Fun Facts About Kakadu National Park

Ready to learn more about Kakadu?

The Kakadu National Park is one of Australia’s oldest and most mesmerising landscapes, and is set just outside of Darwin. Here, time seems to stand still; ancient Aboriginal tribes still live a traditional life, while the plant life and animal life has been living in the area for thousands and thousands of years. Today, the park is a World Heritage listed site, thanks to both its incredible scenery and its living Aboriginal culture.

Fun Facts About Kakadu National Park

• It’s BIG

  The park covers almost 20,000 square kilometres, making it the largest national park in the entire country. To put that into perspective, it’s almost half the size of Switzerland.

• Indigenous People own the land

  The majority of the park on traditional lands, the local Indigenous people, or traditional owners. They continue to manage the park in partnership with Parks Australia, and have a huge say in what happens with the future of the park.

  These people have lived in Kakadu for more than 50,000 years, making them the oldest living culture on earth.

  Some Indigenous people still live traditionally on the land. It is important to respect signage and restrictions throughout the park as you may be entering someones home! Traditional practices such as hunting, fishing, and caring for the land are still practised.

• There is Ancient Rock Art

  Because of its ancient history, it makes sense that Kakadu has some incredible ancient rock art to explore. The artworks here span back 20,000 years, documenting historic events and age-old traditions.

• There Are Lots of Birds

  Kakadu is famed for its extraordinary amount of bird species. In the park alone, there are around 280 different species, which makes up around a third of the entire population of bird species in Australia.

• The Termite Mounds Are Spectacular

  If you’re walking through Kakadu, you might stumble across some strange-looking mounds. These are the native termite mounds, and they cast an impressive silhouette against the landscape. They can grow up to six metres tall and can be found along the Maguk Road in the southern part of the park.

Kakadu National Park really is one of Australia’s best-loved treasures. Not only can you explore the mesmerising scenery, the eclectic mixture of wildlife and ancient plants, but you can learn more about the oldest living culture on the planet when you get to know the local Aboriginal people and their traditions.

Cameron Ward

Managing Director at Sightseeing Tours Australia

Cameron Ward turned his travel passion into a thriving Australian tourism business. Before he co-founded his own business, Sightseeing Tours Australia, he was enjoying being a Melbourne tour guide. Even now, Cameron delights in helping visitors from all around the world get the most out of their incredible Australian trip. You’ll see Cameron leading tours or writing about his favourite Australian places where he shares his local insights.