Arnhem Land & Cobourg Peninsula

For some 50,000 years Arnhem Land has been home to Aboriginal people and the world’s oldest known stone axe was discovered in this region. The indigenous inhabitants have preserved many of their traditions here and the incredible rock art of their ancestors is always a highlight for our guests.

The lives of more recent inhabitants are celebrated here too, including those who established a trading post with Asia on the Coburg Peninsular in the early 19th Century. Little now remains of the Victoria Settlement, more commonly known as Port Essington. But you can still stroll among the ruins of the houses and hospital, imagining the tough existence of the craftsmen who built the buildings, and the merchants who traded from them.

This whole area is one of the most isolated and beautiful places you will encounter in Australia with its landscape of rugged ranges fringed by peaceful billabongs, flood plains, paper bark swamps and monsoonal rainforests.

On your Outback Spirit premium small-group expedition the treasures will unfold day by day, leaving behind long-lasting memories of an unspoilt paradise, rich in ancient history.