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We've compiled the best of the best in The Outback - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
Thorny devils, frill-neck lizards, some of the world's deadliest snakes, and "Terry" the saltwater crocodile inhabit this park in the heart of town, opposite the Royal Flying Doctor Service. From May to August, viewing is best from 11 to 3, when reptiles are most active. There's also a gecko cave and free talks conducted daily at 11, 1, and 3:30, during which you can handle small critters and pick up pythons.
This research facility has an excellent air-conditioned crocodile museum and education center. There are more than 1,200 crocodiles here, from babies to giants up to 16 feet long. The saurian section of the zoo includes the croc-infested Bellairs Lagoon and pens for breeding and raising. The park also has enclosures with lions, American alligators, cassowaries, primates, turtles, emus, dingos, capybaras, and wombats, among other animals. Crocodylus Park has daily feedings, plus a Jumping Crocodile Boat Cruise that gets you a little closer to these magnificent creatures.
Right in the heart of Darwin City, this is the place to go swimming with saltwater crocodiles and live to tell the tale. The big crocs are fed daily at 11:30 am, 2:30 pm, and 4:30 pm, and you can pay extra for the Cage of Death, a not-for-the-faint-of-heart experience where visitors are lowered into croc-infested pools in a clear perspex container. Bring your swimsuit along and take a photo of you swimming alongside these impressive creatures (again, you're in a completely separate pool). Feedings and presentations happen at different times throughout the day in the four main sections—fish, big crocs, turtles, and nocturnal reptiles—during which you can take your turn feeding young crocs and holding a variety of reptiles.
Entering through the jaws of a giant crocodile, this huge wildlife park founded by the legendary Australian documentary filmmaker opens up each day from 2 pm to 5 pm to reveal the Kimberley's native species in a variety of habitats. You'll get to see dingoes, cassowaries, a litany of bird species, American alligators, and, of course, hundreds of saltwater and freshwater crocodiles. Don't miss the famous croc feeding tour at 3 pm daily, a one-hour guided walk through the vast property where you get to watch the guide feed salties, freshies, and American alligators, and meet several problem crocs who were brought to the park after wreaking havoc in some of the surrounding estuaries.
