Kakadu Tourism launches new product, tours, Indigenous experiences and accommodation for 2024 season

Mercure Kakadu

Tourism Kakadu will introduce a range of innovations in 2024 designed to make discovering the unique landscape even more attractive and authentic.

Kakadu, located just under three hours drive from Darwin, is a living cultural landscape, and has been home to Aboriginal people for more than 65,000 years. Kakadu National Park is dual World Heritage listed for its outstanding natural and cultural values.

Spread across 20,000 square kilometres, Kakadu is renowned for its dramatic landscape, wildlife, and Aboriginal culture.

New initiatives being introduced in 2024 include:

Kakadu Adventure Tours

A new afternoon tour will be introduced to take advantage of the cooler evening hours and Kakadu’s spectacular sunsets. The tour explores the Indigenous communities of Kakadu, with guided cultural activities and a sunset experience from Nawurlandja lookout. The tour will operate from Cooinda Lodge between 3pm and 7pm. This will be complemented by a reformatted morning tour that will start from 7.30am and have guests back for lunch at Cooinda Lodge by 1pm, allowing for afternoon activities and relaxation. The guided tour will be customised to suit the group and conditions on the day, and will include visits to famous landmarks, swimming in water holes, and rock art tours.

Overnight Indigenous cultural experience

Visitors to Kakadu will have the opportunity to experience the culture of Kakadu from one of the region’s Traditional Owner families. The all-inclusive overnight package at Kakadu Billabong Safari Camp includes transfers from Cooinda, a cultural induction at Patonga community, cooked dinner and breakfast, as well as accommodation in a safari tent with a queen-sized bed. Visitors will be taught to forage and hunt for bush tucker, learn Indigenous crafts, and experience first-hand how the family group of the Murumburr Clan continue cultural practices, and manage the landscape and wildlife as their ancestors have done for thousands of years.

Yellow Water Cruises and Fishing

Yellow Water Cruises operate daily throughout the year on one of the most spectacular waterways in Australia. With over 250 bird species and a vast range of wildlife—including a large population of saltwater crocodiles—a cruise on Yellow Water Billabong is a ‘must’. In addition, Yellow Water Fishing returns this month with the option of a private guided charter, available daily from 11 a.m.

New Yellow Water Pop-Up Tents

A new pop-up camping experience at Kakadu is being introduced in time for Easter. From just $79 per night ($99 during peak season), guests can enjoy a camping experience without the hard work. The semi-permanent tents are equipped with two camp beds, and linen is supplied. The tents are Ideal for groups, with guests having access to all the facilities at Cooinda Lodge.

Mercure Crocodile Hotel introduces Manjmukmuk Restaurant & Bar

The Croc’s relaunched restaurant, Manjmukmuk, offers visitors a taste of Kakadu through its bush tucker influenced cuisine including NT barramundi, buffalo and kangaroo. Locally inspired drinks include green ant gins and non-alcoholic bellinis made from Kakadu native peach. An outdoor Ground Oven is available for groups and events.

New Online Shop for Ochre Art Gallery

The Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel’s own Ochre Art Gallery offers a wide selection of local Indigenous art and crafts that support Kakadu artists. A new online shopping tool will be introduced in May to enable lovers of authentic Kakadu art to buy items and ship them back home to have a permanent memory of Kakadu’s rich cultural heritage.

Cooinda offers more flexible accommodation and enhanced WiFi

Cooinda Lodge has reconfigured all of its rooms to allow the ultimate flexibility for accommodating couples, families and groups. All lodge rooms now offer a large queen bed, a single bed and a trundle bed, giving the capacity for up to four guests in every room. Enhanced WiFi has been extended for use in the Barra Bar, Mimi’s Restaurant and the outdoor dining area and ultra-fast WiFi is now available in the luxury Yellow Water Villas. Greater dining options will be available from May designed to suit tour group bookings, while more alfresco options will be available via the Too Deadly Fish ‘n’ Chips Van and BBQ Smokehouse during the high season.

Special 25% discount of rooms until the end of April – including Easter

Under a $1 million NT Government incentive scheme, bookings made through Tourism Top End for accommodation at Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel, Cooinda Lodge, and Yellow Water Campground will attract a 25% discount. Travel must be booked and completed by 30 April, but the discounts are restricted to the $1 million total, so they are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Kakadu Tourism is a fully Indigenous-owned tourism and hospitality organisation that operates Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel, Cooinda Lodge, Yellow Water Camping Ground, Yellow Water Cruises and a range of tour services and activities.

Full information, including itineraries: https://kakadutourism.com/