Bardedjilidji walk

This is one of Kakadu’s most interesting short walks.

Soak up some stunning views and look out for iconic wildlife as you meander through towering sandstone pillars, small pockets of monsoonal rainforest the paperbark-lined bank of the East Alligator River. A highlight is a cool, shady cave.

Wildlife

Many of Kakadu’s animals live around this area – the northern quoll, marrawuddi (white bellied sea-eagle), barrk (black wallaroo), ngalarrangailarra (short-beaked echidna), guilododo (chestnut-quilled rock-pigeon) and sulphur-crested cockatoos.

Wander through paperbark woodlands where you’ll see the ‘corkscrew’ leaves of gongirr (Pandanus spiralis) and may spot wrens, bats, mice, lizards or snakes hiding in its hanging grass ‘skirts’.

Culture

As you begin walking, look out for rock art on the walls, but take care not to touch or rub the paintings.

A small cave provides cool shelter for you and maybe some local wildlife. This shady spot would have been a shelter for Aboriginal people hunting here. Look also for deep grinding holes which would have been used to prepare food.

Bardedjilidji is the local Aboriginal word for walking track or pathway. The name also refers to the roots of waterlilies growing in freshwater swamps and billabongs.

The walk starts at a small carpark 500 m from the upstream boat ramp.

See it: May to December.