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Judbarra / Gregory National Park

Judbarra National Park, formerly Gregory National Park and Judbarra / Gregory National Park, is a national park in the Northern Territory of Australia, 359 km south of Darwin.

The park is the second largest national park in the Northern Territory, after Kakadu National Park, with an area of 13,000 km.

The park was formerly known as Gregory National Park, but on 21 October 2011, it was announced that under a joint management plan with the traditional owners, the park would be dual-named "Judbarra / Gregory National Park" for a period of ten years. Since 2021, its official name is Judbarra National Park.

The park consists of two geographically disjoint sections. The larger section lies to the southwest of the smaller northeastern section.

Indigenous peoples and culture
The park includes traditional lands of several Indigenous Australian groups, including Ngarinyman, Karrangpurru, Malngin, Wardaman, Ngaliwurru, Nungali, Bilinara, Gurindji, and Jaminjung, and spans the boundary between two major Australian language families, Pama Nyungan and Non-Pama-Nyungan (Northern).

The rock shelters and caves in Judbarra contain an extensive amount of Aboriginal rock art, variously created by painting, stencilling, drawing, printing, and "pecking and pounding". The human figure is the most common motif; the park is "one of the most prolific sites in Australia" for composite engraved and painted human figures. The rock art of the Judbarra region is considered to represent a distinct art province.

Ecology
Ecologically, the park is in the transition between tropical and semi-arid zones.

The park has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports much of the eastern subspecies of the white-quilled rock-pigeon and small numbers of the endangered Gouldian finch, as well as populations of the chestnut-backed buttonquail, partridge pigeon, yellow-rumped mannikin and several other near-threatened or savanna-biome-restricted species.

A plant that is only known to the park, Solanum scalarium, also known as Garrarnawun bush tomato, was collected near Garrarnawun Lookout in 2018 and formally described in 2022.

title: Judbarra / Gregory National Park


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Kakadu National Park

Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km southeast of Darwin. It is a World Heritage Site. Kakadu is also gazetted as a locality, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded living there in the 2016 Australian census.

Kakadu National Park is located within the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory, covering an area of 19804 km2, extending nearly 200. km from north to south and over 100. km from east to west. It is roughly the size of Wales or one-third the size of Tasmania, and is the second-largest national park in Australia, after the Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park. Most of the region is owned by the Aboriginal traditional owners, who have occupied the land for around 60,000 years and, today, manage the park jointly with Parks Australia. It is highly ecologically and biologically diverse, hosting a wide range of habitats and flora and fauna. It also includes a rich heritage of Aboriginal rock art, including highly significant sites, such as Ubirr. Kakadu is fully protected by the EPBC Act.

The Ranger Uranium Mine site, one of the most productive uranium mines in the world until it ceased operations in January 2021, is surrounded by the park.

Domestic Asian water buffalo, which are now an established feral population and invasive environmental pests, were released into the area in the late 19th century. Feral pigs, cats, red foxes and rabbits are further examples of invasive species, all of which compete with and wreak havoc upon the sensitive, unique ecosystems of the Northern Territory, and of the whole of Australia. These species were intentionally brought to the continent by the early settlers, pastoralists, and missionaries. The European presence, albeit less than in more populated regions (on the east and west coasts), was still felt. In Kakadu, missionaries established a mission at Oenpelli (present-day Gunbalanya) in 1925. A few pastoralists, crocodile-hunters and wood cutters also made a living in the area at various times up until the early 20th century. The area was progressively given protected status from the 1970s onward.

Aboriginal history
The name Kakadu probably originates from the mispronunciation of Gaagudju, which is the name of an Aboriginal language spoken in the north-western part of the park. Explorer Baldwin Spencer had incorrectly ascribed the name "Kakadu tribe" to the people living in the Alligator Rivers area

Aboriginal peoples have occupied the Kakadu area continuously for around 60,000 years. Kakadu National Park is renowned for the richness of its Aboriginal cultural sites. There are more than 5,000 recorded art sites illustrating Aboriginal culture over thousands of years. The archaeological sites demonstrate Aboriginal occupation for at least 20,000 and possibly up to 40,000 years.

Explorers
The Chinese, Malays and Portuguese all claim to have been the first non-Aboriginal explorers of Australia's north coast. The first surviving written account comes from the Dutch. In 1623 Jan Carstenszoon made his way west across the Gulf of Carpentaria to what is believed to be Groote Eylandt. Abel Tasman is the next documented explorer to visit this part of the coast in 1644. He was the first person to record European contact with Aboriginal people. Almost a century later Matthew Flinders surveyed the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1802 and 1803.

Phillip Parker King, an English navigator entered the Gulf of Carpentaria between 1818 and 1822. During this time he named the three Alligator Rivers after the large numbers of crocodiles, which he mistook for alligators.

Ludwig Leichhardt was the first land-based European explorer to visit the Kakadu region, in 1845 on his route from Moreton Bay in Queensland to Port Essington in the Northern Territory. He followed Jim Jim Creek down from the Arnhem Land escarpment, then went down the South Alligator before crossing to the East Alligator and proceeding north.

In 1862, John McDouall Stuart travelled along the south-western boundary of Kakadu but did not see any people.

The first non-Aboriginal people to visit and have sustained contact with Aboriginal people in northern Australia were the Macassans from Sulawesi and other parts of the Indonesian archipelago. They travelled to northern Australia every wet season, probably from the last quarter of the seventeenth century, in sailing boats called praus. Their main aim was to harvest trepang (sea cucumber), turtle shell, pearls and other prized items to trade in their homeland. Aboriginal people were involved in harvesting and processing the trepang, and in collecting and exchanging the other goods.

There is no evidence that the Macassans spent time on the coast of Kakadu but there is evidence of some contact between Macassan culture and Aboriginal people of the Kakadu area. Among the artefacts from archaeological digs in the park are glass and metal fragments that probably came from the Macassans, either directly or through trade with the Cobourg Peninsula people.

The British attempted a number of settlements on the northern Australian coast in the early part of the nineteenth century: Fort Dundas on Melville Island in 1824; Fort Wellington at Raffles Bay in 1829; and Victoria Settlement (Port Essington) on the Cobourg Peninsula in 1838. They were anxious to secure the north of Australia before the French or Dutch, who had colonised islands further north. The British settlements were all subsequently abandoned for a variety of reasons, such as lack of water and fresh food, sickness and isolation.

Buffalo hunters
Water buffalo had a large influence on the Kakadu region as well. By the 1880s the number of buffaloes released from early settlements had increased to such an extent that commercial harvesting of hides and horns was economically viable. The industry began on the Adelaide River, close to Darwin, and moved east to the Mary River and Alligator Rivers regions.

Most of the buffalo hunting and skin curing was done in the dry season, between June and September, when buffaloes congregated around the remaining billabongs. During the wet season hunting ceased because the ground was too muddy to pursue buffalo and the harvested hides would rot. The buffalo-hunting industry became an important employer of Aboriginal people during the dry-season months.

Missionaries
Missionaries also had a large influence on the Aboriginal people of the Alligator Rivers region, many of whom lived and were schooled at missions in their youth. Two missions were set up in the region in the early part of the century. Kapalga Native Industrial Mission was established near the South Alligator River in 1899, but lasted only four years. The Oenpelli Mission began in 1925, when the Church of England Missionary Society accepted an offer from the Northern Territory Administration to take over the area, which had been operated as a dairy farm. The Oenpelli Mission operated for 50 years.

Pastoralists
The pastoral industry made a cautious start in the Top End. Pastoral leases in the Kakadu area were progressively abandoned from 1889, because the Victoria River and the Barkly Tablelands proved to be better pastoral regions.

In southern Kakadu, much of Goodparla and Gimbat was claimed in the mid-1870s by three pastoralists, Roderick, Travers and Sergison. The leases were subsequently passed on to a series of owners, all of whom were unable for one reason or another to make a go of it. In 1987 both stations were acquired by the Commonwealth and incorporated in Kakadu National Park.

A sawmill at Nourlangie Camp was begun by Chinese operators, probably before World War I, to mill stands of cypress pine in the area. After World War II a number of small-scale ventures, including dingo shooting and trapping, brumby shooting, crocodile shooting, tourism and forestry, began.

Nourlangie Camp was again the site of a sawmill in the 1950s, until the local stands of cypress pine were exhausted. In 1958 it was converted into a safari camp for tourists. Soon after, a similar camp was started at Patonga and at Muirella Park. Clients were flown in for recreational buffalo and crocodile hunting and fishing.

Crocodile hunters often made use of the bush skills of Aboriginal people. By imitating a wallaby's tail hitting the ground, Aboriginal hunters could attract crocodiles, making it easier to shoot the animals. Using paperbark rafts, they would track the movement of a wounded crocodile and retrieve the carcass for skinning. The skins were then sold to make leather goods. Aboriginal people became less involved in commercial hunting of crocodiles once the technique of spotlight shooting at night developed. Freshwater crocodiles have been protected by law since 1964 and saltwater crocodiles since 1971.

