Guided by the locals, experience the rich culture of Arnhem Land in a breathtaking setting of lush wetlands, towering escarpments, Ancient Art.
Learn about the traditional painting and basket weaving techniques used by the artists and visit Injalak Hill, Cahill's Crossing and Gunbalanya , world renown for its Aboriginal rock art.
Days
- 1 day
Group size
- Max 16
Start / finish
- Darwin / Darwin, or join at Jabiru
Return
- See itinerary for details
Transport
- An air-conditioned 4WD, leaving Darwin at 5:15am with a stop at Coroboree Park Tavern, then picking up at Aurora Kakadu at 7:50am and Jabiru at 8:30am. Accommodation transfers, park entry fees and entry into Arnhem Land are all included.
Meals
- A picnic lunch is included, with vegetarians catered for.
Route
Included experiences
- Injalak Hill — rock art with a traditional Aboriginal guide, on unformed paths with no handrails
- Long Tom Dreaming — among the best rock art in Western Arnhem Land
- The view from the top of Injalak Hill, out across the floodplains
- Gunbalanya — the community at the heart of western Arnhem Land
- Cahills Crossing — the crossing that marks the way into Arnhem Land
- Billabongs, birdlife and escarpment country the whole way
- Arnhem Land — one part of Australia where Aboriginal culture is still dominant
Pictures / Videos
Reviews
4.9
Based on 12 reviews
Verified from
Real reviews from travellers who've done this tour, gathered from around the web and paraphrased.
AI summary of 12 reviews
Travellers consistently praise this tour for its cultural depth, frequently highlighting the knowledge and lived experience of the local Aboriginal guides who share stories of their ancestors, land and rock art. Reviewers commonly note the friendly and well-organised tour guide and driver, along with the provided lunch and the flexibility to adjust the itinerary in hot conditions. The rock art at Injalak Hill, the wetland landscapes and the crossing into Arnhem Land are the features mentioned most often, with several travellers describing the day as educational and worthwhile. The most common caveat is the early start (around 5am) and the long day involving considerable driving, hot temperatures and steep climbing. One reviewer also raised concerns about unclear itinerary details regarding bag weights, sleeping arrangements and local alcohol rules.
How we collect and publish reviews
Where they come from. Our reviews are gathered from independent review sites and from guests who share feedback with us directly after their trip. They come from people who have actually travelled on the tour.
Why some are edited. Many of our guests travel in their second or third language. Where a review is hard to read, we lightly edit spelling, grammar and punctuation, or paraphrase a sentence for clarity. We never change the rating, the meaning or the sentiment, and we never write a review on a guest's behalf.
Reading the originals. Reviews sourced from public review sites appear there in their original form, and can be read in full at their original source at any time.
“Day trip to Arnhemland”
Informative, friendly, fascinating and just incredible. I’d do it again at the drop of a hat. Tim the driver and guide is a top bloke and has an outgoing and friendly personality and perfect for the position he’s in. Our 2 indigenous guides really helped make the trip with their vast knowledge and lived experience of that part of western Arnhemland. The rock art and just the scenery were absolutely breathtaking. We were also lucky enough to experience the first bit of cooling rain for the season.
“Highly recommended , top shelf”
Top shelf , highly recommend this tour with Tim
Tim clearly has a great connection and relationship with the Traditional Owners and shows up with the calibre of the local guides he attracts who are a wealth of knowledge and visit the best and often unique sites.
Tim is easy going , open and friendly and also puts on a fantastic lunch spread
Many thanks to Tim and guide Sebastian
Awesome
“Arnhem Land Tour From Darwin”
It was an early start (5am) , but well worth it. The group size was good at only 9 people, and Tim, the tour guide, was very amiable and knowledgeable. He ensured that the tour itinerary was flexible enough to take into account the fact that the forecast was for a 40 degrees celsius day by replacing the 4 hour trek up Injalak with three separate smaller hikes, which still contained a suitable amount of rock art.
Lunch was provided. It was a buffet on the side of the road, organised by Tim. No complaints from me, as there was sufficient food for all.
A local Aboriginal guide, Craig, was also employed by the tour company. Craig was very knowledgeable. One tip - the more you ask Craig, the more information he will provide.
Definitely recommended.
