judilie

We’re planning to be in the Top End Sept. 10 18. I’ve focused on Darwin and Kakadu; I felt we did not have time to go to Litchfield or Katherine. I’d very much appreciate your reactions to my planned itinerary and advice about places to stay (especially for the three nights when we go to Kakadu). Are any of the sights I list “duds”? Are there any glaring omissions? We’re on a medium budget. We don’t need to pinch pennies at hostels or camping and don’t mind an occasional splurge it it’s worth it. (We’re also gomg to Canberra, Perth, and Sydney on this trip and have been to Cairns/GBR/Daintree, Uluru and Alice Springs, Tasmania, Kangaroo Is., Adelaide, and Melbourne on recent trips.)

Thurs., Sept. 10 - Flight arrives at 3 pm (from Canberra).

I’m thinking of spending the first three rights at the Mirambeena Resort in downtown Darwin.

Thursday night - Mindil Beach Sunset Market (take Bus #4 or #6).

Friday day - Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (take Bus #4 or #6).
– Other things in and just outside of Darwin – see below

Friday night - Coral Reef by Night show including dinner at Indo-Pacific Marine. (Is this worthwhile? Is there any point going to the Indo-Pacific Marine during the day if you go at night?)

Saturday day - Northern Territory Parliament House, tour 9 am or 11 am.
– Other things in and just outside of Darwin – see below

Saturday night - The Deckchair Cinema.

Saturday night or Sunday morning – Pick up rental car. (Do you have any advice about a reasonably priced rental agency? We’d like to pick up in downtown Darwin and drop off 5-6 days later at the Darwin airport. The amount of mileage covered will be a consideration.)

Sunday – Drive to Mary River or Jabiru and see things along the way:
– Didgeridoo Hut and Urrduddu Emu Farm
– Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve
– Windows on the Wetlands
– Jumping Crocodile Cruise
(Is it reasonable to see most or all of these things and make it all of the way to Jabiru before dark that evening? I had thought of staying at Mary River Park Sunday night, but just read a very bad review of it. Has anyone stayed there? If we could make it all of the way to Jabiru on Sunday, we would stay there two nights, which is more appealing than changing lodging every night. Possible places to stay in Jabiru are Kakadu Lodge, Lakeview Park, and Gugadju Crocodile. Kakadu Resort also sounds like a possibility for Sunday night. Has anyone stayed there? I’d appreciate advice about this.)

Monday – Drive to Jabiru (if not already there); that day see
– Mamukala (observation bldg., bird hides, 3-km walking track).
– Bowali Visitors Center
– Ubirr Rock
– Climb to Nadab (Ubirr) lookout
– ?Boat trip (Guluyambi) on the East Alligator River
– ?Monsoon Rain Forest Walk

Tuesday – Drive to Cooinda and spend night there (at Gagudju Lodge); that day (or next day) see
– Nourlangie Rock
– Anabangbang Billabong
– Warradjan Visitors Center
– Museum at Cooinda

Wednesday – Yellow Waters Boat tour at 6:45 am and then drive back to Darwin (If we miss some of the things listed immediately above, we could try to see some of them on our drive back to Darwin.)

I need a place to stay in Darwin Wednesday and Thursday nights. We need to be up very early on Friday to catch a 7 am flight. I think we’ll still have our rental car, so need a place with parking. Barramundi Lodge and Asti Hotel sound interesting, but I’d appreciate suggestions. (I’d like a place from which I can walk to some sights, e.g., botanical gardens, while husband plays golf on Thurs.)

Thursday – Other sights not yet visited in Darwin.
– Husband plays golf, probably at Darwin Golf Club
– Possibly Mindil Beach Market again in the evening

Friday – Flight departs (for Perth) at 7 am.