Mining
The first mineral discoveries in the Top End were associated with the construction of the Overland Telegraph line between 1870 and 1872, in the Pine Creek – Adelaide River area. A series of short mining booms followed. The construction of the North Australia Railway line (1889–1976) gave more permanency to the mining camps, and places such as Burrundie and Pine Creek became permanent settlements. Small-scale gold mining began at Imarlkba, near Barramundi Creek, and Mundogie Hill in the 1920s and at Moline (previously called Eureka and Northern Hercules mine), south of the park, in the 1930s. The mines employed a few local Aboriginal people.

In 1953, uranium was discovered along the headwaters of the South Alligator River valley. Thirteen small but rich uranium mines operated in the following decade, at their peak in 1957 employing over 150 workers. Early in the 1970s large uranium deposits were discovered at Ranger, Jabiluka and Koongarra. Following receipt of a formal proposal to develop the Ranger site, the Commonwealth Government initiated an inquiry into land use in the Alligator Rivers region. The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry (known as the Fox inquiry) recommended, among other things, that mining begin at the Ranger site, that consideration be given to the future development of the Jabiluka and Koongarra sites, and that a service town be built.

Gold mining was proposed in the late 1980s at Coronation Hill (Guratba). This site had initially been excluded from the park but was added as part of stage 3. Its mining was blocked following environmental and social campaigns. Despite internal disagreement the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, vetoed mining in a Cabinet Meeting in May 1991.

In the mid 1990s a similar debate over additional uranium mining at Jabiluka was prevented by a campaign and blockade initiated by the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation. The Ranger uranium mine closed in 2021.

Extent and features
Kakadu National Park covers an area of 19804 km2, extending nearly 200. km from north to south and over 100. km from east to west. It is the size of Wales, about one-third the size of Tasmania, and nearly half the size of Switzerland, making it the second largest national park in Australia after the Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park, which was proclaimed in November 2021.

The park includes four major river systems:
 * the East Alligator River
 * the West Alligator River
 * the Wildman River
 * the entire South Alligator River

Geology and landforms
Most of Kakadu was under a shallow sea approximately 140 million years ago, with the escarpment wall formed from sea cliffs and Arnhem Land from a flat plateau above the sea. The escarpment rises 330 m above the plateau and extends approximately 500 km along the eastern edge of the park and on into Arnhem Land. The escarpment varies from near vertical cliffs in the Jim Jim Falls area to isolated outliers and stepped cliffs in the North.

There are six main landforms in Kakadu National Park: the Arnhem Land plateau and escarpment complex, known as the stone country; the outliers; the lowlands; the southern hills and basins; the floodplains; and the tidal flats. Each landform has its own range of habitats. Kakadu's varied landscapes and the habitats they contain are features that contributed to its listing as a World Heritage Area.

Chasms and gorges form a network that dissects the rocky platforms on the plateau. The plateau top is a harsh, dry environment where water drains away quickly and topsoil is scarce. Sparse pockets of open forest and woodlands have developed in these areas. Creeks have carved deep gorges in the escarpment in which tall monsoon forests grow. These areas form microclimates for plants and animals and often serve as a refuge during the dry season. Allosyncarpia ternata, a large shady tree found only in the Kakadu and Arnhem Land, is the dominant plant species.

The outliers are essentially pieces of the Arnhem Land plateau that have become separated from the plateau complex by erosion. They were islands in the ancient seas that once covered much of Kakadu. The gently undulating lowland plains stretch over much of the Top End. Travelling anywhere in Kakadu, you cannot help noticing the lowlands—they make up nearly 70% of the park. The soils are shallow and often overlie extensive sheets of laterite (ironstone) and a thick profile of strongly leached rocks.

During the wet season water carried down from the Arnhem Land plateau often overflows from creeks and rivers onto nearby floodplains. Alluvial soils carried in the floodwaters add nutrients to the floodplains. Nutrient-rich soils along with an abundance of water and sunlight make the floodplains an area of prolific plant and animal life. During the dry season the water recedes into rivers, creeks, and isolated waterholes or billabongs. Kakadu's wetlands are listed under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar Convention) for their outstanding ecological, botanical, zoological, and hydrological features.

The southern hills and basins cover a large area in the south of the park, including the headwaters of the South Alligator River. Rocks here have been exposed from beneath the retreating Arnhem escarpment; they are of volcanic origin and are extremely old (2500 million years). This landform is characterised by rugged strike ridges separated by alluvial flats. Kakadu's coast and the creeks and river systems under tidal influence (extending about 100 kilometres inland) make up this landform. The shape of the estuaries and tidal flats varies considerably from the dry season to the wet season. During the dry season tidal action deposits silt along the river beds and banks. During the wet season the river beds are eroded by the floodwaters and large quantities of fresh and saline water flow out across the tidal flats, where silt is deposited. Large silt loads are also carried out to sea, some of the silt being deposited as a nutrient rich layer on the sea floor, contributing to the muddy waters that characterise Kakadu's coastline. The estuaries and tidal flats are home to an array of plants and animals adapted to living in the oxygen-deficient saline mud. The dominant habitats are mangrove swamps and samphire flats. Where freshwater springs occur along the coasts and river banks, isolated pockets of coastal monsoon rainforests form.

Protection, ownership and management
The park was declared as a protected area in several stages starting in the 1970s.

The cultural and natural values of Kakadu National Park were recognised internationally when the Park was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is an international register of properties that are recognised as having outstanding cultural or natural values of international significance.

Fight for Kakadu
Kakadu was proclaimed a National Park in several stages between 1979 and 1991. These parts also were progressively added to its World Heritage Status as those additions were made. The first was Stage 1 in 1981, then in 1987 (Stages 1 and 2), in 1992 (Stages 1, 2 and 3).

Between 1988-1991 an exclusion zone to allow exploration and mining, particularly of gold, at Coronation Hill and El Sherana by BHP existed. Groups from environmental, social and indigenous perspectives opposed the proposal. Miners and some economists supported it.

In Victoria the Kakadu Action Group (KAG) was formed by Lindsay Mollison at the Melbourne offices of the Australian Conservation Foundation where regular meetings were held. The Group held public meetings to encourage support for opposition to the proposal. Mollison also participated by contributing and rebutting letters to the "Letters to the Editor" of The Age newspaper over the several years. The organisation was being surveilled by the Australian Government with archives of its meetings still held secretly by the Government (due for release in 2026).

In a hearts and mind campaign, including KAG's contributions, the excluded sections within the proposed stage 3 were progressively decreased in size and were eventually completely removed after the mining proposal was ultimately vetoed at a Cabinet meeting by the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, in May 1991. Those actions were important in his being replaced later that year. The area was added to Kakadu National Park as part of its stage 3 inclusions in 1992. The activities of the Kakadu Action Group during these years contributed to mining being banned and the areas being added to the Park.

However, a separate exclusion zone at Jabiluka still remained. In this instance the proposal was to mine uranium. This was finally ruled out and this part of Kakadu was added to the Park in 1996. The precedents set with Coronation Hill were important in that decision. Local First Nations Gaagudju man Big Bill Neidjie was an important leader in the campaign against the proposed Jabiluka mine and the inclusion of the area in the park.

In 2011 the Koongarra area, where there remained a proposal for another uranium mine, was added to the World Heritage Region.

Park management
The Kakadu National Park is proclaimed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act) and is managed through a joint management arrangement between the Aboriginal traditional owners and the Director of National Parks. The Director manages Commonwealth national parks through Parks Australia.Parks Australia and the Aboriginal traditional owners of Kakadu are committed to the principle of joint management of the park and arrangements to help this happen are highlighted in Kakadu's Plan of Management.

The EPBC Act provides for boards of management to be established for parks on Aboriginal land. The Kakadu Board of Management, which has an Aboriginal majority (ten out of fifteen members), representing the Aboriginal traditional owners of land in the park, was established in 1989. The Board determines policy for managing the park and is responsible, along with the Director, for preparing plans of management for the park. The Plan of Management is the main policy document for the park and strives to balance strategic or long-term goals and tactical or day to day goals. Day-to-day management of Kakadu is carried out by people employed by Parks Australia, which is a branch of the Australian Government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Approximately one-third of the staff in Kakadu are Aboriginal people.

Kakadu National Park re-introduced a park use fee from April 2010, to help manage the natural and cultural values of the park environment and improve visitor services.

Aboriginal land ownership
Approximately half of the land in Kakadu is Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976. Most of the remaining land was under native title claim by Aboriginal people for several decades until March 2022, under four different claims. On 24 March 2022 a ceremony took place today to mark the formal handback by Minister for Indigenous Affairs Ken Wyatt of nearly half of the park to Aboriginal traditional owners. These are the Limingan/ Minitja, Murumburr, Karndidjbal, Yulhmanj, Wurngomgu, Bolmo, Wurrkbarbar, Madjba, Uwinymil, Bunidj, Djindibi, Mirrar Kundjeyhmi and Dadjbaku peoples. The areas of the park that are owned by Aboriginal people are leased by the traditional owners to the Director of National Parks to be managed as a national park.

