Day 10: Darwin / Bamurru Plains
Explore a bit of Darwin this morning, then make a 30-minute scenic flight by private chartered aircraft to Bamurru Plains, our secluded safari camp on a private concession bordering Kakadu National Park. On the coastal floodplains of Australia’s most northerly reaches, we have exclusive access to 115 square miles of savanna and woodland along the Mary River. This is the tropical side of the remote Australian Outback, home to one of the world’s largest saltwater crocodile populations and an annual migration of over 100,000 magpie geese. Skim across the floodplains by airboat, cruise the Sampan River, and take guided walks and game drives in search of brumbies, buffalo, dingos and wallabies in this wild and unusual environment.
Accommodation: Bamurru Plains Safari Camp

Bamurru Plains: This luxe safari-style camp features tent-style bungalows on stilts with semi-transparent screens for walls, offering unobstructed views over the floodplain and wild bush.

Days 11 & 12: Exploring the Greater Kakadu Ecosystem
Bamurru Plains encompasses many distinct environments: melaleuca forest, savanna woodlands, riverine habitat that percolates with jumping fish and floating crocs, the bright green Mary River floodplains, open grasslands pocked by lagoons, primordial paperbark swamps, and wetlands full of black-wing stilts, plumed whistling ducks, egrets, ibis, magpie geese and a plethora of other birdlife. This is the storied Australian bush, which we explore via airboat, open-top safari trucks, guided walks and quad bikes. Local naturalists join our Expedition Leaders as they interpret the diverse flora and fauna of these rich ecosystems.

Greater Kakadu is also a living cultural landscape. Aboriginal people have continuously called Kakadu home since before the last ice age—for more than 65,000 years. In fact, there are so many wonders within the 7,700-square-mile Kakadu National Park that it received dual UNESCO World Heritage designations, for both outstanding natural and cultural features. Kakadu is Aboriginal land, and the Bininj/Mungguy owners work hand in hand with Parks Australia to jointly manage it using traditional knowledge and modern science.

The Kakadu region contains stunning biodiversity, including 68 mammal species, more than 120 reptile, 26 frog, and 300 tidal and freshwater fish species, some 2,000 plant species, more than 10,000 insect species and one-third of all Australian bird species. Kakadu’s giant crocodiles are the world’s largest living reptiles, having thrived unchanged for nearly 200 million years. We anticipate seeing endemic freshwater crocs that live in rivers, creeks and pools, and saltwater crocodiles that thrive in floodplains, billabongs, gorges and coastal waters—both species are endemic to Australia.
Accommodation: Bamurru Plains Safari Camp

Day 13: Kakadu / Darwin / Depart
Our northern Australia nature safari comes to a close this morning as we fly back to Darwin to meet departing flights, which should be booked no earlier than noon.

Important Information About This Trip: Australia is a place unto itself, a remote and isolated continent filled with wildlife and landscapes that are truly unique. You could even call them weird. On the other hand, Australia is an English-speaking country, which, aside from some left-hand driving and happy accents, feels pretty familiar to life in North America. This is a new Nat Hab adventure, and itinerary changes may occur in order enhance and improve the experience, or to take advantage of changing conditions.

This journey is designed to explore parts of Australia’s Queensland and Northern Territory that are least populated, most wild, and densest in wildlife and rugged beauty. These are the places that are most difficult to get to and experience fully on your own, where the expertise and guidance of this operator's knowledgeable Expedition Leaders will be most appreciated. Steering away from the crowds, we explore during quiet hours that allow for secluded and intimate encounters with nature. Many people visit Australia, but only an intrepid few travelers will experience Australia in such an unusual way. You could even call them weird, too. And of that, they should be proud.

Limited to 12 Travelers with Two Expedition Leaders: A very important feature of this northern Australia expedition is the limited group size, as nature travel is most meaningful when experienced in the company of fewer travelers, and our environmental footprint is lighter.

Activity Level: Easy / Moderate. This adventure does not require a particularly high degree of physical fitness, however, walks can range from 1 to 4 miles in fluctuating climates and environments. Although these walks are easy to moderate in terms of physical exertion, they can include terrain that is sometimes steep, uneven or slippery. There may be multiple early morning and/or night walks of approximately 1 to 2 miles, often in dim light. Travelers should be able to walk unassisted for 2 miles over sometimes rough terrain and inclines. During our time on the Great Barrier Reef, our primary activity is snorkeling, with the option to scuba dive at an additional cost. For snorkeling, a reasonable level of fitness and comfort in the water is required.

Having two Expedition Leaders guiding this trip is of vital importance so we are able, at times, to divide our groups according to varying physical abilities. This advantage ensures that our guests can move at the pace, and travel the distance that suits their preference. Note that all activities are optional, and travelers should only participate in activities in which they feel comfortable. While travelers are not required to participate in all activities, should you opt out of a scheduled activity, we cannot always guarantee alternatives will be available. Travelers who would like to take longer or more strenuous hikes may have limited opportunities to do so at their leisure. Internal flights include large commercial planes and smaller aircraft. On the smaller aircraft, cabins are small and not pressurized, so travelers must be in suitable health for these conditions.