It is really sad that Kakadu has become so neglected yet it is the most expensive National Park to visit. I fear this is going to happen more as more areas are returned to Traditional Owners. In my opinion they are only interested in having the land returned and taking tourist dollars with no intent to improve or maintain facilities. Definitely Kakadont.
Went to Kakadu a month or so back. Intended to stay 5 nights. Only stayed 2 and could have done it in one. Very disappointed with the whole place. Definitely Kakadont.
That's a total scam to pay for a pass that they won't tell you what is open until you pay. I hope that unpleasant interaction didn't ruin your time there. Thanks for giving your frank and honest thoughts on the NP. Safe travels.
As your regular Darwin viewers, totally agree with Kakadu. Although as locals we don't pay fees at the park entrance (which you would have driven past and hard to miss to get in 😂 ) the costs to get there and reward for effort sees Litchfield as the much better option.
Thanks for the frank thoughts on the options in this part of the wonderful northern Australian continent. I am starting out on the 'transition to retirement' road and I really appreciate your views on the pros and cons of this area. Cheers
That is disgusting how you got treated by that person in the information office, I would put a complaint in. Thanks again for sharing guys and take care until next time
2018 i bought a Australia wide national parks pass for $690 when i got to kakadu i was told it wasn't included and because it was early in season i had to pay $87 per person for a 2 day pass and only 2 attractions where open , and it wasn't a Aboriginal person asking for the money it was a irish lady working on tourist working visa she knew nothing of the area was rude to everyone visiting on the day worst experience ever so its a Kakadont for me
Nothing worse than being told about our tourist attractions by backpackers that have no idea, but then it would be a bit much to expect the TOs to actually work there lol.
Hi guys, I think it’s a bit crazy information centre won’t give out information. How crazy is that I’ve spoken to a lot of people and they said Lynchfield National Park is the one to go and have a look at it so contact and a lot better than Kakadu anyway thank you for the videos looks Like you’re having lots of fun that’s what it’s all about Cliff from Queensland, Australia
We found Kakadu very disappointing we did a full day tour from Darwin. The only highlights were the yellow billabong water croc cruise and although we paid a fortune to add an extra small plain flight over the falls that it make a reasonable day but wouldn't do it again. Litchfield if a far better choice especially if you are limited on time. Uluru also becoming too expensive which is such a shame because it's a beautiful place but so much not accessible to non indigenous Australians nowadays.
Unfortunately more and more national parks and areas are being locked up and only access allowed for some. If this keeps up at the rate it has been over the past 10 years or so, soon your kids will never get to experience the bush and only be able to access very small areas of national parks. Already camping, hiking and climbing areas that have been public access for over a hundred years are now being closed.
I think you summed it up perfectly. You get the feeling that you're just a bloody nuisance to them. They close stuff at the drop of a hat. Any excuse to not have stuff open
Kakadu is totally mismanaged.....its a complete joke. Dont just blame the Traditional owners either....the park is managed by Parks Australia (Commonwealth Government) and they not only mismanage the park but also the8r relationship with the T.O.s. Places in that park are often only open for a couple months a year....the amount of tax payer dollars that goes into the park....citizens dont get much value for money.
We stayed very near Cahill’s Crossing in our caravan a few years ago. There were toilets and showers. A ranger came and we paid a camping fee to him. Didn’t have to pay to be in the National Park. What a disappointing place now!! Unless it improves. I’d vote KakaDon’t.
Definitely Kaka Don't for me. This is my second trip to the NT and probably my last. The park fees are excessive. You have to pay for a NT parks pass, a Ayers rock pass, a Kakadu Pass and it was $25 to do a short walk in the Mac Donnel Ranges. It all added up to over $300 just for two people. I have just been to Tassie and $60 dollars covered the whole state for a whole year. The crime here is out of control, bars, razor wire and shutters on most shops in towns. The whole place is not welcoming. And then there is the cost of fuel, upto $3 in some places. It's really disappointing because it is such a beautiful place. PS we have been watching your videos for years now and you both do a great job. Hopefully one day we will see you on the road. Safe travels
I probably visited Moline Rock Hole aka Ikoymarrwa over 20 times when only locals went there skinny dipping. Never saw any crocs there, plenty of snakes though. Re closures, Jim Jim track sometimes doesn’t open to July , some now closed for cultural/political reasons.