Climate
Kakadu is located in the tropics, between 12° and 14° south of the Equator. The climate is monsoonal, characterised by two main seasons: the dry season and the wet season. The "build up" describes the transition between the dry and the wet. During the dry season (from April/May to September), dry southerly and easterly trade winds predominate. Humidity is relatively low and rain is unusual. At Jabiru, the average maximum temperature for June–July is 32 °C. During the "build up" (October to December) conditions can be extremely uncomfortable with high temperatures and high humidity. However, "build up" storms are impressive and lightning strikes are frequent. In fact, the Top End of Australia records more lightning strikes per year than any other place on earth. At Jabiru the average maximum temperature for October is 37.5 °C.

The wet season (January to March/April) is characterised by warm temperatures and rain. Most of the rain is associated with monsoonal troughs formed over Southeast Asia, although occasionally tropical cyclones produce intense heavy rain over localised areas. At Jabiru, the average maximum temperature for January is 33 °C. Annual rainfall in Kakadu National Park ranges from 1,565 mm in Jabiru to 1,300 mm in the Mary River region.

Most non-Aboriginal people really only refer to the rain and dry seasons, but the Bininj/Mungguy people identify as many as six seasons in the Kakadu region:

 * Kunumeleng – mid-October to late December, pre-monsoon storm season with hot weather and building thunderstorms in the afternoons
 * Kudjewk – from January to March, monsoon season with thunderstorms, heavy rain, and flooding; the heat and humidity generate an explosion of plant and animal life
 * Bangkerreng – April, the "knock 'em down storm" season where floodwater recedes but violent, windy storms knock down grasses
 * Yekke – from May to mid-June, relatively cool with low humidity, the Aboriginal people historically started burning the woodlands in patches to "clean the country" and encourage new growth for grazing animals
 * Wurrkeng – from mid-June to mid-August, the cold weather season with low humidity; most creeks stop flowing and the floodplains quickly dry out
 * Kurrung – from mid-August to mid-October, hot dry weather with ever-shrinking billabongs.

Flora and fauna
Kakadu is ecologically and biologically diverse.

Flora
Kakadu's flora is among the richest in northern Australia with more than 1700 plant species recorded which is a result of the park's geological, landform and habitat diversity. Kakadu is also considered to be one of the most weed free national parks in the world.

The distinctly different geographical areas of Kakadu have their own specialised flora. The environment referred to as the "Stone Country" features "resurrection grasses" that are able to cope with extreme heat and long dry spells followed by periods of torrential rain. Monsoon forests often develop in the cool moist gorges dissecting the stone country. The southern hills and basins support several endemic plants that are only found in Kakadu such as Eucalyptus koolpinensis near Jarrangbarnmi (Koolpin Gorge). Lowland areas form a large proportion of Kakadu National Park and are mainly covered in eucalypt-dominated open woodland with the ground layer consisting of a large range of grasses including spear grass, sedges and wildflowers. The Kakadu plum, Terminalia ferdinandiana, is commonly found in the area.

The floodplains, which are inundated for several months each year, feature sedges such as spike rush as well patches of freshwater mangroves (itchy tree), pandanus and paper bark trees (Melaleuca). Varieties of water lilies, such as the blue, yellow and white snowflake, are commonly found in these areas. Estuaries and tidal flats are populated with varieties of mangroves (39 of the 47 Northern Territory species of mangrove occur in Kakadu) that are important for stabilising the coastline. Mangroves serve as feeding and breeding grounds for many fish species including the barramundi.

On the tidal flats behind the mangroves, hardy succulents (samphire), grasses and sedges grow. Isolated pockets of monsoon forest grow along the coast and river banks. These forests contain several impressive trees, among them the banyan fig, which can be recognised by its large, spreading aerial roots, and the yellow-flowered kapok bush or cotton tree, Cochlospermum fraseri, whose pods split to release cotton-like material.

Fauna
There is a remarkable variety and concentration of wildlife, including:
 * over 280 bird species
 * roughly 60 mammal species
 * over 50 freshwater species
 * over 10,000 insect species
 * over 1,600 plant species
 * some 117 species of reptiles

The diverse environments of Kakadu National Park supports a great array of animals, a number of which have adapted to particular habitats. Some animals in the park are rare, endangered, vulnerable or endemic. Responding to the extreme weather conditions experienced in the park, many animals are active only at particular times of the day or night or at particular times of the year.

Mammals
About 74 mammal species—marsupials and placental mammals—have been recorded in the park. Most of them inhabit the open forest and woodlands and are nocturnal, making it difficult to see them. Others, such as wallabies and kangaroos (macropods, 8 species), are active in the cooler parts of the day and are easier to see.

Among the larger more common species are dingoes, antilopine kangaroos, black wallaroos, agile wallabies, and short-eared rock wallabies. Smaller common mammals are northern quolls, brush-tailed phascogales, brown bandicoots, black-footed tree-rats, and black flying foxes. Dugongs are found in the coastal waters. However, recent surveys have revealed a disturbing decline of nearly all mammal species throughout Kakadu, including once common and widespread species such as northern tart bats.

Birds
Kakadu's many habitats support more than 280 species of birds, or about one-third of Australia's bird species. Some birds range over a number of habitats, but many are found in only one environment.

Some 11,246 km2 of Kakadu's savanna habitats has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports populations of the endangered Gouldian finch, the vulnerable red goshawk, the near threatened partridge pigeon and chestnut-backed button-quail, and the restricted-range hooded parrot and rainbow pitta. The Kakadu Savanna IBA also supports varied lorikeets, northern rosellas, silver-crowned friarbirds, white-gaped, yellow-tinted, white-lined, bar-breasted and banded honeyeaters, sandstone shrike-thrushes, white-browed robins, canary white-eyes, and masked and long-tailed finches.

Waterbirds include large populations of magpie geese, wandering whistling ducks, green pygmy geese, comb-crested jacana, black-necked stork, Australian pelicans, little black cormorant, Australian darter, nankeen night herons, pied herons, black bittern, sarus crane and brolga.

Reptiles
Some 117 species of reptiles have been recorded in Kakadu. Being cold-blooded, these animals rely on heat from an external source such as the sun to regulate their body temperature. This is not to say that reptiles are active only during the day; in fact, few snakes can withstand Kakadu's midday heat and most are active at night. Since the arrival of the cane toad in the park, many populations of reptiles have crashed. Reptiles which were once a common sight such as large goannas, eastern brown snakes, death adders and many others were rare by 2010. The iconic frill-necked lizard has also significantly dropped in numbers.

Two species of crocodile occur in Kakadu: the freshwater crocodile (Crocodylus johnstonii) and the estuarine, or saltwater crocodile (C. porosus). Freshwater crocodiles are easily identified by their narrow snout and a single row of four large boney lumps called "scutes" immediately behind the head. Estuarine crocodiles do not have these scutes and their snout is broader. The maximum size for a freshwater crocodile is 3 metres, whereas a saltwater can exceed 6 metres.

On October 22, 2002, a twenty-four-year-old female German tourist was killed by a saltwater crocodile assault while swimming in Sandy billabong with other foreign backpackers including her sister.

Frogs
Kakadu's 25 frog species are extremely well adapted to the region's climatic extremes. Many remain dormant during rainless times. With the onset of the wet season, when the billabongs and swamps start to fill with water, the night air is filled with the sounds of frogs such as the northern bullfrog and the marbled frog. As the water builds up, frogs and tadpoles have an abundance of food, such as algae, vegetation, insects, dragonfly nymphs, and other tadpoles. Not all of Kakadu's frogs are found in the wetlands: many live in the lowland forests.

Fish
Fifty-three species of freshwater fish have been recorded in Kakadu's waterways; eight of them have a restricted distribution. In the Magela Creek system alone, 32 species have been found. In comparison, the Murray–Darling river system, the most extensive in Australia, now supports only 27 native fish species. Although introduced fish have been found in most Australian waterways, none have been recorded in the park.

Insects
Kakadu supports more than 10,000 species of insect. Among the insect groups are grasshoppers, beetles, flies, termites, butterflies and moths, bees, wasps, ants, dragonflies and damselflies, caddisflies, non-biting midges and mayflies. The great variety of insects is a result of the varied habitats and relatively high temperatures throughout the year.

Perhaps the most striking insect-created features in the park are the termite mounds. The mounds in the southern part of the park are particularly large and impressive. Leichhardt's grasshopper, in colours of orange, blue and black, is perhaps the most spectacular insect found in Kakadu. It is also found on the Arnhem Land plateau and in Gregory National Park.

Environmental problems and threats
Kakadu has seen several invasive species that threaten the native habitat, particularly in recent decades. Introduced fauna including the water buffalo, wild pig and more recently, the cane toad have damaged habitat. Invasive weeds include Mimosa pigra, which covers 800 km2 of the Top End, including vast areas of Kakadu, invasive para grass (Urochloa mutica) displaces the native food of much of Kakadu's birdlife. Salvinia molesta has infested the Magela floodplain. Brumbies also inhabit areas of the National Park, including Yellow Water. The controversial Ranger Uranium mine, one of the world's most productive uranium mines, is surrounded by the park, and presents a significant management challenge both now and into the future, with the question of how to safely contain low-level radioactive wastewater. The escape of contaminated wastewater into the Park's wetlands, which may become more likely under climate change–induced rainfall events, would have a devastating impact on the Park's biodiversity.

