The Northern Territory has been on my bucket list for a while, and I was lucky enough to spend a week road tripping through the Top End with my dad in October!
This was a particularly exciting trip because I got to tick off my seventh of the eight states and territories in Australia. Only Western Australia left now 👏
Here’s an overview of what we did, saw and ate on our Top End road trip.
Watch the travel vlog here:
Cost Breakdown AUD
Flights: $450pp – return from Sydney to Darwin with Jetstar
Car Hire: $700 – with stress free insurance for 5 days. We booked a small SUV with Thrifty but were ‘upgraded’ to a huge Kia Carnival
Fuel: $200 – diesel
Accommodation: $1,163 – 6 nights of accomodation for two adults
Katherine Gorge Canoe Tour: $80pp
Yellow Water Cruise: $86pp
Jumping Crocs Cruise: $45pp
Kakadu National Park Entry: $40pp
*Food not included. We travelled in the last week of October which was the end of the tourist season.
General Information
You’ve got two main options when it comes to visiting the Top End. You can either base yourself in Darwin and do day trips with a company like AAT Kings; or you can hire a car and do a self-drive loop. We opted for the latter.
We booked our Thrifty rental through Rental Cars and ended up with a huge Kia Carnival. This was way too big for two people, but it was nice to have space to spread out all our things and have car boot picnics when we were out.
The trip was booked last minute (when isn’t it lol) and we were really lucky that we went in the last week before everything shuts down for the wet season. The Top End’s peak tourist season is during winter (May – September), the dry season.
Itinerary Overview
Day 1: Fly into Darwin
Day 2: Darwin > Litchfield National Park > Katherine
Day 3: Katherine Gorge / Nitmiluk National Park
Day 4: Katherine > Edith Falls > Kakadu
Day 5: Kakadu: Yellow Water Cruise, Warradjan Cultural Centre + Ubirr
Day 6: Kakadu > Adelaide River (Jumping Crocs Cruise) > Darwin. Fly back to Sydney
Day 1: Darwin
The Sydney to Darwin Jetstar route lands at midnight, so we booked a room at the Mercure Darwin Airport to sleep. Luckily the airport hotels are used to these flight times and have a 24hr shuttle bus to pick you up. This resort was really nice and would be a great central base for a few nights.
Day 2: Darwin > Litchfield > Katherine
After picking up our rental car, we made our way to Litchfield National Park, ninety minutes south of Darwin. Our first stop was Wangi Falls, which was gorgeous but closed for swimming being the end of the season. During the dry season, it’s an easily accessible spot to swim.
At Wangi Falls we spoke to a couple that suggested swimming at Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls, which is where we headed next.
Buley was gorgeous – a small tiered swimming hole a short walk from the carpark. Shaded under trees, the water was the perfect temperature for a nice float. We only had a quick swim as it was quite busy, but that was alright because Florence Falls took our breath away!
It was a bit of a trek down but so worth it for a huge plunge pool with waterfalls you could swim under. I would definitely recommend visiting these three spots in this order because each one is better than the last.
After a lovely swim at Florence Falls, we did the three hour drive to Katherine.
We checked into a cabin at the Big 4 Breeze Katherine Holiday Park. The park was huge but really empty, which felt strange. The receptionist told us that it was usually packed from April – June in the dry season, but as soon as the weather heats up, everyone’s gone.
It’s a real toss up as to what the best time of year to visit is. On the one hand, it was nice because it was quiet and we had a lot of spots to ourselves, but it was also really hot, most of the swimming areas were closed and not as many tours were running. I think early-mid September would be ideal.
Day 3: Katherine Gorge
First thing the next morning, we drove out to Nitmiluk National Park, and realised we were severely underprepared! Again, being end of season, most of the swimming was off limits due to saltwater crocodiles. Our only options for a swim were a 12km hike (in 40 degree heat, no thanks!) or a self-guided canoe tour.
We opted for a shorter (5km) hike – the Baruwei Loop Walk – before canoeing in the afternoon.
I would recommend getting there early for the morning canoe tour as it gets hot, but we arrived too late and could only do the afternoon one.
