Qantas Insider & Magazine Spotlight: Yellow Water Cruises
From the Northern Territory's floodplains to South Australia’s ancient gorges and Victoria’s volcanic wetlands, join Traditional Owners on small-group journeys around Australia.
Qantas Insider and Qantas Magazine showcase a collection of incredible First Nations cultural experiences across Australia, including our own Yellow Water Cruise. Discover how these immersive tours connect visitors with Country, culture, and storytelling through the eyes of Traditional Owners in Kakadu National Park.
Wildlife Encounters in the Kakadu
Yellow Water / Ngurrungurrudjba Billabong in Kakadu National Park (1.5 hours south west of Darwin on the Stuart and Arnhemland Highways) unfolds in a mosaic of floodplains, paperbark forests and lily-covered waterways. Drift across the water with Kakadu Tourism Tours and explore one of the country’s richest wildlife habitats. They offer various tours by boat, including two-hour dawn and dusk cruises, morning, day cruises, and 2.5 hour fishing cruises where you can try your luck at catching one of the Territory’s famous barramundi.
“The amount of wildlife will blow your mind,” says Murumburr man and Kakadu Tourism guide Dennis Miller. “When I take people out cruising, we see everything from enormous saltwater crocodiles – there are an estimated 80 per square kilometre – to an endless variety of bird species. There are 280 species here, which is a third of Australia’s total birdlife.”
On a tour, you will indeed see saltwater crocodiles slide along muddy banks and magpie geese skim low across mirrored wetlands. Guided commentary brings context to this dramatic landscape, shaped by monsoon rains and seasonal cycles over millennia.
Glide through Kakadu’s serene wetlands at dawn or dusk for epic wildlife sightings. Find flights to Darwin.