Aboriginal rock art sites
The art sites of Ubirr, Burrunguy (Nourlangie Rock) and Nanguluwur are internationally recognised as outstanding examples of Aboriginal rock art. Some of the paintings are up to 20,000 years old, which makes them one of the longest historical records of any group of people on earth. The local Aboriginal word for rock art is "kunbim". These sites are found in rocky outcrops that have afforded shelter to Aboriginal inhabitants for thousands of years. The painting in these rock shelters were done for various reasons:

 * Hunting – animals were often painted to increase their abundance and to ensure a successful hunt by placing people in touch with the spirit of the animal
 * Religious significance – at some sites paintings depict aspects of particular ceremonies
 * Stories and learning – stories associated with the Creation Ancestors, who gave shape to the world were painted
 * Sorcery and magic – paintings could be used to manipulate events and influence people's lives
 * Fun - for play and practice.

Ubirr is a group of rock outcrops in the northeast of the park, on the edge of the Nadab floodplain. There several large rock overhangs that would have provided excellent shelter to Aboriginal people over thousands of years. Ubirr's proximity to the East Alligator River and Nadab floodplains means that food would have been abundant and this is reflected in much of the rock art here. Animals depicted in the main gallery include barramundi, catfish, mullet, goanna, snake-necked turtle, pig-nosed turtle, rock-haunting ringtail possum, and wallaby and thylacine (Tasmanian tiger).

There are also images of the Rainbow Serpent said to have created much of the landscape as well as mischievous Mimi spirits and the story of the Namarrgarn Sisters. Many stories connected to Aboriginal rock are highly complex and linked to other stories. Often the true meanings have been lost, but they all have a purpose which is usually to serve as a lesson or a warning to the young or to those passing through the area.

Burrunguy, formally called Nourlangie Rock, is located in an outlying formation of the Arnhem Land Escarpment. There are a number of shelters in amongst this large outcrop linked by paths and stairways. The shelters contain several impressive paintings that deal with creation ancestors. Some of the stories connected to these artworks are known only to certain Aboriginal people and remain secret.

Anbangbang Billabong lies in the shadow of Nourlangie Rock and is inhabited by a wide range of wildlife which would have sustained traditional Aboriginal people well.

Nanguluwur is a small art site, near Nourlangie, which displays several rock art styles. These include hand stencils, dynamic figures in large head-dresses carrying spears and boomerangs, representations of Namandi spirits and mythical figures, including Alkajko, a female spirit with four arms and horn-like protuberances. There is also an interesting example of "contact art" depicting a two-masted sailing ship with anchor chain and a dinghy trailing behind.

Human impacts
Human impacts during the 19th and 20th century have been significant. Introduction of domestic Asian water buffalo from Southeast Asia has resulted in damage to the fragile floodplains and wetlands. Since then, buffalo have largely been eradicated from the area so the land is now rehabilitating itself. Crocodile hunting which has been banned since 1972 made a huge impact on crocodile populations. In the 40 or so years that they have been protected, however the crocodile population has recovered so successfully that some consider there to be an over population.

Mining has an obvious impact on the landscape, but only one operational uranium mine (Ranger) remains. Mine operators are required to completely rehabilitate the area once the operation is wound down. Some small scale logging occurred in the early part of the 20th century, but little evidence of this remains. Tourism represents a significant human impact to Kakadu National Park with hundreds of thousands of visitors arriving annually. Infrastructure such as roads, tracks, interpretive signage and shelter, accommodation, telecommunications and other services must be provided to support this activity.

Fire management
Fire is part of the landscape of Kakadu National Park, as the park contains large areas of woodland and grassy plains that are subject to long periods of dry hot weather. The flora of the region has adapted to frequent fires. Fires in northern Australia are less threatening than in southern Australia as many of the trees are largely fire resistant while other plants simply regenerate very quickly.

Controlled burning is practised by the national park in consultation with traditional owners who have used fire as a land management tool for thousands of years. Fire is an important hunting tool for Aboriginal people using it to flush out prey. The other benefit is that once the fire has gone through an area the tender shoots of the fast regenerating grasses attract wallabies into a clearly defined area. Birds of prey such as whistling kites also rely on fire to flush out small animals and are usually found in large numbers circling a fire front. Other species such as white-throated grasswrens have declined because of too many fires. Aboriginal people understand that fire is necessary to "clean up" the landscape and believe that many small fires are preferable to one large fire.

Tourism
Kakadu National Park is a major tourist attraction in Australia's north. Visitation numbers in 2005 were 202,000. Kakadu's dramatic landscape, Aboriginal cultural significance and diverse and abundant wildlife are what visitors are drawn to. There are many beautiful waterfalls and gorges within the park that are popular with visitors, such as Maguk, Gunlom Falls, Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls.

Kakadu National Park has some of the best examples of Aboriginal rock art in Australia. The sites of Nourlangie and Ubirr are among the most visited locations in the park. It is possible to view some of Kakadu's diverse wildlife at places like Yellow Water Billabong, Cooinda on board a wildlife cruise or at Mamukala Wetlands or Anbangbang Billabong. The Kakadu region is one of the world's best for bird watching as approximately 30 percent of Australia's bird species can be seen here.

Large saltwater crocodiles are also commonplace and visitors are likely to see them at Yellow Water and East Alligator River, so it was no coincidence that the "Crocodile" Dundee films were shot here. The significance of these creatures to the local aboriginal people, as well as the success of the film, inspired the design of the Gagudju Crocodile Hotel in Jabiru. Visitors are urged to exercise caution around crocodiles as they have been responsible for a number of fatal attacks. Recreational fishing is a popular activity inside Kakadu National Park. The main target species is barramundi, and the most popular locations are Yellow Water, the South Alligator and the East Alligator River. Hunting is not allowed in Kakadu National Park.

There are several accommodation options in the park, mostly found in the town of Jabiru, as well as a range of services to cater to visitors' needs. Visitors can travel through Kakadu National Park with a recognised tour operator, or they can drive themselves. Many of the park's sites are accessible by standard two-wheel-drive vehicles, but areas like Twin and Jim Jim Falls and Gunlom require four-wheel-drive vehicles. Visitors can experience Kakadu National Park via the Nature's Way tourism drive, which is a loop from Darwin to Jabiru then onto Katherine and back to Darwin covering approximately 900 km.

General facilities
Kakadu National Park is linked to Darwin by the Arnhem Highway and to Pine Creek and Katherine by the Kakadu Highway. Both roads are sealed all weather roads although they may be cut off periodically during periods of heavy rain.

The town of Jabiru has several accommodation options, a service station, police, a medical clinic and a shopping centre with a range of outlets. The town was built for the uranium mine that was established prior to the founding of Kakadu National Park and provides infrastructure for the mine's workforce as well as the national park activities and tourism. Jabiru has a small airport from which scenic flights operate daily.

Other small tourism centres such as Cooinda and South Alligator provide limited facilities. Cooinda, 50 km south of Jabiru on the Kakadu Highway is the site of Gagudju Lodge Cooinda, Yellow Water Cruises and the Warradjan Cultural Centre. Fuel and limited provisions are available at Cooinda and there is also a small airstrip for scenic flights. South Alligator approximately 40 km west of Jabiru on the Arnhem Highway includes a hotel and service station. The Border Store near Ubirr Art Site and Cahills Crossing, 50 km north of Jabiru, is a general store.

Camp sites
There is a wide variety of designated camping sites throughout the park. Jabiru, Cooinda and South Alligator all have commercial camping areas and are in close proximity to most of the important natural attractions in these areas. Some of the park's campsites charge a nominal fee as these have shower and toilet facilities, others are free, however they have limited or no facilities. A list of the sites can be obtained from the Kakadu National Park's Glenn Murcutt-designed Bowali Visitor Centre or from their website.

Governance and demographics
On 4 April 2007, the land occupied by the national park was gazetted by the Northern Territory Government as a locality with the name Kakadu. The locality is part of the local government area of the West Arnhem Region.

The 2016 Australian census which was conducted in August 2016 reports that Kakadu had 313 people living within its boundaries.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Kakadu National Park


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Keep River National Park

Keep River National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 418 km southwest of Darwin and 468 km west of Katherine. The nearest town is Kununurra in Western Australia.

Environment
The park has a number of striking sandstone formations and there is an Indigenous Australian art site at the end of the walk along the floor of the Keep River Gorge. The park falls within the tribal area of the Mirriwung and Gadjerong people. Most of the land in the park also lies within the Keep River Important Bird Area, identified as such because of its importance for the conservation of the endangered Gouldian finch.

Access
Like most of the Top End parks, access can be restricted due to flooding in the wet season. The most comfortable period for visiting is between May and August when the temperature ranges from a maximum of 35 °C to a minimum of 10 °C.

title: Keep River National Park


text:
Litchfield National Park

Litchfield National Park, covering approximately 1500 km2, is near the township of Batchelor, 100 km south-west of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Each year the park attracts over 260,000 visitors.

Proclaimed a national park in 1986, it is named after Frederick Henry Litchfield, a Territory pioneer, who explored areas of the Northern Territory from Escape Cliffs in Van Diemen Gulf to the Daly River in 1864.

