"What a park" a Kakadu National Park Travel Page by JustinJansen

Kakadu National Park is an unique archaeological and ethnological reserve, located in the Northern Territory, and has been inhabited continuously for more than 40,000 years. The cave paintings, rock carvings (More than 1,000 sites have been recorded) and archaeological sites record the skills and way of life of the region's inhabitants, from the hunter-gatherers of prehistoric times to the Aboriginal people still living there. It is a unique example of a complex of ecosystems, including tidal flats, floodplains, lowlands, Arnhem Land escarpment, Waterways and plateaux, and provides a habitat for a wide range of rare or endemic species of plants and animals. Also Kakadu has been World Heritage-listed. And it is Australia's largest national park, but it isn't just the size that astounds visitors - it is the sense of something very old and grand. Creation of the 500 km escarpment began 2,000 million years ago, when layers of sandstone built up a plateau to later be carved into an escarpment and scoured by gorges. Today those gorges are brimming with rainforests, washed by waterfalls.

One thousand species of flora, 30 mammals, 75 reptiles, 1500 butterflies and moths, 50 freshwater fish and 25 species of frog have been discovered in Kakadu. During the lush green season Kakadu's flora puts on its most brilliant face. Between December and March visitors will see plants respond to the monsoonal showers with riotous growth.

The park is owned by Aboriginals. And their input in the park is large due the culture of them that is left behind. It was shaped by the spiritual ancestors of Aboriginal people during the Creation Time. These ancestors or 'first people' journeyed across the country creating landforms, plants, animals and Bininj/Mungguy* (Aboriginal people). They brought with them laws to live by: ceremony, language, kinship and ecological knowledge. They taught Bininj/ Mungguy how to live with the land and look after the country.
The name 'Kakadu' comes from an Aboriginal floodplain language called Gagudju which was one of the languages spoken in the north of the park at the beginning of the twentieth century. Although languages such as Gagudju and Limilngan are no longer regularly spoken, descendants of these language groups are still living in Kakadu. Aboriginal languages used in the Park today include Kunwinjku from the north-eastern region, Gun-djeihmi from the central region and Jawoyn from the southern region.