Famous for its beauty and abundance of nature, Yellow Water is a billabong in Kakadu National Park in Australia’s Northern Territory. Here’s why a sunset cruise on this waterway is a must.
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Crown of the Top End, Kakadu National Park is a wonderland of spectacular landscapes, ancient culture and natural history. But at the centre of this national park lies the jewel in that crown.
Yellow Water—Ngurrungurrudjba in the Bininj language—is a tributary billabong of the South Alligator River.
Check out our video of this incredible waterway at sunset:
This broad waterway, contained in the dry season by sloping banks, leaning pandanus and towering speargrass, is a wildlife paradise.
From the huge saltwater crocodiles that slip silently through the shimmer of the still water to the tiny azure kingfishers poised on overhanging branches, there’s so much life here it’s almost too much to take in.
Beyond the glittering surface of Yellow Water, flood plains that stretch out to distant trees and escarpments offer hunting grounds to wading birds and water buffalo. Black necked storks (formerly jabiru) and brolgas, ibis and egrets pace the flats.
And when you think you’ve seen Yellow Water at its best, the reason for the name comes to light as the sun starts its run for the western horizon. The water turns to gold and you’re breath catches at the sight of the sky reflecting in the burnished mirror of the billabong.
Find the best Kakadu accommodation at the best prices here.
Yellow Water Cruise
From our safari-style Yellow Water Villa at Cooinda Lodge, we meet our cruise guides at reception. It’s a short five-minute bus transfer to the jetty at Yellow Water, where we board our boat.
These flat-bottomed launches are perfect for exploring the billabong and the covered roof keeps the hot sun off us, though it’s still sweltering in the still air of the tropical afternoon.
But we’re soon on the move and the breeze brings us back to life.
Our guide talks about Yellow River and its incredible array of wildlife. It’s not long before we see our first crocodile—in fact, even before we boarded, we saw one hanging around the boats. There are hundreds of them here.
Enormous, prehistoric, awe-inspiring.
Some glide along effortlessly, eyeing us from the meniscus of the water. Others, basking on muddy banks, gape their savage jaws, showing the terror of their teeth.
Our guide explains there’s no known reason for the crocodiles to do this; she suggests it’s purely a posturing behaviour. It doesn’t bring us any comfort and we shift in our seats as the guide brings the boat closer to one of these fascinating, voracious reptiles.
Aside from the salties, the birdlife here is extraordinary.
Jacanas, with their unfathomable feet, scuttle across lily pads, night herons hide their heads in search of fish, forest kingfishers flash blue and white in the light, spoonbills and ibis forage from their stilts, and sea eagles do battle for their catch with the harrying and ubiquitous whistling kites.
Every minute feels like an Attenborough moment, but as we watch, we realise this is all quite normal for Yellow Water.
Sunset’s Midas Touch Turns Everything To Gold At Yellow Water
Without warning, the sun had decided to make its way to the horizon. It’s either happened that quickly or—more likely—we’ve been so absorbed by watching the nature around us that we haven’t noticed the sky transform.
Bronzing the horizon, the great orb of the sun cooks its last dish of the day, toasting the clouds and brûléeing the water until it seems to crackle under our bow.
Closer the sun comes to the brink, and brighter orange and gold go the heavens and the water. Islands of pandanus and lotus lilies turn to black silhouettes on the water’s gleaming rink-like surface until, with a final goodbye, the sun burns red.
The sky turns purple, then that impossible twilight blue as our boat moves into position at our harbour. We make our way back to the coach as evening draws in still astounded by the magic of Yellow Water and Kakadu.
When’s The Best Time To Visit Yellow Water?
We visited Kakadu near the end of the Dry Season in the last week of September, which is also Kakadu Bird Week.
This is the time of year when the water levels are at their lowest and the wildlife is concentrated into a much smaller area. This means you’re more likely to see things.
It’s also the best time of year to see the incredible spectacle of migrating magpie geese that fill the waterways and floodplains in their tens of thousands.
Check out our birdwatching experience with the remarkable Luke Paterson of NT Bird Specialists here.
However, you’re sure to have an incredible experience at Yellow Water no matter what time of year you’re here.
As for times of day, the sunset cruise was unbelievable, though there is also a sunrise cruise too, which would mean a nice and cool ride before the day gets too hot.
We highly recommend booking your seat on this cruise as early as possible—especially for the sunset ride—as these experiences fill up fast. And quite rightly so.