Early history
Aboriginal people have lived throughout the area for thousands of years. It is important to the Kungarakan and Marranunggu peoples for whom their ancestral spirits, still considered actively present in the landscape, played a seminal role in forming the landscape, plants and animals of this area.

Recent history
The park was named after Frederick Henry Litchfield, a member of the Finniss Expedition that travelled from South Australia in 1864. This was the first European expedition to visit the Top End of Australia by land and it was their aim to explore as widely as possible and establish a settlement at Escape Cliffs, on the mouth of the Adelaide River. Previous attempts at settlement of Australia's northern coast at Fort Dundas, Raffles Bay and Port Essington had already failed. The surveyor and soldier, Boyle Travers Finniss, was chosen by the South Australian government to be their government Resident in the Northern Territory. His decision to choose an area near Escape Cliffs for settlement was disastrous. The settlers suffered from inadequate food rations and infected mosquito bites. Finniss was disliked by the settlers who had accompanied him and argued with his officials.

The area which is now known as Litchfield National Park was first visited by Europeans in September 1865, when Litchfield led a small group to explore the Daly River. His diary of Monday, 25 September describes his travels:

"Monday, 25 – Three horses look as if they were going to knock up; will give them a day's spell here. There are fine plains here, splendidly grassed and watered; small belts of stunted gum, vaquois, fan palm, and honeysuckle.  Most of the timber is small, but plenty of it is adapted for station purposes.  The country from here to Manton's Creek on the Adelaide (River) is as fine a country for stock as I have ever seen, the whole of it being well grassed and well watered at all times of the year." The discovery of copper and tin led to the establishment of several small scale subsistence mining operations. Pastoral occupation also began in the 1870s, with loggers and graziers facing the difficult conditions of torrential rain, mosquitoes and sandflies.

In 1888 Mt Tolmer became the site of the first tin mine and produced a continual supply of tin. Bamboo Creek's tin mining operation began at Makanbarr, A Mak Mak Marranunggu campsite, in 1906. High-quality tin was often found in the ancient riverbeds and on the surface of the hills. All it needed was to be bagged and sold. Small groups operated this way for the next 30 years. By 1941 miners began following the tin-bearing seams into the hills using picks and shovels, and loading the ore into wagons to be pushed or pulled back to the mines' entrances.

Charles Stead, Thomas Niciloff and Charles Claydon took out the first real lease and set about turning the mine into a commercial venture, with the assistance of local Mak Mak Marranunggu men and women and some Europeans. However, the mine was closed in 1951 after a large flood filled many of the shafts with water. A relic of the old tin mine at Bamboo Creek stands as a reminder of the difficult conditions endured by the pioneer miners.

In 1924 a small homestead was built by the Sargent family on their leased land in the lowlands near Tolmer Falls where there was reliable water and reasonable grazing for their cattle. Their farm proved successful and in 1928 they built Blyth Homestead as an outstation a little further south, so their cattle could take advantage of the good grazing among the paperbarks in this area. Typical of other structures of that time, the homestead is supported with cypress pine tied together with heavy wire and covered with corrugated iron. The family was able to farm their own vegetable and fruit crops, and held up to 13,500 head of cattle, due to the permanent water nearby. After 40 years, the Sargent family sold the lease to the Townsend family who farmed until the early 1960s. The abandoned homestead stands as a stark reminder of the tough conditions graziers faced. Logging of paperbark, cypress and Leichhardt pines began in 1948 in the north-western section of the park. Again, Aboriginal people assisted and ex-army equipment was utilized to take the timber to the mill where it was prepared for local builders.

Uranium was discovered outside what is now Litchfield's eastern boundary in August 1949, by a local prospector, Jack White. Australia's first fully operational uranium mine was opened at Rum Jungle, and underground mining occurred from 1950 to 1953. The name Rum Jungle is derived from an accident that occurred in 1871. A bullock-wagon load of rum, destined for the construction gangs, was said to have been bogged near a patch of jungle on the crocodile-inhabited East Finniss River - the bullockies untethered the oxen and set about drinking the rum, having one of history's most glorious binges. Production from the open cut area started in 1953 and proved to be one of the largest economic influences in the development of the Top End, with sales to the United Kingdom for their atomic weapons program. The mine closed in 1971.

The park was originally part of Stapleton Station, Tipperary Station and Camp Creek Station pastoral leases. The pastoral activity persisted until the declaration of the area as a national park when in 1985, the lessees of Stapleton Station negotiated the surrender of the pastoral lease and it was subsequently taken up by the Conservation Land Corporation.

Flora
The Central sandstone plateau supports rich woodland flora communities dominated by species including Darwin woolybutt and Darwin stringybark, as well as banksias, grevilleas, terminalias and a wide variety of other woodland species.

Remnant pockets of monsoon rainforest thrive along the bottom of the escarpment, and in the deep narrow gorges created over thousands of years by the force of the waterfalls cutting into the escarpment walls.

They are significant because of their size and lack of disturbance. Here visitors will find lilies and slender ground orchids growing among Pandanus, paperbark and swamp bloodwoods.

Gamba Grass
The invasive species Andropogon gayanus, better known as gamba grass is a significant threat to the park’s biodiversity due to the frequent, high intensity, late dry season wildfires it exacerbates. The grass was introduced into the Northern Territory of Australia in 1931 for trial as cattle feed. There are now large swathes of the plant over 532,900 hectares between Darwin and Katherine. Gamba grass already accounts for as much as 20% of Litchfield National Park, around 30,000 hectares of the 144,000-hectare park, contributing to worsening fire seasons. Researchers estimate that this will increase to as much as 30% by 2033, a major threat to the park's future due to the extreme fire risk, the severity of which can destroy locals species. Total eradication is no longer considered viable due to substantial spread since 2014.

Fauna
Common wildlife species include the antilopine kangaroo, agile wallaby, sugar glider, northern brushtail possum, fawn antechinus, black and little red flying foxes and the dingo. The caves near Tolmer Falls are home to a colony of the rare orange leaf-nosed bat and the ghost bat.

Litchfield is a habitat for hundreds of native bird species. Black kites, and other birds of prey are common during the dry season. The yellow oriole, figbird, Pacific koel, spangled drongo, dollarbird and the rainbow bee-eater inhabit the sheltered areas close to waterfalls. A species of marsupial mouse (the northern dibbler), the rufous-tailed bush-hen, a frog (the pealing chirper) and the primitive archerfish, occur in the Wangi Falls area.

Wangi, Tolmer and Florence falls and Buley Rockhole, are popular with visitors and tour groups. The falls have large pools that attract birds and reptiles such as monitors. orange-footed scrubfowl, honeyeaters, figbirds and Torres Strait pigeons share the fruit and berries in the areas with nocturnal mammals like the northern quoll, northern brown bandicoot and northern brushtail possum. Frill-necked lizard are common throughout the park, but will not be seen as frequently during the cool dry season months. The Finniss River area also hosts a number of large saltwater crocodiles, commonly abbreviated as "salties".

The magnetic termite mounds are a popular tourist attraction. These wedge-shaped mounds are aligned in a north–south direction as a response to the environment. The termites which build them feed on grass roots and other plant debris found in plains which are seasonally flooded. Therefore, the termites are forced to remain above the water, in the mound. The alignment of the mound acts as a temperature regulator, and allows the temperature to remain stable.

Bamboo Creek Tin Mine
Bamboo Creek tin mine is an example of small scale, labour-intensive mine operated without the benefit of heavy earth machinery. It was typical of many of the mines in the Northern Territory which operated in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, especially those operated by the Chinese. The remains include the mine workings; the tin processing mill; and the associated domestic and industrial remains. Tin was discovered at Bamboo Creek in 1906 and was mined irregularly until 1955. The wide variety of remains are notable in that they reflect the complete range of activities associated with underground mining. Artefacts relating to ore extraction, processing and transport are present as well as domestic remains and remnants of the explosives magazine.

Blyth Homestead
Blyth Homestead is of heritage significance to the Northern Territory due to its architectural and social significance. The remains consist of the homestead building itself which is a single room, cypress pine and corrugated iron structure encircled by verandahs; a flagstone floor; a scatter of corrugated iron, sandstone blocks and other metal objects; and a set of stockyards constructed using bush timber poles and barbed wire

The homestead was established in 1928 to function as an outstation on Stapleton Station, then owned by Harry Sargent and his family. It was constructed using bush timber (cypress pine) and iron in the form of a large central room that could be closed up with verandahs around the edges. Blyth Homestead is one of the few existing examples of this type of building which was formerly common on NT pastoral leases. The Homestead site contains tangible and well-preserved remnants of both pastoral and mining activities.

The isolated location necessitated the occupants to be virtually self-sufficient with a fruit and vegetable garden, milking cows and meat. A sawmilling plant was used to cut timber needed. Their income was supplemented by alluvial and reef tin mining to the east of the homestead, the products of which had to be carted by buckboard along a self-made track over the Finiss River.

As described by Max Sargent, the tenth of fourteen children of the Sargent family: "We were possibly the best fed people in Australia right through the depression, with butter, cream and milk, cheese, dried fruits and fresh fruits, fresh vegetables the year round, more than what we could use, but no money!"

