Choose from 54 Fun Things to Do in Northern Territory
Kakadu National Park
The UNESCO World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park is a massive Northern Territory nature reserve, clocking in at 4.2 million acres (1.7 million hectares). With sandstone escarpments, secret waterholes, billabongs, and lily-strewn waterways, Kakadu is an introduction to wild Australia. Read on to learn what to see and do in the country’s largest national park.
The Basics
On Kakadu National Park tours and Top End adventures, you’ll find opportunities to encounter exotic animals such as dingoes, wallabies, dugongs, and saltwater crocodiles, and also discover Aboriginal culture, from ancient aboriginal rock art at Ubirr and Nourlangie to the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Cooinda, where visitors pore over traditional bush food and didgeridoos. Ubirr is uniquely beautiful, located at the foot of a food plain, with prominent rock formations standing as guardians of the Arnhem Land. If visiting without a tour guide, be sure to stop into the Bowali Visitor Centre to plan your trip with the center’s staff; this rugged outback environment can be hazardous for the unprepared.
Ways to Visit Kakadu National Park
You can take in Kakadu on a guided tour from Darwin, or, if you have your own car, visit the park independently from much farther areas such as Kimberley and Broome in Western Australia. Most day tours depart from Darwin, about 93 miles (150 km) away, and last upwards of 12 hours, including round-trip transportation by a WiFi-equipped coach. Kakadu National Park can be reached in about 1.5 hours from Darwin by road, and travelers can choose from a variety of options, including small-group tours, private tours, and adventure tours. For a longer excursion, multi-day options offer accommodations or camping experiences that can be combined with a visit to Litchfield National Park, Nitmiluk National Park, or Katherine Gorge, other must-see spots in the Top End.
Top Sights to Experience Kakadu’s Natural Beauty
Cruising along the Mary River wetlands or the East Alligator River (Guluyambi) will allow you to spot native birds and possibly catch a glimpse of a crocodile from a safe distance. Travelers also enjoy cruising Yellow Water Billabong near Cooinda and bush camping in Koolpln Gorge, although it’s recommended that this adventure is taken with a guide unless you’re an experienced outback camper, as permits are required and the terrain is rough. The park’s most prominent water features are Jim Jim Falls and the nearby Twin Falls, but they flow mostly in the quiet wet season. The best way to see these falls is on a scenic flight, which allows for spectacular aerial photo ops.Best Times to Visit
Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park
Nitmiluk (also called Katherine Gorge) is the deep path cut through the sandstone by the Katherine River, and the Nitmiluk Katherine Gorge National Park is where you can go to lap up the luscious experience of the Gorge, whether that be swimming in it (sometimes with harmless freshwater crocodiles), canoeing in it, hiking around it, gazing it from an observation deck, flying over it on a helicopter...or any combination of the above.
The park is run by the traditional owners, the Jawoyn, in conjunction with the Australian government. It's a well-appointed place with lots of visitor facilities (and lots of visitors, especially in the dry season). You can choose your level of activity, from lounging around at your campsite or the visitor center café to strenuous canoeing trips or hikes. But make sure you take at least one long hike, perhaps to see the Aboriginal rock art, or at least to get sticky enough to make cooling off in the river a delight.
Practical Info
Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park is swarmed by visitors in the dry season (May to September). In the wet season (November to March), the river goes into spate and swimming and canoeing can be restricted, as can access to the roads.
The park is about 30 km (18 mi) northeast of Katherine, which in turn is about 300 km (180 mi) south of Darwin on the Stuart Highway.
Mindil Beach
Practical Info
Standley Chasm (Angkerle)
Practical Info
Litchfield National Park
- There are no entrance fees or permits required to enter the park, although many campsites do charge a fee.
- Many trails and attractions are only accessible by 4WD.
- Bring comfortable shoes, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, and water.
- Crocodiles are common throughout the park, so it’s important to only swim in designated areas.
- Many attractions are wheelchair accessible.
Watarrka National Park
Watarrka National Park protects one of the Northern Territory's most legendary destinations, Kings Canyon.
It's a rocky red desert park of rugged geological formations and sheer-edged sandstone gorges plummeting to waterholes and unexpected oases of cycad palms.
Walking trails lead to lookouts for views over the canyon, and there are picnic tables at the sunset-viewing area and Kathleen Springs.
The overnight Giles Track takes you along the top of the range from springs to canyon, while the much easier Kathleen Springs walk takes 1.5 hours and is recommended for families.
To get the most out of your visit to Watarrka National Park, take a guided walk with a ranger or guide to learn about the spiritual significance of this land for the local Anangu people.
Practical Info
Watarrka National Park is 450 km (280 miles) south-west of Alice Springs via the Stuart Highway or Larapinta Drive. It’s around 300 km (186 miles) north-east of Ayers Rock (Uluru).
The best time to visit is in the cooler months of April to September.
MacDonnell Ranges
Offering spectacular views both east and west of Alice Springs, the MacDonnell Ranges are a 400 mile (644 kilometer) stretch of mountain ranges. The ranges hold some of the Northern Territory's finest attractions including the ancient ghost gums and rock wallabies at the majestic Simpson's Gap, the stark beauty of Standley Chasm in the midday sun and the secluded waterholes of Serpentine Gorge and Ellery Creek Big Hole.
The ranges are dotted with micro-climates offering rare wildlife including the Centralian Tree Frog that lives in some of the very cold rock pools.
There are many sites of significance to the traditional owners, the Arrernte. These include ancient rock paintings at Emily Gap, Trephina Gorge and N’Dhala Gorge. You can also visit the old ochre pits where they quarried for ochre pigment.