Where you two went brings back memories of our visiting kakadu, we went to all the same places and remember that a lot of places were shut then. Yellow river cruise was amazing well worth it we thought, being “tourists” from 🇬🇧 we probably paid 😝 we had lots of people chatting to us because we had brought our own 🇬🇧 reg Land Rover and roof tent so we were quite the anomaly. Chelsea makes me laugh with her snakes and spiders. I loved seeing all the crocs we stayed at a place called shady camp and saw some pretty big crocs, there was only two other people at the campsite as well. That’s what I loved about Australia the fact that there’s wiki camps and free camping, there’s nothing like that here, and it’s summer here now and 14 degrees 😒. Stay safe Bryce and Chelsea, big strokes to Juice. 👋 been following you two since we came back home and the Campman.
Might have something to do with Parks Australia pleading guilty to violating a sacred site in 2019 at Gunlom Falls. Parks Australia were meant to be helping run this park with the TOs and they do this..... I guess we're still lucky tourists are allowed to go there at all. It's a beautiful area and hopefully all parties can move forward in a positive way that helps everyone 🤞
Many ,many years ago (early 70’s) before tourism took off , we used to camp where you stood on the viewing platform . No retaining walls and a store next to the crossing selling alcohol and everything else and run by 2 elderly ladies . You really need to be a Cahil’s Crossing at the turn of the tide as it rushes in and the crocs wait for the Barra . Usually awesome viewing . So sad to hear of your thoughts about Kakadu .
Don't tell me what is open.....you don't get any money! Bloody unbelievable that anyone wants money before allowing anyone to know what they are getting......lucky dip anyone!
Hey Gail, Yes unfortunately Kakadu doesn't have anywhere to stay which allow dogs. Such a shame but plenty more places like Litchfield Safari Camp (if you want to stay right in the NP with your pups).
We did Kakadu in June also and I'm with you, it's a shame that you don't feel welcome but they love taking our money. It's definitely a Kakadon't from us.
Really appreciate your honest views and is such a shame the Aboriginals who claim ‘their land ‘ back do this. We are all Australian, would be wonderful if we could share this beautiful land.
When our local treasures ( indigenous) take over these places your discouraged from going there, there are so many i could mention, they let them deteriorate and get run down but still put their hand out for your money, thats one thing about touring this country, they take everything and give nothing in return, having said that heads up and keep travelling, footnote i have several friends who refuse to visit the topend for those reasons, cheers 👍
I’m thankful I got to see Kakadu 15 years ago as a guest of someone who was running a tourism business. Yellow Waters cruise is great, and Ubirr Rock was special regardless of the debate about the rock art - I found it a very spiritual place. Onwards and upwards guys and thanks for your brand of vids, you’re very refreshing!
Hold em to a count. Let google reviews & all the other platforms know as well. Poor or denial of a service & more specifically information, without full prior payment deserves enlightenment of such facts be shared with all potential clients
Spent a couple of years in Darwin in the 80's and did all the falls in Kakadu, was very special back then. Litchfield was a remote 4wd track to get to FLorence and Tolmer Falls. We were lucky to have the time at these gems before tourism made them more accessible. In saying that we will return and have a look on our journey East and then NOrth next year, thanks for sharing your experiences which is what we as travellers are looking for.
Complete rip off. The visitors Centre needs A good clean up. Stop on the side of the road get out of the car, listen, no bird sounds because they over burn IMO. They need the AWC to educate them about patchwork burning. We were so disappointed..Definitely Kaka don’t for us ever again.
Disgusting that we have to pay to see our own country. I think the people running these National Parks are played very well and asking white people to pay before any information is offered is appalling. I have know interest in heading up that way I'll go to a zoo if I want to see a croc. Great work thought. Thanks.
