National Park Kakadu, located 170 km from Darwin, is an obligatory part of the programme of tourists coming to Northern Australia.
Here they are attracted by the breathtaking landscapes, aboriginal culture and an abundance of wildlife. This Park has many popular among the visitors of waterfalls and gorges, such as Maguk, Gunlom, twin falls and Jim Jim falls.
The largest national Park of the country stretches for 200 km from North to South and over 100 kilometres from East to West in the region Alligatorfish rivers. Its total area is equal to the area of Slovenia, or nearly half the area of Switzerland.
The Park's name comes not from the name of the picturesque birds cockatoos, and from the incorrect pronunciation of the word "Gagaga" (Gagadju) is the language spoken by the aborigines living in the Northern part of the Park.
Kakadu surprisingly diverse in ecological and biological relationships. Here taken under protection 4 river system, 6 large landscape forms, estuaries of rivers and marshy lowlands, floodplains, plains, hills, more than 280 species of birds, 60 species of mammals, 1,700 species of plants and more than 10 thousand species of insects!
Aborigines have lived in the area for the last 40 thousand years, and the objects of their culture and way of life is also protected in the Park – here you can find more than 5 thousand places associated with aboriginal history. On-site Parking Ubirr, Burungi and Rangelower are unique examples of rock art of the ancient inhabitants of these places. Among the drawings – image hunters and shamans told for posterity the history of the creation of the world.
About half the Park is owned by the aboriginal tribes of the Northern Territory, and according to the law, the Directorate of the Park leases the land for national Park management. The natives living today in the "Kakadu" (about 5 thousand), are descendants of various tribes who anciently dwelt here. Their life has changed in recent years, but their traditions and beliefs remain an important part of their culture.
Among the first non-native explorers of the Northern coast of Australia were Chinese, Malays, and Portuguese, and the first documented description left by the Dutch. In 1644 Abel Tasman was the first who compiled a contact of Europeans with the natives. Half a century later Matthew Flinders explored the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1802-1803. Between 1818 and 1822 for years in the Bay was visited by the British Explorer Philip Parker Keane, who called this area Alligatoridae rivers from the huge number of crocodiles. In the mid-19th century on the territory of the future Park Kakadu with varying degrees of success began to appear in British settlements, and by the end of the century – the first missionaries. In the 20th century there were mining gold and uranium.
Kakadu was established in those years when Australian society became interested in the creation of national parks for biodiversity conservation and recognition of aboriginal land rights. Back in 1965, was developed by the project to create a Park in the region Alligatorfish rivers, but only in 1978 the Australian Government agreed to lease these lands for environmental purposes. The current Park was included in its composition in three stages between 1979 and 1991.
Flora of Kakadu is one of the richest in Northern Australia, there are more than 1,700 species of plants! And each geographical area of the Park has its own unique flora. For example, in the so-called Stone of the Country is dominated by rocky vegetation that have adapted to extremely hot temperatures and prolonged droughts, alternating periods of heavy rains. Monsoon forest is a huge Banyan trees and prickly capaci with soft red flowers grow in cool, moist ravines. In the South hills can be found the endemic plants that grow only in Kakadu, for example eucalyptus koolpinensis. In the marshy lowlands, flooded for several months of the year, growing sedges, mangroves, pandani and Cinchona.
A variety of habitat conditions in the Park supports a remarkable diversity of animals, among which are endemic, rare and threatened with extinction. Given the extreme weather conditions of the Park, many animals are active only at certain times of day or seasons. In the territory, Kakadu is home to about 60 species of mammals, most of them are nocturnal, making it difficult meeting with them. But there are those which can be seen during the day, such as wallabies and kangaroos (there are 8 kinds! ). Other common inhabitants of the Park – wild dog Dingo, the black wallaroo (mountain kangaroo), spotted marsupial marten, large opossum, brown Bandicoot. In coastal waters there are dugongs.
Cultural and natural value of the Park, Kakadu recognized internationally in 1992 the national Park was inscribed on the UNESCO world natural and cultural heritage UNESCO.