The simple bush architecture of the homestead and the opportunistic nature of the mine workings illustrate the harsh conditions under which the Sargent family lived.

Greenant Creek
The area of Greenant Creek below the Tjaetaba Falls is a registered Aboriginal sacred site. Swimming or entering the water is not allowed. Visitors are requested to observe all signage.

Aboriginal sacred sites
There are several sacred and special sites within Litchfield National Park.

Tourism
Every year over quarter of a million of visitors come to the park. Closer to Darwin than the Kakadu National Park, Litchfield National Park is less than two hours drive from the city via a sealed road that connects the township of Batchelor to the Cox Peninsula Road.

In 2021 a tourist from New South Wales appeared to have gone missing for two days after last being seen near the Wangi Falls campground, before being found alive and well.

Attractions
Most of the major attractions in the park are linked by sealed road and are easily accessed by two-wheel drive car. However, some of the more remote attractions require a four-wheel drive to access them. Details of some of the major attractions follow:

Florence Falls
Florence Falls is a double-plunge waterfall leading to a popular swimming hole.

Buley Rockhole
Visitors to Buley Rockhole will find a long series of cascading plunge pools.

Wangi Falls
Possibly Litchfield's most popular attraction, Wangi Falls is easily accessible and open all year round. However, swimming is not always possible due to water levels from heavy rain.

Tolmer Falls
Tolmer Falls cascades over two high escarpments into a deep plunge pool. The bottom of the falls is home to several colonies of rare ghost bats and orange horseshoe bats.

Tjaetaba Falls
Tjaetaba Falls is a drop along Greenant Creek, one of the smaller systems in the park. These falls and the area below them is an Aboriginal sacred site, and visitors are requested to swim only above the falls.

Tjaynera Falls (Sandy Creek)
After a moderate level, 3.5 km return walk through an open valley, visitors can enjoy the usually un-crowded plunge pool beneath Tjaynera Falls.

Surprise Creek Falls
These falls are open for swimming.

Blyth Homestead
This homestead, build in 1929, stands as a reminder of the tough conditions faced by the pioneers in remote areas.

Bamboo Creek
Interpretive signs explain the methods used to extract the tin and to help appreciate the hardship endured by miners as they struggled to make a living in intolerable conditions.

Magnetic termite mounds
These termite mounds are built by thousands of termites with a north–south orientation to control the temperature inside the mounds.

Bushwalks
Litchfield National Park offers a wide range of walking tracks. It is strongly recommended that overnight walks are registered with the Overnight Walker Registration Scheme on telephone 1300 650 730. Walkers must camp in designated campgrounds.

Tabletop Track
The Tabletop Track, within Litchfield National Park, is a 39 kilometre bushwalk along trickling creeklines, cascading waterfalls, crystal clear pools and undisturbed pockets of tropical monsoon rainforest. Along this track, hikers will spot some of the local wildlife such as wallabies, possums, and flying foxes.

Florence Creek Walk
Forming part of the Tabletop Track in Litchfield National Park, this 22 kilometre walk will take you to Greenant Creek, through pockets of cool monsoon rainforest inhabited by a variety of birdlife. Spot kingfishers, honey-eaters, fairy-wrens and pigeons. Other wildlife may be seen along the way such as brown bandicoots and northern quolls. This walk is graded as difficult, and takes about two days.

Greenant Creek
This eight and a half kilometre walk, which forms part of the Tabletop Track in Litchfield National Park, takes you from Greenant Creek through to Wangi Falls. The creeks and springs around this region have a constant supply of water, thereby creating an abundance of flora and fauna. There are Carpentaria palms, fig trees and weeping paperbark trees, and, along the forest floor, spot geckos, lizards and frogs.

Wangi Falls Walk
This two-day walk, part of the Tabletop Track, runs from Wangi Falls through to Walker Creek. This landscape with its rocky outcrops and ridges provides a haven for the local wildlife such as northern quolls, wallabies, frogs and lizards. There is abundant birdlife too – try spotting colourful red-winged parrots, double-barred finches, or kingfishers.

Walker Creek Walk
This final trek of the Tabletop Track in Litchfield National Park, will take you from Walker Creek to Florence Falls. Spot local wildlife including wallabies and possums, or listen to some of the curious bird calls from the variety of birdlife that also inhabit this forest area.

The Lost City
These freestanding sandstone blocks and pillar formations bring to mind the ruins of a long-forgotten civilisation. This is considered one of the best short walks in Litchfield National Park. Accessible by four-wheel drive only.

Accommodation
There are several camping locations throughout Litchfield. Camping fees apply. Camping is permitted at:

 * Wangi Falls
 * Buley Rockhole
 * Florence Falls
 * Tjaynera Falls (Sandy Creek)
 * Walker Creek
 * Surprise Creek Falls
 * Florence Falls (downstream)

Commercial accommodation options are available outside the park at:

 * Litchfield Tourist & Van Park
 * Wangi Tourist Park
 * Banyan Tree Caravan Park
 * Batchelor Resort Carravillage
 * Batchelor Butterfly & Bird Farm
 * Historic Retreat
 * Rum Jungle Bungalows

Administrative status
On 4 April 2007, the land occupied by the national park was gazetted by the Northern Territory Government as a locality with the name, Litchfield Park. The 2016 Australian census which was conducted in August 2016 reports that Litchfield Park had 44 people living within its boundaries. The locality has not been added to any existing local government area and is considered to be part of the Northern Territory's unincorporated areas.

title: Litchfield National Park


text:
Nitmiluk National Park

Nitmiluk National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 244 km southeast of Darwin, and 23 km northeast of the town of Katherine, around a series of gorges on the Katherine River and Edith Falls. Previously named Katherine Gorge National Park, its northern edge borders Kakadu National Park. The gorges and the surrounding landscape have great ceremonial significance to the local Jawoyn people, who are custodians of Nitmiluk National Park. In the Jawoyn language, Nitmiluk means "place of the cicada dreaming".

Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge
Nitmiluk Gorge, a deep gorge carved through ancient sandstone by the Katherine River, is the central attraction of the park. Nitmiluk Gorge is made up of thirteen gorges, with rapids and falls, and follow the Katherine River, which begins in Kakadu. During the Dry, roughly from April to October, the Nitmiluk Gorge waters are placid in most spots and ideal for swimming and canoeing. There may be freshwater crocodiles in most parts of the river, as they nest along the banks, but they are harmless to humans. Saltwater crocodiles regularly enter the river during the wet season, when the water levels are very high, and are subsequently removed and returned to the lower levels at the onset of the dry season. Thus, swimming in the wet season is prohibited. Cruises of various lengths go as far as the fifth gorge.

The gorge hosted the final challenge and the finish line of The Amazing Race Australia 4.

Facilities
The gorges can be explored by canoe and flat bottomed boat. In the dry season the gorges become separated as the level of the river falls. They are interconnected in the wet. There is a visitor centre located at the Katherine Gorge, about 30 km east of the town of Katherine. Information displays are set up that explain the geology, landscape and aboriginal history of the national park. Tours can be booked at the centre or at the visitor centre in the town.

There are two permanent campgrounds where there are both tent and caravan sites. Both fires and bush camping are permitted. There are numerous walking tracks in the national park.

Jatbula Trail
The Jatbula Trail follows the route travelled by generations of Jawoyn people between Katherine Gorge and Leliyn. It is named for Peter Jatbula, a man who was instrumental in securing land rights for his people and who walked this route with his family. Members of Peter Jatbula's family still live in the area today and continue to help look after country.

Wildlife
Freshwater crocodiles are widely distributed along the river year-round. During the wet season, rises in water levels may allow saltwater crocodiles to enter the gorge, where they are caught and relocated to lower levels when the dry season begins. Birds that can be seen include ospreys, red-tailed black cockatoos, great bowerbirds, white-gaped honeyeaters and red-winged parrots. Part of the Yinberrie Hills Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for endangered Gouldian finches, lies in the park.

title: Nitmiluk National Park


text:
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park

Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is located 1943 km south of Darwin by road and 440 km south-west of Alice Springs along the Stuart and Lasseter Highways. The park covers 1326 km2 and includes the features it is named after: Uluru and, 40 km to its west, Kata Tjuta. The location is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for natural and cultural landscape.

Overview
Uluru / Ayers Rock is considered one of Australia's most recognisable landmarks, and has become a focal point for Australia and the world's acknowledgement of Australian indigenous culture. The sandstone monolith stands 348 m high with most of its bulk below the ground. To Anangu, the local indigenous people, Uluru / Ayers Rock is a place name and this "Rock" has a number of different landmarks where many ancestral beings have interacted with the landscape and/or each other, some even believed to still reside here. Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga, meaning 'many heads' in his aboriginal name, is a sacred place relating to knowledge that is considered very powerful and dangerous, only suitable for initiated men. It is made up of a group of 36 conglomerate rock domes that date back 500 million years.

Anangu are the traditional Aboriginal owners of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. They believe that their culture was created at the beginning of time by ancestral beings. Uluru / Ayers Rock and Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga provide physical evidence of feats performed during the creation period. They often lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories of the area.