Kakadu is a great place, BUT paying that much to for entry is a joke. The staff at the vistors center are just there for the money they seem to have no enthusiasm for the park or visitors. Rangers reflected to be worse. The park ammenities are dirty an unkept, Nearly all places are closed. It is just a discrace that the NT government spend so much money attracting tourists the top end and the Kakadu national parks dont make the effort to keep attractions accessable to the overcharged public.
I was there 30 years ago on a bus tour and they made us 40 people plus get out of the bus and buy the pass individually they would not take a bulk booking, but on the other side of the coin my wife and I went to Walga rock in Western Australia a couple of years ago the rock has the mysterious white sailing ship in the Aboriginal rock art , some Aboriginal men were doing weeding and nicer people you could not meet one of them told us where the white ship was and that one of the hand prints had a destinct marking and the hand print had been found over a large area in the district which proved that they roamed a lot in the area.
Lived there, Jabiru, for 9 years, before it became commercialised, not mention the locals and national parks closing areas off, personally Kakadu us nothing now compared to what it used to be, Lichfield is far superior.
well we experienced the same thing in Kakadu back in 2014, paid the entry fees ( I think approx $50-60) and then found half of it was closed.Tried for quite a few months to get back some of our monies back. Very very unresponsive and had no success, was very disappointing. We agree they should be more obliging in telling you what parts are open in the national park.
Really bad interactions over 20 years ago ... it was renamed kakadont by lots of Territorians back then as well. Plenty of other places to go to and enjoy.
So sad that an information centre won't give you info without paying. Kind of puts me off going there, especially when there are better national parks in the NT. Hopefully you still enjoyed your experience there.
This is what happens to tourism when the Indigenous Councils take control of local parks etc etc, the very same thing happened to areas in the US where the Indian Nations control parks. It’s all about money not tourists and whats good for the citizens.
Thanks for the awesome videos! My son and I love watching every weekend. We look forward to traveling to Australia. Your videos have inspired us to travel there soon! Best to both of you from California!
Kakadu is such a beautiful place, went 2 years ago. It’s huge and the week we spent there we did over 500k’s in the park. Fees are set by federal government so no wonder it’s getting expensive, same as Uluṟu and kings canyon. Your video brought back memories of our first trip to Kakadu. Yellow water cruise was amazing. I would do it again. Cheers from Adelaide
Hey guys, just wondering what your total length from hitch to spare wheel and what is your total caravan weight full of water? Waiting for your next episode to drop, luv them
Thanks Guys , some of those swimming holes looked very inviting except for the big lizards that could be in there . Cant believe how you got no information from tourists information centre leaves a bad taste when that happens . Keep up the great work . 👍👍🍻🍻
There is a white board at the Information Centre that has all the openings and closings. We agree, there should be a reduced pass when all the main sites are closed. We found the same in Karijini yesterday.
Kakadu has such large gaps between its sights - its hard to recommend it i reckon. when a local says you're better off spending a couple of days at Litchfield...trust them. my memory of kakadu is spending the whole day in the car driving coz the loop is a lot of km. litchfield is the best nat park in Australia, do a u-ee, go back there. the only thing that rivals Litchfield is the Karajini or Exmouths peninsular. Karajini is the WA version of Litchfield its really big and requires a bit of driving also not as bad as kakadu. so kakadont for me.
@@CaravanAdventureAus Karajini WA is the last secret place in australia. for anyone doing the loop cut in at port hedland there's nothing on the coastal hwy there that you miss. Karajini is exactly like Litchfield. Exmouths Ningaloo is the only thing better than Litchfield i reckon. lake argyle to emma gorge to el questro then back tracking to the bungle bungles is another loop not to be missed. All those are great, but South Australia has a sea lion and dolphin swim at a tiny place called Baird bay - you have to drive up the beach to get to the business its that small. I've never had an animal encounter like that tiny 8 person tour...beats the ningaloo reef whale sharks if that's at all possible. Kakadu has none of the magic of the places i just listed. You got to cross it off, but, its a waste of time IMO. Litchfield over Kakado everytime, drive passed the turn off, you are better off spending time at the Katherine centric stuff like Edith Falls down to Matarankas pools. Edith Falls is so under rated. Cool camping facilities also.
