Important note for 2009 tours

Animal Tracks safaris may not be accompanied by an aboriginal guide in 2009, and may not include hands-on hunting and gathering. Yet it remains a very high quality experience that delivers extensive aboriginal cultural and natural interpretation and exclusive wildlife viewing. We follow the same tour route and deliver the same extensive interpretation as previous years just without the guarantee of an aboriginal guide present due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. In 2010, we expect to be accompanied by aboriginal guides again daily.

Kakadu Animal Tracks Safaris offer exclusive, 6 hour safaris within Kakadu National Park that combines extensive wildlife viewing and aboriginal cultural interpretation culminating in billy tea and damper at sunset in an amazing location. This tour is for open-minded people looking for a personalised and earthy experience. We show you the Kakadu you imagined.

You may have seen us recently on TV shows: Getaway, Postcards, SBS Food Lovers Guide to Australia and Australian Geographic Films and in various Australian newpaper travel stories.

KEY POINTS

WHERE - Departs Gagudju Lodge Cooinda (near Yellow Waters), Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia.(Click here for suggestions on how to get to Cooinda and the advantages of self-driving and buses from Darwin).

WHEN - 2pm daily (Dry Season Mid June to Sept) and returns 8pm

PRICE - $129 adults, $69 children 16 years and under.

HOW TO BOOK - Click here or on the Contact Us icon at the top

ITINERARY

At 2pm daily we depart Gagudju Lodge Cooinda, Kakadu National Park, in our open-sided safari vehicle. We drive a short distance to the Kakadu Buffalo Farm reserve, a wildlife rich area of 170 km. sq. that only this tour has exclusive access to visit. We are searching for wildlife, bush foods of plants and animals, bush medicines, useful plants for making baskets, mats and shelter as we safari. We stop regularly for photos and extensive natural and aboriginal cultural interpretation. It is possible to view many wildlife species on this safari with the highlight being an amazing wetland called Gindjala (Goose Camp) where from roughly late June to September you may watch the largest bird gathering in the Top End at that time. At sunset, we make a camp fire at a remote location/wildlife viewing point and enjoy hot billy tea and fresh damper and relax to an amazing Kakadu sunset watching birds and animals on the move. The homeward trip may yield some little surprises if not some good information. We return to Cooinda about 8 pm.

It is honestly one of Austalia's few 'Real' Safaris. We regretfully may not be joined by a bush aboriginal guide this year but our non-aboriginal guides are extremely experienced in wildlife and local aboriginal culture. We have lowered our tour price dramatically to reflect the change in our circumstances this year and we trust that you will find the Animal Tracks safari very satisfying and good value for money.

ABOUT ANIMAL TRACKS SAFARIS

Our day tours commenced in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, in 2000. The senior aboriginal land owner (now deceased) requested we commence tours to enable the Kakadu Buffalo Farm to continue to provide preferred bush meats (buffalo, magpie geese, wild pig, fish etc.) to the aboriginal people of Kakadu. We are a small, family business. The tour pays a large percentage of gross tour proceeds to fund the Kakadu Buffalo Farm which has continued to provide bush food to smiling faces. The land is Aboriginal owned and Kakadu Animal Tracks tours has been granted special entry permission and other privileges that are not offered on other Northern Territory tours.

QUALITY KAKADU DAY TOUR

Top Tour and Guides - Our two leading guides have been named the best in the Northern Territory by winning the 2008 and 2003 Northern Territory Tourism Awards for Interpretive Guide NT. Our leading non-aboriginal guide, Sean Arnold, (2008 winner) has guided Animal Tracks safaris since it commenced in 2000. Our aboriginal guide Patsy Raglar (2003 winner) is very well-known and respected in Kakadu and Australian Aboriginal Tourism and has been guiding since 2001. (It is very unlikely that she will be attending tours this year).

The Kakadu Animal Tracks Safaris has been a finalist in the Brolga Awards for the Aboriginal Culture and Heritage Category 2003, 2004 and 2005 and also for the Adventure Tourism Category 2005. You're welcome to look at our Guest Comments page for other guests opinions about this tour in Kakadu.

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