Sights of possible interest in downtown Darwin:
– Stokes Hill Wharf
– Pearling Exhibition
– WW II Oil-Storage Tunnels
– Lyons Cottage
– Brown’s Mart Community Theater
– Northern Territory Supreme Court (collection of aboriginal art and burial poles)
– National Trust Museum
– Bicycle paths
– Old (pre-Tracy) bldgs. – Admiralty House, Police Station and Court House, Town Hall –view from outside
– Survivors Lookout
– Walking on the Esplanade in the evening.
– Cruise of Darwin Harbor, from Cullen Bay

Sights of possible interest in north end of Darwin
– Botanic Gardens
– Australian Aviation Heritage Centre ( us #5 or #8)
– Aquascene
– Fannie Bay Gaol
– East Point Reserve

Sights of possible interest outside of town
– Crocodylus Park
– Darwin Crocodile Farm (Which of these is better?)
– Territory Wildlife Park and Berry Springs
– Casuarina Coastal Reserve

Possible places to eat in Darwin
– Tim’s Surf and Turf
– PeeWee’s
– Hanuman Thai and Nonya restaurant
– Noodle shop across the street from Hanuman
– Twilight on Lindsay
– Ten Litchfield
– Yacht Club

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Bushranger

You've certainly mapped yourself out plenty of detail Judilie and I'm exhausted just looking at it but having gone on more of a camping/gorge hiking trip I can't really comment on the various accommodations other than that what is at Mary River I'd feel is somewhat limited/more basic.

Based on having visited Fogg Dam, done a Croc cruise somewhere and not a lot of time needed for the Didgi hut I'd reckon if you get away to a good early start, there'll be no difficulty in getting to Jabiru sometime in afternoon, well before dark.

For vehicle hire you'll find all the main companies are in Darwin, likely to have drop off facility at the airport and just have a look at www.drivenow.com.au and you can nominate vehicle size you want and get a scan of availability/costs.

RalphR

Judilie:

We stayed at Mary River Park on the way out to Kakadu on the recommendation of a girl we know on the Gold Coast who's father owned the business at that time (2000). We had a campervan, and just used the hookup and dining facilities. All in all pretty basic, but it had a certain rustic (?), frontier (?), safari-like (?) - searching for the right word here - charm that we liked. And the owner and his family were very friendly. Can't say what it is like now.

We stopped at Window on the Wetlands on the way to Kakadu and at Fogg Dam and Jumping Crocodile on the return. You can probably do all three one way, provided you get an early start - staying at Mary River would help, leaving you more time.

I would make Ubirr your last activity on the Monday so you can be there for sunset - magnificent. For us this was an unforgettable experience, one of THE highlights of our trip to the Top End. We loved it so much we went back the next night for another sunset - this time a wedding ceremony was taking place on top of the cliff!

We went to several of the other places you mention, including the Guluyambi cruise, which we enjoyed very much. I left the family at the picnic area at Arnbangbang, and did the walk right around it - very nice. (Arnbangbang was a filming location in Crocodile Dundee by the way).

Another highlight for us was the one day 4WD tour we did out to Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls - very impressive. We got out to Twin Falls, (canoeing the last half mile or so) quite early in the morning giving our tour group (about 12 of us) the place for ourselves. Great swimming in the plunge pool below the gigantic waterfall and a nice sandy beach. We did a fairly short hike into Jim Jim - a massive and very deep plunge pool underneath a 900 ft drop. Being the Dry Season, the falls were barely more than a trickle, but were stunning nonetheless.

So my recommendation would be to scratch the extra day in Darwin and spend another day in Kakadu, perhaps to see Twin and Jim Jim Falls as we did.

judilie

Thanks everyone.

It appears that it would be good to get an early start on Monday and try to make it all of the way to Jabiru, so that we aren't staying in a different place every night. (Any recommendations among the possibilities I mentioned -- Kakadu Lodge, Lakeview Park, Gugadju Crocodile?) If we can't see everything we'd like to along the way, we can try to catch them on the way back.

RalphR - I'll consider your suggestion about Twin and Jim Jim Falls. There are many things in Darwin that sound interesting to me, and my husband "needs" his golf. (Even though the game seems to be very frustrating, it keeps him happy.)

RalphR

judilie: I've been to Darwin twice, and both times we did not stay in the city for long. While there are good things to see in Darwin (the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory for example), it still seems lopsided to me to spend three full days in the city and only two outside. Besides Twin/Jim Jim, you could alternatively use one of those days for Litchfield NP - beautiful waterfalls and amazing magnetic termite mounds. Tell your husband, you can't see things like that everywhere, like you can golf courses!

longhorn55

I have to agree with Ralph about Litchfield. I've been to Darwin twice and both times visited Litchfield--one of the highlights of our trips. I'd either pick up the car on Saturday and go to Litchfield or do it on Thursday after you get back from Kakadu. (If you really want to tour Parliament House, do it on Friday. The Museum is great, but you can easily see it all in 2 - 4 hours, depending on your interests.) If you can't persuade your husband to skip a round of golf, go to Litchfield by yourself. It's an easy drive and you'll be SO glad you went.