I was at Kakadu myself last week and yes alot of areas were closed ,yet i still really enjoyed my time here ,. we did check the NAT. Parks website prior so we were aware of what was open and decided to go, yes Litchfield to me was alot better but you can't take away the feeling you get when your in Kakadu, the deep spiritual connection, the land and its people. I was fortunate enough to not have any other tourist's in my recent video, luck I guess. When it comes to swimming holes, keep a BBQ chicken in the fridge , toss it in, if it's still floating in an hour its safe to swim LOL.
Thanks for the video and honest review of the park. We are currently in Darwin and planned to spend some time at Kakadu but seriously thinking of changing our plans. We were out at Litchfield last week and it was amazing especially in at Central Valley. We noticed on WikiCamps many reviews were uncomplimentary which seems to be consistent with your overall feeling of the park. Thanks again. Looks like a Kakadont for us.
Hi Guys, we have subscribed to your channel from first video. Thank you for your opinion re Kakadu. Feel sorry for the way you were treated. So unnecessary. We went in 2016 nothing has changed. Only Yellow Waters was open, so apart from the beautiful wetlands cruise, we couldn't go anywhere. Everything was closed. Disappointed. Kakadu don't for us! Side note, congratulations on the new van. Looks great. Pat for Juice, so cute😂 take care and safe happy travels. Cheers Jane and John 🍻 ❤
Lmao - I’ve been in NW WA for over 20 yrs and I’ve spoken to 100’s of travellers coming through the Pilbara. One couple were 6 yrs on the road and said ‘we haven’t seen it all’. Australia is huuuuuuuuuuuge, massive. There’s plenty to see. If a tour joint won’t give you info unless you pay, walk out. We booked into Monkey Mia in 2006, they charged us to park our car and charged us to rent tennis rackets, and viewed a staff member yelling at guests who got too close to a dolphin. That was 18 yrs ago and we never went back and have worded up countless others on our experience. As soon as a place takes tourists for granted I’m out. Awesome vid
Yes I totally understand about Monkey Mia. We went there during covid for a look one day. They were running dolphin feedings, everything was shut, couldn’t even buy a coffee although they wanted full price to walk down the beach and have a look 😱 we already have a ‘WA All Parks Pass’ but apparently Monkey Mia is extra again 🙃🙃 so silly
Full understand about the parks pass, that a money grab if I ever heard of one. Basically they didn't wanna give you the heads up before they didn't make a dollar
Hi Chelsea & Bryce Kakadu apart from the boat trip at cooinda which you did is a waste of time I don't think they care up there if people visit or not- when are you going to give us a tour of your new caravan or have I missed it
Hi Have followed your channel for long time and currently vanning ourselves. In the NT have you had or felt any security issues it is at the forefront of our mind not only NT but across the top generally?
Whats wrong with taking peoples money and not reinvesting in maintenance! I wonder who is assigned to look after sites and how permit dollars are audited.
Sad with the amount of tax payer funding that they have received to see it the way it is now. Like you guys say, there are better places to spend your hard earned.
G'day guys. Just started following your channel on the recommendation of M and S. We stayed with them the week after you did, and went with them out to Ferny Gully.
Can I ask what camera you have? Im looking at buying a good compact one. I used to live in Darwin and always thought Lichfield is far better than Kakadu
We went to most of the places you visited in 2022 when we were there you had to drive half way thru the park to pay for our passes enjoyed our stay there but been there done that don’t have to go back stay safe and enjoy
Great Episode Could you talk to any locals to see if anything is open,i am with you both 100% not to buy tickets if the information isn’t available,it’s not the money isn’t the principal. The both of you are such a great team, have a wonderful week.🍷🍷🍺🌸💖🌈🦘🦘🐊🐊