Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

Aborigines, and one of the main reasons for visiting is to see first-hand their distinctive
art style. Tiwi Tours (& 08/8924 1111) take small groups on 1- and
2-day tours to Bathurst Island which include visits to two art centers where you
can watch artists at work and buy their paintings, carvings, silk-screen printing,
and basketwork at “island prices”—usually up to a third cheaper than buying
the same thing in Darwin. You will learn the history of the islands, have morning
tea with some Tiwi women and see them making baskets, and visit a mock
burial site. The 2-day tour includes overnight camping. There is no commercial
accommodation on the island, and the 1-day tour probably satisfies most people’s
curiosity. The 1-day tour costs A$298 (US$194) per person, and the 2-day
tour is A$564 (US$367). Both include return light plane airfares from Darwin
(it’s about a 30-min. flight) and meals.
2 Kakadu National Park £
KAKADU NATIONAL PARK 409
257km (161 miles) E of Darwin
Kakadu National Park, a World Heritage area, is Australia’s largest national
park, covering a massive 1,755,200 hectares (4,335,344 acres).
Cruising the lily-clad wetlands to spot crocodiles, swimming in exquisite natural
water holes, hiking through spear grass and cycads, fishing for barramundi,
soaring in a light aircraft over torrential waterfalls during the Wet, photographing
the millions of birds and thousands of saltwater crocodiles that live here, flying
over the somehow eerie red sandstone escarpment that juts 200m (650 ft.) above
the floodplain, and admiring Aboriginal rock art sites—these activities are what
draw people to Kakadu. Some 275 species of birds and 75 species of reptiles
inhabit the park, making it one of the richest wildlife habitats in the country.
The name “Kakadu” comes from “Gagudju,” the group of languages spoken
in the northern part of the park. It is thought that Aboriginal people have lived
in this part of the world for 50,000 years. Today, Aborigines manage the park as
its owners in conjunction with the Australian government. This is one of the few
places in Australia where some Aborigines stick to a traditional lifestyle of hunting
and living off the land. They keep away from prying eyes, but their culture
is on display at a cultural center and at rock art sites. Kakadu and the vast wilds
of Arnhemland to the east are the birthplace of the “x-ray” style of art for which
Aboriginal artists are famous.
Kakadu is an ecological jewel. But be aware that the vast distances between
points of interest in the park, and that sameness that infects so much Australian
landscape, can detract from Kakadu’s appeal for some people.
There is a uranium mine within the park boundaries, which many believe
threatens the park and its World Heritage listing. But don’t think the mine will
impact on your experience of the place. It is a pinprick on Kakadu’s sweeping
landscape.
JUST THE FACTS
VISITOR INFORMATION Both of the park’s entrances—the northern one
on the Arnhem Highway used by visitors from Darwin and the southern on the
Kakadu Highway for visitors from Katherine—hand out free visitor guides with
maps, and in the Dry they issue a timetable of free guided ranger walks, talks, and
slide shows taking place that week. Park headquarters is at the Bowali Visitor
Centre (& 08/8938 1120) on the Kakadu Highway, 5km (3 miles) from Jabiru,
100km (63 miles) from the northern entry station, and 131km (82 miles) from
the southern entry station. This attractive, environmentally friendly Outback-style