Kakadu National Park explodes with plant and animal life in the tropical summer. Watch the park wake up on a sunrise cruise with Yellow Water Cruises as you drift through the pink and white lilies that dot the surface of Yellow Water Billabong.

Experience the thrill of flying over Jim Jim and Twin falls – Kakadu’s biggest waterfalls – when they’re at their ferocious best with Kakadu Air’s Jabiru 60-minute Helicopter Flight. Soaring over the National Park’s wetlands, mighty floodplains and ancient sandstone plateaus may seem dreamlike but the spray from Jim Jim’s 200-metre tumble of water will keep you anchored in the moment.

Cruise through the sandstone gorges of Nitmiluk National Park, 30 kilometres north-east of Katherine, towards Southern Rockhole, a seasonal waterfall that typically flows between December and March – the only time this ferry service through Nitmiluk Tours is available. The ferry gets within 150 metres of the Rockhole, encouraging a short rock-hop to your ultimate swimming destination.

Enjoy a tropical Darwin sunset through the fizz of a champagne glass as you sail Darwin Harbour aboard a luxury catamaran. Sail Darwin offers a three-hour Champagne Sunset Sail between 5pm and 8pm, which includes an eight-course tapas-style dinner, bottomless sparkling and that all-important salty sea breeze – with a side-serve of air-conditioned saloon, if required.

Stroll beneath hefty wingspans of white-bellied sea eagles towards the paperbark-nestled observation deck of Mamukala Wetlands. Summer signals breeding season for Kakadu’s 280-plus bird species and the best place to watch (or photograph) the wetland’s magpie geese, kingfishers, herons and willie wagtails is amid – and above – the fragrant waterlilies that garnish the billabong.

Immerse yourself in the pristine wilderness of Nitmiluk National Park’s remote rock pools with Nitmiluk Tours’ Adventure Swim Tour and soak up the soothing solitude. Operational only during the tropical summer, the private helicopter tour soars across 13 gorges before landing at a hidden gem for an ultra-private swim. Request the picnic hamper, too, so you can graze as you dry off.

Experience a constellation of choreographed drones, lasers and projections lighting up the ink-black sky in an open-air desert theatre as Mala, an ancient Anangu story about the resilience of the Anangu women in the face of the devil dog who killed some of their men, is brought to life. A short distance from Ayers Rock Resort, the Wintjiri Wiru Sunset Dinner officially includes the show, drinks, canapés, a gourmet dinner hamper and transfers but (unofficially) gifts a sense of childlike wonder.

Nothing pairs better with a spectacular Mindil Beach twilight than the aroma, taste and yes, that all-important fingertip drip of frozen chunks of fresh mango (or a Mango Daiquiri) snapped up from the Mindil Beach Sunset Market. Pack a picnic rug and make the most of the Northern Territory’s bountiful mango season at Darwin’s most happening sunset spot.

Take a flight of 160 steps or the long way ’round via a one-kilometre wander through lush monsoon forest to Florence Falls in Litchfield National Park when the twin cascades – at peak volume during the tropical summer – gush into the vibrant pool below with a melodic rumble. Along the same Litchfield National Park path, the year-round, spring-fed cascading pools of Buley Rockhole invite a moment to ponder the all-important question: is the water best described as cyan or teal?