Kakadu (Australia – Northern Territory): Three Day Guided Excursion Claimed

Kakadu Three-Day Excursion out of DarwinThe purpose of this trip was to have a father-son adventure out of Sydney and to get the son out of Sydney to a place that he was unlikely to go during his semester abroad living in Bondi.

With only three days to spare, this adventure was tight and had no margin for error.

Father and son met in Sydney and took an early evening flight from Sydney to Darwin, arriving after midnight. Flights from Sydney are a few hundred US dollars round-trip. We booked a night at the Palms City Resort (a mid-range hotel in the US$75 range – which is perfect for the 7 hours we were in the room). We also booked a night (or half-a-night) before taking a red-eye back to Sydney at the end of the trip.We had booked the itinerary through Territory Expeditions (Kat Noonan was a big help with follow-up questions) a few weeks in advance.

Our guides picked us up at our hotel at 7:30 in the morning. It was great to experience the trip with 10 other people. There were couples, married couples and singles all enjoying the experience. Nothing stands out more than the waterfalls. 5 of them, each more spectacular than the previous… The water temp was fantastic. You could swim in every one of them with little to no fear of crocodiles. The scenery is amazing. I also loved the aboriginal art and the discussions about its origins.

The group bonded quickly and enjoyed both the outdoor activities and the evening food and beverage.Our accommodations were nothing to write home about, but they were authentic in a great Outback sort of way. We had a campsite the first night and tin roofed outback shack the second. But, it was great to cook out with the group and to be close to either nature or the “you can’t make this stuff up” Outback residents in the restaurant the second night.

The only downside for the trip is the hours in the van, but if you are looking forward to time with your son, then even the three+ hours out and back were what you were looking for. Our guides with Territory Expeditions were really good. Sorry I don’t remember their names, but the guy had tremendous Outback knowledge – both with flora and fauna and with the aborigines. They were a fontain of knowledge, but also knew when to back away and let bonding happen with the trip and with couples of participants.

The weekend ended at 4 on a Sunday evening. The group enjoyed each other’s company so much that we went to dinner together in Darwin for one last outing. Following dinner, the father and son had 4 hours or so to kill in the hotel room before catching a red-eye back to Sydney.Mission accomplished. Got son out of Sydney. Check. Bonding time with father and son. Check. Beautiful scenery. Quadruple check. Good knowledge gain about the outback and the aborigines. Check.