Practical Info
The range is popular with bush walkers as the 140 mile (223 kilometer) Larapinta Trail runs along the ridge and into the plains below.
The Larapinta Trail is divided into twelve sections with most trail-heads close to the big-ticket attractions. Some access tracks are not suitable for buses or caravans and difficult in wet weather.
Karlu Karlu
Practical Info
Valley of the Winds
Practical Info
Mary River Wetlands
Practical Info
Mala Walk
The sheer cliffs of Uluru look amazingly different from every angle, and scroll through a vast array of colours as the sun moves across the desert sky. You will never tire of looking at this incredible figure, as it is always changing. If you’re lucky enough to be visiting during heavy rain you will see quite a show, since small streams and waterfalls cover Uluru, transforming it into a completely different natural wonder.
Though the walk can easily be self-guided, a free ranger-guided tour will provide much more insight into the ways of the Anangu, their rock art, and the story of the Mala. These tours can be accessed all year round, by meeting a ranger at the Mala Walk sign at either 8am from October to April, or 10am from May to September.
This is one of the shortest walks at Uluru, covering a 1km stretch of its west side.
Practical Info
Visitors to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park must pay an entrance fee and observe park opening hours, which vary from month to month throughout the year.
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory has a fine collection, but what is its most popular attraction by far? That's right - a preserved saltwater crocodile called 'Sweetheart.'
Sweetheart, a 50 year-old male, was menacing boats on the Finnis River, so he was captured by rangers. They intended to give him to a croc farm for breeding. Sadly, during the capture, the drugged crocodile drowned and could not be resuscitated. His body was given to the museum.
If you can drag yourself away from Sweetheart, there's a fine natural history collection and plenty of indigenous art. You'll also get a good grounding in the Territory's history, including Cyclone Tracy (there's a room that simulates the cyclone) and visits by Indonesian sailors back in the day. The museum looks beyond the mainland to focus on Southeast Asian and Pacific culture.
Practical Info
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory is located on Bullocky Point, on Darwin Harbour and is easily accessible by bus from the city center.
Magnetic Termite Mounds
Practical Info
Warradjan Cultural Centre
Practical Info
Western MacDonnell Ranges
The best ways to explore the often rugged territory are by 4WD, motor-home, or even on bike -a mode of transport that is surprisingly well catered for, with even the famous Simpson’s Gap providing a seven kilometre section of sealed bike track.
Covering an area of just over 2,000 square kilometres, the canyons, gorges, and waterholes in the National Park area provide a stunning and insightful backdrop for any number of outdoor activities, including camping, swimming, and hiking, to name a few.
Hiking enthusiasts should consider the 250 kilometre Larapinta Trail, which traverses the ranges from Alice Springs to Mount Sonder. This trail can be hiked either with a guided tour or independently, but independent hikers should seek expert guidance before their tour as the conditions can be harsh. Those not wishing to undertake the full length of the famous trail can choose to do shorter sections.
Dingoes, native fish, carpet pythons, and endemic birdlife frequent most areas of the Western MacDonnell ranges, especially those that are more obscure and located off the well travelled roads. The summer months see the Ormiston Gorge, in particular, a haven for a large assortment of native reptiles.
The Ranges are rich in indigenous culture and historical locales. The Ranges, like the rest of the Territory, are most pleasant in the cooler months of April to September. Camping facilities are well maintained and modern, and the National Park is accessible year round, with the exception of short periods of sporadic road closures following heavy rain.
Practical Info
Walpa Gorge (Olga Gorge)
Practical Info
Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Royal Flying Doctors Service is the largest air medical response team in the world. The doctors fly an average of 40,000 miles (65,000 kilometers) a day attending to sick people in the remote outback of Australia. They have 53 aircraft operating out of 21 bases with 964 staff and attend to around 750 patients a day.
Alice Springs houses the Central Operations of the service and at the visitors center you can learn all about the incredible history of the RFDS and how it has shaped life in the outback. There is an interactive museum where you can find out what it is like inside the planes, you can even fly one in the flight simulator. Experience life in the early days of the service and try your hand at the Traegar pedal-powered radio which was the primary means of communication for many years.
Practical Info
Tours are every half hour and you’re welcome to spend as much time as you like exploring the museum.
The center is south of the Post Office, in the Hartley Street Historical precinct.
School of the Air
Teaching primary and secondary level students since the 50’s, today students are outstretched as far as 502,000 square miles from the school. You can watch a film about the history of this truly unique school, and even listen in on live classes, which have since switched from the radio era to a highly more modernized and efficient broadband internet model. If you happen to arrive when sessions are closed, you may listen in on pre-recorded lessons, with interpreters on site to help you with translations and to field any questions.
Practical Info
Nourlangie
Practical Info
Kings Canyon
The red sandstone walls of Kings Canyon rise abruptly from tranquil pools and pockets of cycads and vegetation in the middle of the red centre desert.
The prized activity here is the 2.5 km (1.5 mile) return Kings Creek Walk around the rim of the canyon to a lookout for fabulous views of the lush Garden of Eden.
The reward for taking on the longer 4-hour walk is even better views including the rock formation known as the Lost City.
The 1-hour return Kathleen Springs Walk is wheelchair-accessible and leads to a lovely waterhole.
Practical Info
Kings Canyon is 450 km (280 miles) south-west of Alice Springs via the Stuart Highway or Larapinta Drive. It’s around 300 km (186 miles) north-east of Ayers Rock (Uluru). The best time to visit is in the cooler months of April to September.
The Kings Canyon Resort and Kings Creek Station offer a high standard of accommodation in this iconic location.