Kakadu National Park

Kakadu National Park

Location	Northern Territory, Australia
Nearest City	Darwin
Latitude	12° 06' 06" S
Longitude	132° 22' 47" E
Area	1,980,400 ha
Date of Establishment	1981
Governing Bodies	Environment Australia / Parks Australia Aboriginal traditional land owners (the Gun-djeihmi, Kunwinjku and Jawoyn peoples)
IUCN category	II

Kakadu National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km east of Darwin.

The name 'Kakadu' comes from an aboriginal floodplain language called Gagudju which was one of the languages spoken in the north of the park at the beginning of the twentieth century. Gagudju is no longer regularly spoken but descendants of this language group are still living in Kakadu.

The Yellow Water Billabong in July

The park has two seasons, 'wet' and 'dry'. In the wet (October to April) many of the attractions are impossible to get to so that the dry season (May to September) is the peak period for visitors. The local Bininj/Mungguy Aboriginal people recognize six seasons in the Kakadu region:

Gunumeleng - mid-October to late December, pre-monsoon storm season with hot weather and building thunderstorms building in the afternoons
Gudjewg - from January to March, monsoon season with thunderstorms, heavy rain, and flooding; the heat and humidity generate an explosion of plant and animal life
Banggerreng - April, the "knock 'em down storm" season where floodwater recedes but violent, windy storms knock down grasses
Yegge - from May to mid-June, relatively cool with low humidity, the Aboriginal people historically started burning the woodlands in patches to 'clean the country' and encourage new growth for grazing animals
Wurrgeng - from mid-June to mid-August, the cold weather season with low humidity; most creeks stop flowing and the floodplains quickly dry out
Gurrung - from mid-August to mid-October, hot dry weather with ever shrinking billabongs

The attractions include the opportunity to learn about the people, geology, plants and animals which make Kakadu a unique and precious resource, not only for Australians but for all the people in the world. The Bowali Visitor Centre contains a wealth of information about Kakadu. The Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre presents the culture of the local aboriginal people in an accessible way.

However, the wetlands provide the greatest visual pleasure. The freshwater and estaurine (saltwater) crocodiles sleep on the banks of the Alligator River or the many billabongs for most of the day but can also be seen floating or swimming in the water. Birdlife abounds from the stately Jabiru to the amusing "Jesus" bird (Jacana) as it steps from lily pad to lily pad. At dusk on the Yellow Water billabong (Ngurrungurrudjba), hundred of herons circle overhead landing and taking of from half-submerged trees. Ospreys sit on termite mounds or soar on high looking for prey beneath the still waters. The billabongs of the Kakadu national park are anything but "stagnant pools of water" (see Waltzing Matilda)

Aboriginal paintings can be studied in overhangs in the Nourlangie area and there are waterfalls and plunge pools in various parts of the park.

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