Being the end of dry season, the water level was low so we were ferried out past the first gorge, put in canoes and told that we could swim anywhere, just to avoid the freshwater crocs as they were breeding!
Dad and I shared a double canoe and there was only one other person, so we had the entire gorge to ourselves. It was so beautiful and tranquil – I can’t recommend doing this enough!
Day 4: Katherine > Leliyn (Edith Falls) > Kakadu
The plan for day 4 was to visit Maguk Gorge and Gunlom Falls in Kakadu National Park, but we didn’t realise these were only 4WD accessible or closed (it does pay to do your research!). Instead, we headed back into Katherine National Park for a swim at Leliyn (Edith Falls).
This ended up being the best swimming on the trip with a huge freshwater plunge pool and gorgeous flowing falls. It’s set up so well that I would recommend camping here for a night.
After a refreshing swim, we continued onto Kakadu, checking into the Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel at Jabiru. This hotel is so cool because it’s shaped like a crocodile. We had dinner at the onsite restaurant where I got to try kangaroo for the first time!
Something to keep in mind is that Kakadu is quite isolated. Phone service isn’t great and there’s not many options to buy food. There is a small IGA supermarket but it was very pricey.
Tip: you will need a National Park pass for Kakadu – we paid $40pp for seven days. You can purchase these at one of the visitor centres or online.
Day 5: Kakadu: Yellow Water Cruise, Warradjan Cultural Centre + Ubirr
Almost every single person we spoke to recommended the Yellow Water Cruise. I’d already booked it before we left so this made me even more excited!
The tour departs via shuttle bus from Cooinda (40min south of Jabiru), where you’re driven down the road to the boat. We booked the 1.5hr cruise departing at 11:30am.
It was truly as amazing as everyone said. Within the first two minutes, we’d seen a lots of birds and in another five minutes we spotted our first of many saltwater crocodiles! Some highlights included a Jesus bird, an Azure Kingfisher and a buffalo.
This cruise was a highlight of the trip and a must do when in Kakadu. If I went again, I’d stay at Cooinda Lodge to do the sunrise tour without the risk of driving in the dark.
After the cruise, we visited the Warradjan Cultural Centre, also located in Cooinda. This gave us a great overview of the Indigenous culture in Kakadu.
Unfortunately we didn’t get to do a cultural tour on this trip. As we’d booked everything last minute and travelled at the end of the season, there wasn’t anything available. I have heard good things about Top Didj in Katherine though.
Later that evening we headed 40mins north to Ubirr for sunset. Ubirr is one of Kakadu’s most famous spots due to its ancient Indigenous rock art. During the dry season, they run guided tours here which sound amazing.
The whole area was gorgeous and we were spoilt with the most beautiful sunset ever. Definitely worth the drive back to Jabiru in the dark!
Day 6: Kakadu > Adelaide River > Darwin
Our final day was a big one. We had to make the three hour drive back to Darwin and then kill time before a midnight flight back to Sydney.
We stopped at the Adelaide River (1hr south of Darwin) for the Spectacular Jumping Crocodiles Cruise. This was a one hour tour and cost $45pp.
It was amazing but a little terrifying to see crocodiles up this close. Seeing them go for the food really proved how deadly these animals can be. While it was a cool experience, it felt a little strange making them jump for food after witnessing crocs in the wild the previous day.
There’s some great footage of the jumping crocs in my Top End travel vlog from 13:08.
Finally, we headed back to Darwin. We booked a room at the Darwin City Hotel to relax before our overnight flight back to Sydney. While we were only here a few hours it was a perfect, central room that would be an excellent base for exploring Darwin.
Overall it was an incredible trip with the highlights being canoeing at Katherine and the Yellow Water Cruise – both must-do’s in the Top End!
I hope you enjoyed this post and that it inspires you to visit the Northern Territory. I am constantly amazed at the incredible scenery we have right in our backyard and am so grateful to have experienced so much of Australia over the past two years!
Check out my Australia archives for some more inspiration Down Under and follow my adventures on Instagram, Tik Tok & YouTube.
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