watch only from the viewing platform). In the late afternoon explore Ubirr: galleries of x-ray style fish and turtles, a painting of a thylacine and the Rainbow Serpent, then climb to the Nadab lookout for sunset over the floodplain.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Overnight: Jabiru, hotel
• Travel: ~90 km return

Stop at Mamukala Wetlands, where thousands of magpie geese gather late in the dry season, and at Fogg Dam on the Arnhem Highway. You arrive back in Darwin at about 3 pm after 250 km (3 hours). On Thursday and Sunday evenings, the Mindil Beach Sunset Market is a fine way to end the trip.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Overnight: —
• Travel: ~250 km, 3 hours

Departures run in the dry season, from May to October, when roads are open, humidity is lower and most waterfalls and swimming holes are accessible. In the wet season (November–April) many tracks close because of flooding.

Only where signs and rangers allow. Saltwater crocodiles live in rivers, billabongs and the sea across the Top End. Your guide only takes you to managed swimming areas that are surveyed and declared open by park staff, and you should never swim anywhere else.

They are permanent safari tents on raised platforms with real beds and linen, fans or power, and nearby bathrooms. No camping gear is needed.

A moderate level of fitness is enough. The most demanding section is the 1 km boulder scramble at Jim Jim Falls; you can wait at the beach instead if you prefer.

Yes, at the public galleries such as Ubirr and Burrungkuy, unless signs say otherwise. Never touch the paintings, as skin oils damage them, and ask before photographing people.