First time in the NT

Avoid Yellow River in Kakadu, as there will be thousands of people and millions of mosquitos..... Jim Jim and Gunlom camps are good, but not much in the way of facilities at them and is a pretty good dirt track out to both.

Wangi falls in Litchfield will probably have hoards there, while Florence falls is smaller and has a really nice view from the top!!

I don't think there are too many free camps in NT, well not in Kakadu and Litchfield anyway, but the smaller ones are generally cheaper as they offer less.

humie
I'll give you a reply re Mt Bundy, you will be made very welcome here , it's quiet, plenty of space and shade, powered and unpowered sites, stay 3 nights and get the 4th free, there's plenty to do and see in this area, look forward to meeting you.

.

Unfortunately if you want to go to Kakadu you are going to have to pay to stay and you didn't come all this way to miss out. Stay at Mardugal camp ground which is not that expensive, it's run by the Rangers and it's not that far from Yellow Waters because you have to do the cruise the late afternoon one is the best but book the day before. And yes there are lots of tourist from all over the world and mozzies but that's because it's so popular.

East Alligator is pretty speci as well especially the Ubirr sunset walk and you can stay at Merl camping ground also run by the Rangers.

Litchfield is also very popular this time of year but I'm sure you can find a free camp on the Litchield Park Rd back back towards the Cox Peninsula Rd.

Safe travels and enjoy the warm weather

Image Could Not Be Found
Image Could Not Be FoundShady Camp "camping area" is all fenced in . . . . .
that's so the local crocks can't get to sleep in your swag too
it was a "free" camping area when I was there last
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Maîneÿ . . .

Don't look for free camping along side the Stuart Hwy. You are not allowed to park in truck bays and there is a fence the full length of the road. You will see signs that say rest area ?kls ahead but when you get there you find that is a service station park where you have to pay. Not the N.T. I knew 30yrs ago.

Hi Humie

There are some great campsites north of Katherine that are close to water and off the beaten track. Of course like anything near water you need to take crocodile precautions - ie stay away from the water - well away.

Just inside the south entrance to Kakadu -but not past the ranger station -~3km in from the bridge and sign there is Moline rock hole. Technically inside Kakadu but not. Great place for a couple of nights - and tour buses are not supposed to stop there (some do when they can't find anywhere else). Great swimming hole.

There is a place on the old Jim Jim track (4x4 only) called the Black Jungle Springs. Nice place - not too hard to get to. You need a map. I loaded one on the members file swap - a very old map of Kakadu showing all of the forgotten (local knowledge only) places in and around Kakadu. Both these places are on the map.

David

Hi there, humie. I agree with what others have said about camping in Kakadu and Litchfield - not must 'frre' stuff, and very popular at this time of year. We didn't realise how close Litchfield is to Darwin, and so there's not much open country between them, in terms of camping spots (a bit like half way between Melbourne and Geelong!).
We found the "Camps Australia Wide" book great value for finding free camps. For example, we camped free at the King River Rest Area 46km South of Katherine, courtesy of that book. Now in its 5th Edition, we used to 4th edition to great effect in NT and WA this time last year. At around $50 it isn' too cheap, but it pays for itself pretty fast at Top End camp site rates.
But there aren't too many in the right place for sightseeing, and the rest of the world is already there, so it wont be a good time for free camps, if last year was anything to go by.
Hope this helps

Hi Humie

I have just come on line to research much the same area.

Last year we toured south of Alice Springs, and this year we will go north. We use Camps 5 and the Jan Holland series "Priceless campsites and rest ares" if we can't find our own piece of bush. To see the parks it pays to stay in them.Kakadu is run differently, but parks run by NT Parks charge $3.30 per person per night honesty box regardless of basic facilities whish is an minimum a long drop toilet, sometimes water and often free gas barbecues (the ones around Alice). The ones that have showers are double the price. Still cheap.

I will follow this thread over the next couple of days.

Motherhen

Here's a couple more good spots for a camp, check them on Google Earth

S13 04 57.9 E131 02 00.2 Gould Airstrip near Batchelor, set up in a revetment off the taxiways

S12 41 40.8 E131 05 34.6 Hughes Airstrip near Livingstone

S13 01 04.0 E131 07 21.9 Coomalie Creek Caravan Pk, around $7 a night