Wet Season in Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks

 Join us for the wet season from Darwin on our ultimate Top End 4WD Adventure.

The tropical summer from November to April is when the Top End truly comes alive. It’s when the waterfalls are at their fullest and most majestic, the wetlands transform in a blaze of colour, and millions of migratory birds return to nest in its national parks

On this Tropical Top End Tour you will swim in the clear rock holes and waterfalls of Litchfield National Park, explore Kakadu National Park by small group 4 x 4 and by air, get up close and personal with a crocodile on the famous Yellow Waters Cruise and hike your way through the rugged terrain to majestic waterfalls. Travel to Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge) where you will cruise the gorges. 

On the 5 day tour you will visit three of the region’s most iconic national parks: Kakadu, Litchfield and Nitmiluk, plus a whole lot more. Impressive gorges carved from ancient sandstone; billabongs home to crocodiles, buffalo and a variety of other wildlife; and clear thermal pools that invite you to dive right in… every moment feels like a nature documentary brought to life. As a special highlight, you’ll also get to soar across the wonder that is Kakadu on a 60-minute scenic flight. Plus, learn about the indigenous culture of the region on a Nit Nit Dreaming cruise of Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge, stop at beautiful Edith Falls for a refreshing dip in its cool waters, marvel at 20,000 year old rock art and enjoy stunning views across the floodplains from Ubirr Rock – and more.

Classed in our comfort category of touring due to no camping and visiting of restaurants in the evening, you will have some adventures in the day and relaxing in the evening. Spending your nights in air-conditioned comfort in Kakadu and Katherine gives you some relief from the humid weather of the Northern Territory at this time of year. 

As you can see the wet season is not so bad after all!

Here at Real Aussie Adventures we recently did our Wet Season tour from Darwin, complete lots of walking and hiking. Even though its currently wet season we still found the Kakadu tour to be outstanding!

Review of 5 days in Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks

You have probably been warned off visiting from November to March because of the tropical unpredictable rains. Not only are both the National Parks Kakadu and Litchfield still open for business, but they are also very accessible, with plenty of wildlife to spot and areas to explore. Also, the lightning storms at this time of year are something to behold, absolutely amazing displays of nature you can observe from the permanent tented campsite in the evening.

We started our day by driving out to Kakadu. Once there we walked up Ubirr Rock, a very beautiful sacred place in the heart of Kakadu. This reminded me of pride rock from the Lion King, being able to see the whole kingdom. You get to see stunning rock art that’s up to 20,000 years old and an amazing view of Kakadu and its surroundings. No picture can do justice to the colors and vastness here..you have to see it with your own eyes.

We then went to a Billabong for a bird and crocodile spotting cruise, where you spot them lazily lying on the river banks or hunting if you’re lucky! We definitely got to see some..keep your hands in the boat at all times. The surprising thing for me was the amount of birdlife we spotted, I became an avid bird spotter and was excited overtime the guide told us about a new species.

The guide was incredible. Whether it was aboriginal culture, rock art, waterfalls, or even termites, he knew everything and even managed to make your car journeys pass easily without any restlessness thanks to his constant chat.

Thank goodness we got up nice and early the next day to hike into the falls or we would have roasted in the heat! We scrambled over rocks, with some epic fails and lots of laughs from the group as people try not to slip. Then you open up to an amazing gorge for more swimming (swimming is a pretty major theme of the trip, to be honest).

“You get to see stunning rock art that’s up to 20,000 years old and an amazing view of Kakadu and its surroundings. No picture can do justice to the colours and vastness here..you have to see it with your own eyes.” Real Adventure Group

While the hikes were hard, they do improve team morale! When you’re all struggling and falling over, you do have a chance to laugh. It’s amazing how when you’re gross, sweaty and at your worst, people really bond. By the end of it, you really have made some pretty wonderful friends –especially if you’re group was half as incredible as ours was!

I think my favourite spot was on this day: Maguk waterfall. Now our guide made it very clear we were not to jump from the rocks into the pool. Especially not from three spots he kindly pointed out to us – they were NOT good places to jump from and in no way fun or awesome. We had such a lovely time swimming around and exploring, it was super refreshing after the walking.

We then drove into Litchfield National Park.It was great to have a walk around Florence falls as I had seen a lot of pictures during my research for this trip. We got to have a swim in the Buley Rockholes too, which is where the locals go to hang on a weekend.

This trip was genuinely one of the most memorable things I have ever done in Australia and worldwide! I would recommend it to anybody – as long as you have a semi-decent level of fitness anyway! If you ever find yourself in Darwin then do this trip, you won’t regret it! Even if you’re not in Darwin, make a special effort to visit Kakadu and Litchfield National parks! Darwin town is lush, the national parks are even better and you get to create some truly fantastic memories.

Check out more about the trip Kakadu and Litchfield.

Join us again in April 2022 for our dry season adventures.

5 Day 4WD Jabiru Dreaming Top End Tour

5 Day Top End and Arnhem Land Tour

5 Day Kakadu, Litchfield and Katherine Tour