Yellow Water Billabong Sunrise Cruise
Join a Yellow Water sunrise cruise — one of Australia's great wildlife experiences — on the South Alligator River floodplain wetlands, with crocodiles, sea eagles, and jabiru storks in a Gondwana landscape.
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Cooinda Lodge Departure
Yellow Water cruises depart from Cooinda Lodge at dawn — the pre-sunrise departure means crossing the floodplain in darkness, arriving at the billabong as the first light turns the water gold.
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Yellow Water Billabong Entry
Yellow Water (Ngurrungurrudjba) is the most biodiverse wetland in Kakadu — the tannin-stained floodplain water turns golden in the sunrise light, giving the billabong its name.
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Saltwater Crocodile Banks
Large saltwater crocodiles bask on the billabong banks — the population density here is one of the highest in the Territory, and the sunrise cruise regularly encounters animals of 4-5 metres within metres of the boat.
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Jabiru Stork Wetlands
The jabiru (black-necked stork) is Kakadu's most iconic bird — the large, colourful stork wades through the shallow floodplain water hunting frogs and fish, and the billabong supports significant numbers year-round.
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White-Bellied Sea Eagle Roost
A pair of white-bellied sea eagles roost in a paperbark tree above the billabong — they hunt over the water and the territorial pair has used this roost for many consecutive wet seasons.
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Lotus Flower Floodplain View
In the late dry season, lotus flowers cover sections of the billabong in pink — the sight of lotus blooms above the tannin water, backed by paperbark forest and the escarpment, is one of Kakadu's most beautiful.
Walk this route with audio
Stories play automatically as you reach each stop — no tapping needed.
