Mardugal Campground

Visited: late dry season

Recommendation: Set close to the river, these campgrounds are a great place to begin exploring Kakadu but are also really good places to find wildlife. Peaceful, shady and very pretty - I loved it here. 

The Mardugal (also known as Mardukal) campgrounds are attractive camping spots with lots of wildlife. Close to Cooinda, they are great bases for wildlife spotting and day trips to the Jim Jim and Mary River regions. Agile wallabies are abundant during the day, and large colonies of bats can be seen in the evening. Birds and lizards can be found around the grounds and crocodiles stalk the creeks. 

I visited the area in October and there were distinct advantages and disadvantages. Late in the dry season, the temperature had already started to climb and didn't drop below 30 degress day or night. The biting bugs were vicious, leaving me with very sore welts. However, the plus side was that there were very few other people here. Most sensible travellers visit Kakadu and the wider Top End between May and September when it is cooler. 

Below are some of the birds I found here.