Kakadu National Park Kakadu National Park Kakadu National Park
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Holiday

Kakadu National Park

The Kakadu National Park‘s name is not derived from the bird, but from the mispronunciation of Gaagudju, which is the name of an Aboriginal language formerly spoken in the northern part of the park [1].

The area of the park was formerly inhabited by many Aboriginal People. Over the last centuries this changed, though, there are still a lot of Aboriginal Australians living there. The main attraction of the park is likely the place called “Ubirr”. There are lots of rock paintings to see showing the history of the Aboriginal culture.

Rock art near UbirrRock art near UbirrRock art near Ubirr

The most gorgeous part of the park is the view from Ubirr rock, though. The 360° panoramic view over the floodplains and escarpments.

View from Ubirr rockView from Ubirr rockView from Ubirr rock View from Ubirr rockView from Ubirr rockView from Ubirr rock View from Ubirr rock with bush fireView from Ubirr rock with bush fireView from Ubirr rock with bush fire

The bush fires you can see in the 3rd picture are common and vital to the park’s flora. After the white park organization stopped burning areas the fauna collapsed and slowly started to recover once specifically lit fires have been introduced again.

Bush fire in Kakadu National ParkBush fire in Kakadu National ParkBush fire in Kakadu National Park

The climb of Ubirr rock is most valuable shortly before sunset. This allows the awesome views shown above, but also allows you to enjoy to sunset

Sunset over Kakadu National ParkSunset over Kakadu National ParkSunset over Kakadu National Park Sunset over Kakadu National ParkSunset over Kakadu National ParkSunset over Kakadu National Park Sunset over Kakadu National ParkSunset over Kakadu National ParkSunset over Kakadu National Park
[1]Anthropologist Sir Baldwin Spencer’s ‘Native Tribes of the Northern Territory of Australia’ (1914) was the source of the term ‘Kakadu’. Spencer may have had in mind the German word ‘kakadu’, meaning cockatoo.