Kakadu Dreamtime, A Timeless Place

DRIVE: Litchfield NP to Kakadu NP, Jabiru (293km).

Kakadu National Park is truly a timeless place. Bininj/Mungguy people have lived on and cared for this country for 65,000, one of the longest historical records of any group of people on earth.

The name Kakadu was suggested to recognise Gagudju, a sacred Aboriginal language which used to be spoken in the park.

Covering nearly 20,000 square kilometres of exceptional natural beauty and unique biodiversity, Kakadu National Park is teeming with wildlife, home to important Aboriginal rock art sites, and diverse and exotic landscapes. This has earned it a World Heritage listing for both its cultural and natural values.

The park is located within the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory. It’s strange that the rivers are named after alligators as I can’t recall a movie called “Alligator Dundee”. Well it turns out that the English explorer Phillip Parker King named the rivers after the crocodiles which he mistook for alligators and the mud stuck, hence East Alligator River, West Alligator River and South Alligator River.

.DREAMTIME
The world always existed. To Aboriginal people, however, it had no shape, no life until the dormant creator spirits awoke - until the Dreamtime.

Dreamtime is an intricate Aboriginal belief that explains the mystery of creation. Tales of the dreaming tell of this creation offering explanations for the existence of different kinds of animals, the first human beings, the unique landscape, the wonder of the seasons, the endless sky. These creations have been passed on through the generations and represented in song lines and symbolic rock art first created by the Mimi spirits.

Once their creative efforts were over, spirit ancestors remained, turning themselves into rocks, pools, paintings, and other special places. In these sacred districts, the Gagudju and the land continue to draw strength. These are the Dreaming sites.

CAMP: Kakadu Lodge and Caravan Park / 2 Nights

We are staying 4 nights in Kakadu to appreciate its timeless beauty and explore different sections of the park. Kakadu Lodge in Jabiru is a great central location to explore the East Alligator River.Read more