What are the main features of Kakadu National Park?

What are the main features of Kakadu National Park?

Written by: Cameron Ward

Published: 04/02/2019

Reading time: 3 mins

Kakadu National Park is a hub for biological diversity, filled to the brim with vast landscapes, unique wildlife, and natural wonders.

Instead of stepping in blindly, working out the main features to look out for in Kakadu is best. We can distinguish the area by six different landscapes.The savannah woodlands, southern hills and ridges, stone country, tidal flats and coast, the wetlands and the outliers. Within each different landscape a range of unique plants and animals live. Travel throughout each feature of Kakadu National Park to experience its full beauty.

  • Savanna Woodlands

    This landscape makes up nearly 80 per cent of the entire national park. The savanna woodlands, also known as the lowlands, is bushland made of eucalyptus trees and tall grasses. The area is flooded with a range of wildlife. There is also a greater variety of plant life here than anywhere else in the park.

  • Southern Hills and ridges

    This landscape has formed due to millions of years of erosion, covering a large portion of the stunning park. Here the rocks have been exposed from beneath the withdrawing Arnhem escarpment. They are volcanic rocks, dating back 2500 million years old. It has created a unique habitat for the wildlife, with a large portion of animals living within this landscape.

  • Stone country

    The name stone country fits perfectly with this landscape as the majority of it is large rock platforms. It is a harsh and dry area, a centre for rock, soil, and desert plants. However, between the deep incisions of rock, large woodlands have formed. With plenty of shade, and water draining into the gorges, a refuge for wildlife has formed.

  • Floodplain and billabongs

    This landscape is ever changing, undergoing dramatic changes depending on the season. For the wet season, a shallow layer of freshwater spreads across the plains. With this slowly drying up or running into the nearby rivers during the drier seasons. During the wet season, the water animals spread out across the land. While in the drier seasons they all head towards the main water sources such as the Yellow Billabong Water.

  • Coast and tidal flats

    The park has around 500 square kilometres of the coastal and estuarine area. Similar to the floodplains of Kakadu, the tidal flats change throughout the seasons. In the wet season, the river beds flood, leaving a wetlands environment. In the dry season, tidal action deposits build-up along the river beds and banks. Mangroves cover the area, creating a perfect home for fish, who are protected by the large protruding roots.

  • The Outliers

    The outliers are pieces of Arnhemland plateau that have endured erosion over the years and become separate from the plateau complex. Simply put, they are large rock boulders, with the most popular ones being Nourlangie Rock and Ubirr.

Cameron Ward
Cameron Ward
Managing Director at Sightseeing Tours Australia

Cameron Ward turned his travel passion into a thriving Australian tourism business. Before he co-founded his own business, Sightseeing Tours Australia, he was enjoying being a Melbourne tour guide. Even now, Cameron delights in helping visitors from all around the world get the most out of their incredible Australian trip. You’ll see Cameron leading tours or writing about his favourite Australian places where he shares his local insights.