Kakadu National Park Vacations, Kakadu National Park Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

Kakadu National Park Vacation Guide

The name 'Kakadu' comes from an Aboriginal language called Kakadu or Gaagudju, which was one of the languages spoken in the north of the park at the beginning of the twentieth century. Gagudju is no longer regularly spoken but descendants of this language group still live in Kakadu.

The park has two seasons, 'wet' and 'dry'. In the wet (October to April) many of the attractions are impossible to get to, so the dry season (May to September) is the peak period for visitors. The local Bininj/Mungguy Aboriginal people recognize six seasons in the Kakadu region:

* Gunumeleng - mid-October to late December, pre-monsoon storm season with hot weather and building thunderstorms building in the afternoons
* Gudjewg - from January to March, monsoon season with thunderstorms, heavy rain, and flooding; the heat and humidity generate an explosion of plant and animal life
* Banggerreng - April, the "knock 'em down storm" season where floodwater recedes but violent, windy storms knock down grasses
* Yegge - 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
* Wurrgeng - from mid-June to mid-August, the cold weather season with low humidity; most creeks stop flowing and the floodplains quickly dry out
* Gurrung - from mid-August to mid-October, hot dry weather with ever shrinking billabongs