The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act was passed in 1976, meaning that after many years Aboriginal law and land rights were finally recognised in Australian law. Nine years later on 26 October 1985 the traditional owners were presented with the freehold title deeds for the park, who, in turn, leased the land back to the Australian Government through the Director of National Parks (formerly the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service) for 99 years.

The Director is assisted by Parks Australia, a division of the Australian Department of the Environment and Energy. Since hand-back, Anangu and Parks Australia staff have worked together to manage the park. This process of working together is known as 'joint management'.

History
Uluru and Kata Tjuta were formed about 350 million years ago during the Alice Springs Orogeny.

The Anangu have connected to the area for thousands of years and some records suggested that they may have lived there for more than 10,000 years.

Europeans came to the western desert area of Australia in the 1870s. Uluru and Kata Tjuta were first mapped by Europeans during the expeditionary period made possible by the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line in 1872.

In separate expeditions, William Ernest Powell Giles and William Christie Gosse were the first European explorers to this area. In 1872 while exploring the area, Ernest Giles sighted Kata Tjuta from near Kings Canyon and called it Mount Olga, while the following year Gosse saw Uluru and named it Ayers Rock after Sir Henry Ayers, the Chief Secretary of South Australia. Further explorations followed with the aim of establishing the possibilities of the area for pastoralism.

In the late 19th century, pastoralists attempted to re-establish themselves in areas adjoining the South-Western/Petermann Reserve and interaction between Anangu and white people became more frequent and more violent. Due to the effects of grazing and droughts, bush food stores were depleted. Competition for these resources created conflict between pastoralists and Anangu. As a result, police patrols became more frequent. Between 1918 and 1921 large adjoining areas of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory were declared as Aboriginal reserves, as sanctuaries for a nomadic people who had virtually no contact with white people. In 1920, part of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was declared an Aboriginal Reserve (commonly known as the South-Western or Petermann Reserve) by the Australian Government under the Aboriginals Ordinance 1918.

During the Depression in the 1930s, the Anangu became involved in dingo scalping with "doggers" who introduced Anangu to European foods and ways. The first tourists visited the Uluru area in 1936.

"From the 1940s the two main reasons for permanent and substantial European settlement in the area were Aboriginal welfare policy and the promotion of tourism at Uluru.""In 1948 the first vehicular track to Uluru was constructed, responding to increasing tourism interest in the region. Tour bus services began in the early 1950s."The Ayers Rock National Park was recognised in 1950, and in the same year an Alice Springs resident Len Tuit accompanied a group of schoolboys on a trip to Uluru. He recognised the enormous tourism potential of the rock and began offering regular tours in 1955, with guests camping in tents and drinking water carted in from Curtin Springs. Kata Tjuta was added to the national park to create the Ayers Rock-Mount Olga National Park in 1958. The first permanent accommodation was constructed the same year, while a new airstrip allowed the first fly-in, fly-out tour groups.

In 1958, in response to pressures to support tourism enterprises, the area that is now the park was excised from the Petermann Aboriginal Reserve to be managed by the Northern Territory Reserves Board as the Ayers Rock – Mt Olga National Park. The first ranger was the legendary central Australian figure, Bill Harney

The site came to attention on 17 August 1980 when two-month-old Azaria Chamberlain was found dead as a result of being taken by a dingo.

On 1 October 2015, traditional owners declared more than 50000 km2 of Aboriginal freehold land surrounding the National Park an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) named Katiti Petermann Indigenous Protected Area. As the fourth largest IPA on mainland Australia, it is larger than Switzerland, and completes a huge network of nine IPAs in Central Australia.

Geology
These domed rock formations are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone. The crevasses are due to erosion, primarily by water. Although it is a dry region, the large area of these domes collects a lot of rainwater, which runs off in steep waterfalls during rain.

From a geological point of view, analysis of Uluru-Kata Tjuta and Watarrka National Parks reveals an awe-inspiring history. 500 million years ago, the entire area was covered by an inland sea and over many centuries, sand and mud fell to the bottom of the sea, creating rock and sandstone. Kata Tjuta's domes are the eroded remains of sedimentary rock from the seabed, while Uluru is a relict of the coarse grained, mineral-rich sandstone called arkose.

Climate and seasons
The park receives an average rainfall of 307.7 millimetres per year. Temperature extremes in the park have been recorded at 45 C during the summer and -5 C during winter nights. UV readings on most extreme summer days reach between 11 and 15. While the Central Australian environment may at first seem stark – a barren landscape supporting spectacular rock formations – closer inspection reveals it as a complex ecosystem, full of life.

Plant and animal life have adapted to the area's extreme conditions and it subsequently supports some of the most unusual flora and fauna on the planet. Many of these have long been a valuable source of bush tucker and medicine for local Aboriginal people.

The Aboriginal Australians recognise six seasons:
 * 1) Piryakatu (August/September) – Animals breed and food plants flower
 * 2) Wiyaringkupai (October/November) – The really hot season when food becomes scarce
 * 3) Itanju- (January/February) Sporadic storms can roll in suddenly
 * 4) Wanitjunkupai (March) – Cooler weather
 * 5) Tjuntalpa (April/May) – Clouds roll in from the south
 * 6) Wari (June/July) – Cold season bringing morning frosts

Ecology
The park is ranked as one of the most significant arid land ecosystems in the world. As a Biosphere Reserve under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program, it joins at least 11 other reserves in Australia and an international network aiming to preserve the world's major ecosystem types.

Flora
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park flora represents a large portion of plants found in Central Australia. A number of these species are considered rare and restricted in the park or the immediate region. There are many rare and endemic plants at Uluru and Kata Tjuta. A number of other species, while found elsewhere in central Australia, may be endangered within the park.

The desert flora has adapted to the harsh conditions. The growth and reproduction of plant communities rely on irregular rainfall. Some plants are able to survive fire and some are dependent on it to reproduce. Plants are an important part of Tjukurpa, and there are ceremonies for each of the major plant foods. Many plants are associated with ancestral beings. Collection of plant foods remains a culturally important activity, reinforcing traditional links with country and Tjukurpa.

Flora in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park can be broken into the following categories:
 * Punu – trees
 * Puti – shrubs
 * Tjulpun-tjulpunpa – flowers
 * Ukiri – grasses

Trees such as the mulga and centralian bloodwood are used to make tools such as spearheads, boomerangs and bowls. The red sap of the bloodwood is used as a disinfectant and an inhalant for coughs and colds.

Others such as the river red gum and corkwood trees like grevillea and hakeas are a source of food themselves. The white flaky crust from river red gum leaves can be rolled into balls and eaten like a lolly and the nectar from the flowers of the corkwood trees can produce a sweet drink.

The witchetty bush looks like a shrubby mulga with broad round-ended leaves. Witchetty grubs are found in the roots of this tree. Daisies and other ground flowers bloom after rain and during the winter. Others such as the wattles bloom as spring approaches. Anangu collect wattle seed, crush and mix it with water to make an edible paste which they eat raw. To make damper, the seeds are parched with hot sand so their skins can be removed before they are ground for flour. The prickly hard spinifex hummocks have enormous root systems that prevent desert sands shifting. The hummock roots spread underground beyond the prickly clump and deeply into the soil, forming an immense cone. Anangu use a resin gathered from the gummy spinifex to make gum. They thresh the spinifex until the resin particles fall free. These particles are heated until they fuse together to form a moldable black tar which Anangu work while warm. The gum is used for hunting and working implements, and to mend breaks in stone and wooden implements.

The naked woolybutt and native millet have seeds that are important Anangu foods. Women rub the seedheads from their stalks and then separate the seeds from the chaff by skilful winnowing. Using grinding stones, they then grind the seeds to flour for damper.

There are several rare and endangered species in the park. Most of them like adder's tongue ferns (Ophioglossaceae sp.) are restricted to the moist areas at the base of the monoliths, which are areas of high visitor use and subject to erosion.

Since the first Europeans arrived, 34 exotic plant species have been recorded in the park, representing about 6.4% of the total park flora. Some such as perennial buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) were introduced to rehabilitate areas damaged by erosion. It is the most threatening weed in the park and has spread to invade water and nutrient rich drainage lines. Where infestation is dense, it prevents the growth of native grasses – a source of food for animals and humans. A few others such as burrgrass were brought in accidentally, carried on cars and people.

Fauna
Historically 46 species of native mammal are known to have been living in the Uluru region; there are currently 21 according to recent surveys. Anangu allege that a decrease in the number has implications for the condition and health of the landscape. Moves are supported for the reintroduction of locally extinct animals such as mallee fowl, brushtail possum, rufous hare wallaby or mala, bilby, burrowing bettong and the black-footed rock wallaby

The mulgara, the only mammal listed as vulnerable, is mostly restricted to the transitional sandplain area, a narrow band of country that stretches from the vicinity of Uluru, to the northern boundary of the park, and into Ayers Rock Resort. This very important area also contains the marsupial mole, woma python, or kuniya, and great desert skink.

The bat population of the park comprises at least seven species that depend on day roosting sites within caves and crevices of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Most of the bats forage for aerial prey within an airspace extending only 100 m or so from the rock face.

