Kakadu Plateau Traverse - Koolpin Gorge to Twin Falls (and through to JimJim)
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 45.42 mi
- Elevation gain
- 3,156 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Experts only
- Elevation loss
- 2,844 ft
- Max elevation
- 1,092 ft
- TrailRank
-
77
5
- Min elevation
- 136 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 5 days 5 hours 46 minutes
- Coordinates
- 6283
- Uploaded
- August 27, 2018
- Recorded
- August 2018
near Kakadu, Northern Territory (Australia)
Viewed 3453 times, downloaded 99 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
A remote area through walk that is both technically and logistally complex but very spectacular and satisfying to complete:
- A gorge and creek line walk through a remote and spectacular section of Kakadu National Park.
- We walked independently but there are commercial operators that will lead less experienced groups through this area.
- There is a protracted and complex permit application process to negotiate, access numbers are strictly limited (start early). The start point at Koolpin Gorge is beyond a locked gate and a permit is required to obtain a key.
- The start and end point are about 300km apart by road and a 4WD vehicle is required at both ends, we walked from Twin Falls to Jim Jim because the creek crossing to Twin Falls was closed at the time of our walk.
- Weather even in the dry season is hot with temperatures up to mid 30s (Celsius) during the day, fortunately there is lots of opportunity for swimming.
- There are no estuarine crocodiles on the plateau, there may be fresh water crocodiles but we didn't see any.
- The walk from Twin Falls to Jim Jim was accross the low lands, with 3 creek lines to cross, with care we were able to pick a route that didn't involve walking through water, Jim Jim creek can only safely be crossed at the gorge.
- There are lots of water buffalo to be seen along the way, be careful not to startle them.
- There is water along most of the route, with a few gaps while crossing between Koolpin Creek and Twin Falls Creek.
- A gorge and creek line walk through a remote and spectacular section of Kakadu National Park.
- We walked independently but there are commercial operators that will lead less experienced groups through this area.
- There is a protracted and complex permit application process to negotiate, access numbers are strictly limited (start early). The start point at Koolpin Gorge is beyond a locked gate and a permit is required to obtain a key.
- The start and end point are about 300km apart by road and a 4WD vehicle is required at both ends, we walked from Twin Falls to Jim Jim because the creek crossing to Twin Falls was closed at the time of our walk.
- Weather even in the dry season is hot with temperatures up to mid 30s (Celsius) during the day, fortunately there is lots of opportunity for swimming.
- There are no estuarine crocodiles on the plateau, there may be fresh water crocodiles but we didn't see any.
- The walk from Twin Falls to Jim Jim was accross the low lands, with 3 creek lines to cross, with care we were able to pick a route that didn't involve walking through water, Jim Jim creek can only safely be crossed at the gorge.
- There are lots of water buffalo to be seen along the way, be careful not to startle them.
- There is water along most of the route, with a few gaps while crossing between Koolpin Creek and Twin Falls Creek.
Waypoints
Waypoint
287 ft
KOOLPIN GORGE CARPARK
Waypoint
553 ft
CAMP1
TP - 11/08/2018 10:08:58 PM
Waypoint
168 ft
JIM JIM CARPARK
TP - 11/08/2018 10:52:42 PM
Waypoint
518 ft
CAMP5
TP - 11/08/2018 10:57:49 PM
Comments (7)
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Fantastic pictures in an amazing place. Thank you for share
Thanks DXMARIUS. More pictures here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmrnMDTV
Thank you so much
Greetings from Colombia
G’day from Australia.
A great walk with awesome photos, well done.
Spectacular photos and Google Earth track.