5 WALKS IN THE NT’S TOP END

WITH RUGGED ESCARPMENTS, PANDANUS-FRINGED waterholes and wildlife that reminds us who’s really at the top of the food chain, the Northern Territory’s Top End lures wanderers seeking a complete change of scene. Temperatures, even on winter’s coolest, kindest days, can stop you in your tracks, but this only makes reaching the next verdant, spring-fed pool all the more soothing.

Big-name national parks—Litchfield, Kakadu and Nitmiluk—provide an extensive network of trails peppered with rock-art galleries, lookouts and waterhole campgrounds. If perfect timing is possible, you can expect clear, blue