Tours

Today we visit Koolpin Gorge, known as the Jewel in the Crown of Kakadu and also Kakadu National Park’s best kept secret.

Koolpin Gorge is in the southern part of the park, in high-clearance 4WD country. Koolpin Gorge’s Aboriginal name is Jarrangbarnmi, which comes from the Jawoyn words “jarrang,” meaning flood or big water flow, and “barn,” meaning rift or gap.

This beautiful place is carefully protected as a fragile and restricted area with significant natural and cultural value. Permits are needed to travel here and visitor numbers are strictly controlled. Lords Safaris is one of a limited number of operators that are allowed into this restricted area.

This is a breathtaking, isolated area still in a pristine wilderness state. Here we can walk, scramble or climb the seemingly endless series of gorges and be rewarded with an ever-changing landscape, crystalline waters and infinite views. There are waterfalls, plunge pools, white sandy beaches and more. Koolpin Creek flows down several hundred feet through a series of cascades and pools often called the “Giant’s Staircase.”

Today we are privileged to visit Arnhem Land, the home of Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years. Access to this area is restricted to a select group of tour operators, and we are allowed to visit this area only by invitation of the traditional owners, who may deny access at any time. Lords Safaris has a proud history of more than 25 years working with the indigenous people of Arnhem Land and Kakadu to ensure the best experience for both the local communities and our clients.

Departing the northern region of Kakadu National Park, we cross the infamous Cahill’s Crossing on the East Alligator River and enter Arnhem Land.

A 15-kilometre scenic drive to the Gunbalanya Indigenous Community provides some of the best driving views in the Top End, taking in floodplains, billabongs and the Arnhem Land escarpment. Gunbalanya is the Aboriginal name for the Oenpelli settlement (which was originally a mission). The area includes the floodplains of the East Alligator River that are covered by water from December to April and a rocky sandstone plateau rising up to 200 metres above the plains.

Upon arrival at Gunbalanya you will visit the Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre. Visitors to Injalak will experience the traditional culture of the Kunwinjku people. Here you have the opportunity to experience traditional art in an intimate setting where you can get to know the artist and see firsthand how artworks are created.

Opened in 1989, Injalak Arts is a nonprofit Aboriginal-owned social enterprise whose members are the artists and community. Injalak artists produce traditional art inspired by ancient Dreamtime stories, the nearby rock art galleries and an unbroken link between the present generation of Kunwinjku people and their ancestors.

At the Injalak Arts and Crafts Centre there is an opportunity to browse and purchase a range of affordable art in different mediums and styles reflective of the ingenuity of the Kunwinjku people. Injalak caters to both the affordable and fine art markets. Artworks available include paintings on paper and bark, carvings, artefacts such as clap sticks, didgeridoos mimi poles and lorrkons, fibre works such as baskets and grass pandanus floor mats, and special edition prints.

After leaving Injalak we head on to Davidson’s Arnhemland Safaris. Davidson’s is situated in the northwest corner of Arnhem Land and adjacent to Kakadu National Park and the Cobourg Peninsula in Australia’s Northern Territory. This landscape is a vast subtropical savannah that has been described as a national treasure trove of artifacts of ancient human occupation, and a pristine wilderness area hosting myriad ecosystems and wildlife.

Access to the Davidson’s safari lodge is by 4WD vehicle or flight. During the wet season access to the Safari Lodge is only by flight. The camp is fully licensed and has a wide selection of wines, spirits and beer available for purchase. The facilities are situated in a natural bush setting. The heart of the lodge has a communal space including a dining area, lounge, bar, library and a large outdoor deck for alfresco dining, all overlooking the sandstone-paved pool.

Today is spent exploring and enjoying the incredible unique environment around Davidson’s Arnhemland Safaris.

This location at Mt Borradaile is a registered aboriginal sacred site in an exclusively-leased 700-square-kilometre area nestled against the Arnhem Land escarpment. Its rugged ranges, fringed by idyllic billabongs, floodplains, paper bark swamps and monsoonal rain forests, form an amazingly beautiful wilderness.

Mt Borradaile is still owned and managed by its traditional custodians, the Amurdak people, whose inhabitation of the area dates back for 50,000 years. The story of their ancestry is evident in the many tools, ceremonial grounds and rock art paintings visible – and still being uncovered – today. Valleys, overhangs and caves offer magnificent galleries of rock art as well as occupation and burial sites.

While at Davidson’s we enjoy a range of activities and attractions, such as fishing, viewing Aboriginal art, and a billabong cruise.

We will continue to enjoy the sights and experiences of Davidson’s Arnhemland Safaris this morning, and then after lunch head back to Darwin.

You have the option to return to Darwin by air rather than 4WD vehicle. The cost of the flight is additional. Mention this option to us when you enquire, and we’ll include it in your quote.

• Experienced local guide
• Luxury air conditioned Toyota GXL 4WD vehicle
• Accommodation at the Lords Safaris exclusive permanent camp
• Accommodation at Davidson’s Arnhemland Safaris
• Mary River Wetlands airboat ride
• Koolpin Gorge
• Maguk (Barramundi) Gorge
• Arnhem Land
• Gunbalanya
• All fees
• All meals where noted