“Arnhem land surprise”
Oh what an experience. We went as a group and were picked up from Darwin at 5.15am by Tim our tour guide and bus driver. Knowledgeable & very friendly . Had to collect a few more travelers from Kakadu & then continued to Arnhem land.
We were lucky we had 2 indigenous guides (Sebastian & Tirone) Saw many cave paintings and the significance of them was told by the indigenous fellows and Tim knew plenty too. Very interesting. Fair bit of rock climbing up steep hills but we all managed. (over 50's) Lunch was great. Although it was a very long day as it includes lots of driving it was well worth it. Arrived in Darwin 7.00pm.
Highly recommend.
“So much more than looking at beautiful country.”
If you only do one tour while in the Top End I would highly recommend it be this one. Yes, a very early start, yes a very long day, yes very hot, but YES a wonderful, wonderful day. So many operators throw tokenistic things into them rather than delve a little deeper into the essence of the area and culture and this offers so much more than just looking at beautiful landscapes and rock art. The way local guides who actually live and have family connected to the land is shared with participants, questions can be freely asked and will be answered openly. The organisational components byTim, from communication to a lovely lunch down to chilled facecloths and not to mention his cheery and cheeky disposition made for a lovely day. Learning about the connection between land, people and culture from those who live and breathe it was terrific. Such a spiritual feel to the sites we visited too, I can see why they are so valued. Hot tip-have a beer chilled to sip and a foot bath ready to stick your tootsies into when you return and ponder the amazing things experienced on your day. Thanks to everyone for such a great day.
“Unique and unforgettable experience”
During a recent five week holiday to the Northern Territory from Victoria my husband and I went on tours to many beautiful locations the top end of Australia has to offer. Arnhem Land was the tour I was most looking forward to and it didn't disappoint. Tim, Ethan and Billy were excellent tour guides, making the whole day fun and exciting. Driving across Cahills Crossing into Arnhem Land was exciting, the river is famous for having many crocodiles, we saw quite a few. Climbing up Injalak Hill listening to our indigenous guide James sharing with us stories of his people and their land, I felt very privileged to be there. Looking across the beautiful landscape of the wetlands was amazing. Listening to James explain some of the rock art was very interesting. Having morning tea and lunch with our tour group was also very enjoyable. If it's a memorable experience you are after, I highly recommend Top End Day Tours.
“We learned a lot about the local people, their history, culture ”
Our local guide Seb was very good. He lives there so he knows a lot about the area. He told us stories of his ancestors and the rock art.
“Years of wonder in Arnhem Land”
Discovering Arnhem Land even though it was just 4 hours in total was so worth a 5.00am start in Darwin. An honour to meet Sebastian a traditional owner and he was such a joy. A man proud of his heritage. Tim the tour guide was a gem!
“Our tour with LIA was fantastic!!”
ack is a great tour leader - he has a lot of local knowledge and is very well organised. I would certainly recommend your company to anyone looking to see northern Australia.
“The trip was amazing”
The trip was amazing. Had the time of my life. Awesome tour. I’ll be back.
Melanie
“The trip overall was great”
The trip overall was great, the food was adequate and the guide(Rick) was friendly, experienced and professional. Just three small things that would be good to address - the itinerary stated two different bag weights and so our guide wasn’t happy when we turned up with 15kg dufflebags! As we were flying out straight after the tour we couldn’t leave anything behind, and there was a huge variety of bags and even a suitcase on our tour, so we weren’t the only confused ones.
Also, the itinerary indicated each night in tents but one night we had swags. When I refused, I was offered a small tent but no mat so that was uncomfortable all night. (I don’t like the smell of swags or the hygiene aspect.)
Thirdly, I was completely unaware of the alcohol rules ( not news in Queensland,)and as I didn’t take my licence (why would I when I organised transport to and from the airport) this led to embarrassment in a crowded bottle shop and relying on others to have a relaxing drink at night sometimes!
Overall, the trip was great value for money, fantastic for sight seeing and experiences and very educational culturally; addressing the above three issues on the website or in the itinerary would make it perfect!
Warm regards,
Su Below
“"Wonderful day out in the remote aboriginal communities”
Very special day out in Arnhemland speaking with local Aboriginal people and exploring some of the most amazing artistes I've ever seen.
Our local guide, who was a local Aboriginal girl, really took us into her work and taught us all about their culture and way of life. Loved it! Thanks!