kiwi_rob

Adding weight to the numbers, Judilie, I agree that you would be better to spend an extra day in the Kakadu part of your trip and one less in Darwin.

stormbird

Oh kiwi rob, long time no speak! How are you? You must have been very disappointed at the lack of sheep up in Kakadu!

kerikeri

i also think you have turned the very nice and pleasant darwin attractions into something more than they are. do the museum in an hour. the market is practically adjacent from what i recall, or not too far a walk away. following the market, go over to the deckchair theater if you must, but then hit the road.

DO drive down to katherine for the gorge tour with your extra time, it was the highlight of our trip to the top end. you can catch the last one of the day and then after the gorge trip, back in the car and up to lichtfield which is on the way back to darwin in a loop.

darwin is tiny, worth the afternoon you arrive and possibly the evening when you must await a morning flight home, but in full agreement with the others, get out of town to see what you're flying there to see and drop the "city" sites in favor of the natural attractions.

kerikeri

judilie

I'm getting the message. I had planned on 4 full day/3 nights for our road trip. If we take 5 full days/4 nights, can you recommend a routing and places to stay. I'd prefer not to stay in a different place every night if that can be avoided. Canoeing in Katherine Gorge sounded interesting. We've seen the termite mounds in N. Queensland (I think it was in the Atherton Tablelands); are the ones in Litchfield different?

Thanks, everyone.

kerikeri

the ideal routing would take in the full loop. you can go either direction, with katherine being a spur down from lichtfield. the point of the loop is that these places are like 3,6 and 9 on the clock, with darwin being at noon.

you could choose to stay 3 nights at kakadu, but that would mean giving lichtfield short shrift.

what about first two in kakadu, then down to katherin (you can get amotorized narated tour) then up to lichtfield for two nights?

others will have better ideas, i'm sure.

kerikeri

RalphR

Litchfield is renowned for its magnetic termite mounds, which I haven't seen in north Queensland. They very much resemble huge tombstones and are invariably aligned in one direction (north-south) adding to the cemetery-like look of the grasslands. Very interesting - the shape and orientation are temperature-control adaptations, ensuring full exposure to the sun around sunrise and sunset, but minimizing direct sunlight at mid-day.

We visited the magnetic mounds around sunset - a little spooky, but a great time for photography (long shadows, etc.)

There are also other types of mounds at Litchfield, including stands of gigantic termite mounds, some of which must be 15 feet high or more.

judilie

Thanks. I'd appreciate suggestions of specific places/lodgings to stay. When it was a three-night trip, I was planning on two nights in Jabiru (at Kakadu Lodge, Lakeview Park, or Gugadju Crocodile -- I'd appreciate hearing opinions about these) and one at Cooinda (at Gagudju Lodge). If we're going to try to go to Katherine and Litchfield also, how do you suggest I modify this. (We're now planning on four nights on the road.)

RalphR

With 4 nights/5 days you still will have to be choosy. I think it's crazy not to spend 2 full days/3 nights in Kakadu. I don't think that leaves you sufficient time to see Katherine Gorge (which is pretty far away - some 200 miles from Jabiru and from Darwin) as well as Litchfield. Unless you're prepared to make it a 5 night road trip, I'd leave Katherine out. After Kakadu, drive back to Darwin, and make Litchfield a day trip from the city, or drive to Batchelor (near Litchfield) for one night.

agcity

Hang on, stormbird. Do you mean we'll have to bring our own sheep when we're in Kakadu next month?

stormbird

'Fraid so agcity. I thought there was a special advertising campaign for Kiwi's that clearly stated BYO Sheep as crocodiles are not quite as furry, cuddly or good looking as your sheep!

What a disaster for you if you hadn't read this post!

judilie

Here is a revised itinerary, with a “menu” of possible places to go and things to see and do. It now has one more day outside of Darwin than the previous version, with visits to Katherine and Litchfield in addition to Kakadu. I’d appreciate advice about places to stay (i.e., lodging) and whether any of the things mentioned are particularly good or not worth the time or money.