The park has a very rich reptile fauna of high conservation significance, with 73 species having been reliably recorded. Four species of frog are abundant at the base of Uluru and Kata Tjuta following summer rains. The great desert skink is listed as vulnerable.

Anangu continue to hunt and gather animal species in remote areas of the park and on Anangu land elsewhere. Hunting is largely confined to the red kangaroo, Australian bustard, emu and lizard such as the sand goanna and perentie.

The pressures exerted by introduced predators and herbivores on the original mammalian fauna of Central Australia were a major factor in the extinction of about 40% of the native species.

Of the 27 mammal species found in the park, six are introduced: the house mouse; camel; fox; cat; dog; and rabbit. These species are distributed throughout the park but their densities are greatest in the rich water run-off areas of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Large numbers of rabbits led to the introduction of a rabbit control program in 1989. This has resulted in a great reduction of the rabbit population, a noticeable vegetation recovery and a reduction in predator numbers. Camels have been implicated in the reduction of plant species, particularly the more succulent species such as the quandong. The house mouse is a successful invader of disturbed environments and habitats that have lost native rodents. Subjective estimates of cat and fox numbers have been collected in association with the rabbit control program. The national threat abatement programs may provide the framework for controlling them. Anangu knowledge and tracking skills are invaluable in the management of these introduced animals. The park regulations prohibit visitors bringing animals into the park unless they are a guide dog for the blind or deaf, or a permit is granted by the Director of National Parks.

Iconic birds of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park include the pied butcherbird, black breasted buzzard, black-faced woodswallow and crimson chat.

Fire management
Fires have been a part of central desert land management for thousands of years and have shaped the landscape, habitats, survival of animals and patterns of vegetation. Controlled burning usually takes place during the winter months due to the cooler weather while natural fires mostly occur in the early summer months. They are usually started by the lightning strikes of dry electrical storms from the north west. When the storms arrive the weather is usually hot, dry and windy – conditions ideal for raging fires. Damage can be severe and widespread. Destructive bushfires burnt much of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and luxury accommodation at the Ayers Rock Resort was destroyed in 2002–03.

Traditional burning of the Uluru area stopped when Anangu were driven from the region during the 1930s. During the 1940s rainfall was good and vegetation flourished. The 1950 fire, fed by the fuel grown during the previous 20 years, wiped out about one third of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park's vegetation. The pattern repeated itself and in 1976 two fires burnt 76% of the park. Over the same period more species of medium-sized mammals became extinct around Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Today most fires in the park are lit following land management patterns traditionally practiced by Anangu. Traditional fire and land management skills enable Anangu to burn in a way that will give the desired result. These skills are vital for the preservation of the central Australian ecology.

General facilities
The park is open year-round from sunrise to sunset. These times will vary depending on the season. Occasionally parts of the park may be temporarily closed for cultural reasons.

The park entrance fee for Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is $25 per person 16 years of age and over. This fee is valid for 3 consecutive days and helps to maintain the park. One quarter goes back to Anangu, the traditional owners, to help them maintain their families and the Mutitjulu community.

The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Cultural Centre by recognised Australian architect Gregory Burgess located inside the park on the main road to Uluru provides an introduction to Tjukurpa (law, knowledge, religion, philosophy), Anangu art, Anangu way of life (traditional and current), history, languages, wildlife and joint management of the park. There are also art and craft demonstrations, bush tucker sessions, plants walks and cultural presentations.

There are displays featuring photo collages, oral history sound panels, Pitjantjatjara language learning interactives, soundscapes, videos and artefacts. Explanations are provided in Pitjantjatjara, English, Italian, Japanese, German and French. A touch wall for visually impaired people ensures that the messages are accessible to everyone. Entry to the Cultural Centre is free.

The Walkatjara Art Centre is owned and operated by the local Aboriginal artists from the Mutitjulu Community. Most weekdays the Walkatjara Artists come to paint and work in the Art Room and receive a percentage of sales.

Tourism
The development of tourism infrastructure adjacent to the base of Uluru that began in the 1950s soon produced adverse environmental impacts. It was decided in the early 1970s to remove all accommodation-related tourist facilities and re-establish them outside the park. In 1975 a reservation of 104 square kilometres of land beyond the park's northern boundary, 15 kilometres from Uluru, was approved for the development of a tourist facility and an associated airport, to be known as Yulara. The campground within the park was closed in 1983 and the motels finally closed in late 1984, coinciding with the opening of the Yulara resort. In 1992 the majority interest in the Yulara Resort held by the Northern Territory Government was sold and the resort was renamed 'Ayers Rock Resort'. The listing of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park ensures the park remains a world-class destination for both its cultural and natural heritage. Visitors will continue to have a unique cultural experience at the park and leave knowing that the park is managed according to cultural practices that date back tens of thousands of years.

Since the park was listed as a World Heritage Site, annual visitor numbers have risen to over 400,000 visitors in the year 2000. Increased tourism provides regional and national economic benefits. It also presents an ongoing challenge to balance conservation of cultural values and visitor needs.

There are a number of sightseeing and cultural tours to Uluru that offer walks that visitors can take around the major attractions of the park. The Base Walk is one of the best ways to see Uluru. Other walks surrounding Uluru include the Liru Walk, Mala Walk and Kuniya walk, while the sunrise and sunset viewing areas provide great photo opportunities.

The border of the national park is also home to the Longitude 131° Eco resort.

Art centre gallery
Maruku Arts is a large and successful Aboriginal Australian-owned and -operated enterprise, run by Anangu (people of the Western and Central Deserts of Australia). It has a warehouse based in Mutitjulu community (at the eastern end of the rock), a retail gallery at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Cultural Centre, as well as a market stall in Yulara town square. Its artwork consists mainly of paintings and woodcarvings. With about 900 artists in the collective, it provides an important source of income living in remote communities across central Australia. It seeks to "keep culture strong and alive, for future generations of artists, and [to] make culture accessible in an authentic way to those that seek a more in-depth understanding".

Maruku is one of ten Indigenous-owned and -governed enterprises that go to make up the APY Art Centre Collective, established in 2013.

Hiking and climbing
The Uluru climb is the traditional route taken by ancestral Mala men upon their arrival to Uluru. Anangu do not climb Uluru because of its great spiritual significance.

The Valley of the Winds walk is an alternative to climbing Uluru and offers views of the landscape from two lookout points along the track. The walk is sometimes steep, rocky and difficult. For safety reasons this walk is closed under certain circumstances including heat, darkness and during rescue.

In November 2017, the national park's board voted unanimously to ban climbing on Uluru and climbing has been banned since October 2019.

Accommodations
The Aboriginal community of Mutitjulu is inside the park area, but tourists must stay at the resorts in Yulara, just outside the national park. Ayers Rock Resort in Yulara offers a range of accommodation from camp sites to five-star luxury. There are also several dining options, a supermarket and a range of tour operators. The national park and town are served by Connellan Airport.

Slightly further afield is the luxury tented accommodation at Longitude 131, with views of Uluru from the tents.

Camping is not permitted in the park.

title: Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park


text:
Watarrka National Park

Watarrka National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, which contains the popular Kings Canyon (Watarrka).

Location
The park is located about 1,316 km south of Darwin and 323 km southwest of Alice Springs.

History
Watarrka National Park was established in 1989, on the traditional lands of the Matutjara people. It is named after the Aboriginal (Luritja and Arrernte ) name for Kings Creek and Canyon watarrka (pronounced what-ARR-kah ). This is the Luritja word for the local umbrella bush (Acacia ligulata) that grows in the vicinity.

The park was established on land owned by England-born Jack Cotterill and his two sons, Jack and Jim, who opened it up for tourism from their property, Wallara Ranch.

Description
The national park is categorised as an IUCN Category II protected area. On 25 March 1986, it was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate.

It contains the popular Kings Canyon (Watarrka) at the western end of the George Gill Range and Kathleen Springs, around 21 km to the southeast of Kings Canyon.

In 1986, Kings Canyon was described by the Department of Environment as follows: "One of the most spectacular canyons in Central Australia. Kings Canyon contains some 60 rare or relict plant species and a total of 572 different plant species and 80 species of birds. It is a 'living plant museum' and is notable for its stands of cycads & permanent rock pools. There are some well-preserved Aboriginal paintings and engravings in the area..."

title: Watarrka National Park


text:
Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park

Tjoritja / West MacDonnell is a national park in the Northern Territory (Australia) due west of Alice Springs and 1234 km south of Darwin. It extends along the MacDonnell Ranges west of Alice Springs.

The popular extended walk, the Larapinta Trail, runs east–west along the linear park, following the West MacDonnell Ranges. The park includes many tourist attractions along its 250 kilometre length including Ormiston Pound, the Ellery Creek Bighole, Glen Helen Gorge, Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Mount Sonder, Serpentine Gorge, the Ochre Pits and Redbank Gorge.

The Park is known as Tjoritja by the traditional owners of the land and is considered of great significance in the local Arrernte Aboriginal culture. It is home to several species of flora and fauna and is now utilised by people for a variety of recreational activities. Facilities at the park include swimming, camping, gas BBQ, bushwalking, caravan sites, etc.