Thurs., Sept. 10 - Flight arrives at 3 pm (from Canberra); get rental car at the airport. Do you have any advice about a reasonably priced rental agency? The amount of mileage covered will be a consideration.)

Thurs. night – stay in Darwin, e.g., Mirambeena Resort; make sure hotel has partking.

Thursday night - Mindil Beach Sunset Market (take Bus #4 or #6 if don’t drive; is there parking at the market?).

Friday - Leave early and drive to Jabiru and see things along the way:
– Didgeridoo Hut and Urrduddu Emu Farm
– Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve
– Windows on the Wetlands
– Jumping Crocodile Cruise
(Possible places to stay in Jabiru are Kakadu Lodge, Lakeview Park, and Gugadju Crocodile. I’d appreciate advice about this.)

Saturday – Jabiru area
– Mamukala (observation bldg., bird hides, 3-km walking track).
– Bowali Visitors Center
– Ubirr Rock
– Climb to Nadab (Ubirr) lookout
– ?Boat trip (Guluyambi) on the East Alligator River
– ?Monsoon Rain Forest Walk
– Spend night in same place in Jabiru

Sunday – Drive to Cooinda and spend night there (at Gagudju Lodge); that day see
– Nourlangie Rock
– Anabangbang Billabong
– Warradjan Visitors Center
– Museum at Cooinda

Monday – Yellow Waters Boat tour at 6:45 am and then drive to Katherine area
– Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk Visitors Center; rent a canoe there or go on guided canoe trip or boat cruise)
– Katherine School of the Air
– Cutta Cutta Caves, ranger-led tours
– Spend night in Katherine area (?Knotts Crossing Resort?, ?Jan’s B&B?, ?Beale Motor Inn?)

Tuesday – Wake up early; drive to Litchfield NP (~120 mi.) and then to Darwin (an additional 76 mi.)
– Cemetary in Adelaide River
– in Litchfiled: Magnetic termite mounds, Cathedral termite mounds, waterfalls and pools (Wangi ,Tolmer, Florence, Tjayera)

We need a place to stay in Darwin Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. We need to be up very early on Friday to catch a 7 am flight. I don’t know if we’ll still have our rental car; if we do, we’ll need a place with parking. Barramundi Lodge and Asti Hotel sound interesting, but I’d appreciate suggestions. (I’d like a place from which I can walk or easily take a bus to some sights, e.g., botanical gardens, while husband plays golf on Thurs.)

Wednesday
– 10:30 am tour of Parliament
– Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (take Bus #4 or #6 if don't drive).
– If time, other things in and just outside of Darwin – see list in my first posting
– 7 pm - Coral Reef by Night show including dinner at Indo-Pacific Marine (Has anyone done this? Is it worthwhile?)

Thursday – Husband plays golf, probably at Darwin Golf Club
– Some other sights not yet visited in Darwin
– 6:30 pm - Deckchair Cinema or possibly Mindil Beach Market again

Friday – Flight departs (for Perth) at 7 am.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Suelynne

Judilie, I've been waiting with interest for comments from others, as we've booked six nights in NT on the way back from a visit to East Timor in July. We haven't been to NT before, so can't offer any advice of our own. I did talk with friends who've been to Kakadu and they said that Ubirr Rock and Yellow Waters Boat Tour were their Kakadu highlights. Mamaluka wasn't developed when they went.
We're staying at the Butterfly Farm at Batchelor and Gugadju Crocodile at Jabiru, each for two nights. Would prefer three nights in Kakadu but the accommodation is so expensive and we have to travel light so can't camp. In Darwin we're staying at Holiday Inn Esplanade - again we've been warned not to expect much for the price.

RalphR

Monday, Tuesday look pretty rushed. On Monday, you will likely not be on the road until 9 AM after Yellow Waters. This puts you in Katherine around noon and presumably you'll want to eat lunch somewhere. So everything you want to do in Katherine will have to be squeezed into an afternoon.

I think you'll enjoy the trip more (and get more out of it) if you stay one night in Katherine, one night in Batchelor. That way you can spend Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning in Katherine, drive to Batchelor, then spend part of the Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday AM in Litchfield. This should give you enough time to see the sights. And it gives you more flexibility so you can relax.

judilie

Thanks, RalphR. Otherwise does this look like a reasonable plan? Do people have suggestions about lodging in the various places where we'll likely stay? Has anyone been to the Coral Reef by Night show?