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photo collection
Australia Pages
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Where:
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Darwin
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Last Visited:
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Rob and Clare lived in Darwin between 1999-2003, and regularly return.
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Why Go:
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Darwin, the capital city of the NT, is a little gem in the tropical
north of Australia. Even though it has grown larger than its country town feel of the past, it still has a unique northern Australia character.
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Highlights:
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- Markets: There are several great markets in Darwin, Mindil
Beach (Thursday evening and Sunday during the dry season), Parap
(Saturday), Nightcliff (Sunday), Rapid Creek (Sunday). These vary
a little, each proving a great selection of food and other things.
- Litchfield: Only a one and a half hours drive south of Darwin city,
this park offers as much as Kakadu, but within easy driving distance to do in a day.
Highlights include Buley Rock holes, Florence Falls, Wangi Falls,
Magnetic Termite mounds, Tolmer Falls.
- Deckchair Cinema: a great outdoor cinema showing alternative and classic movies during the dry season.
- Kakadu: see guide page
- Balmy Evenings: nothing beats a nice beer by the pool
on a balmy Darwin evening, or at Lizards or the Trailerboat Club bar.
- Darwin Cup: Held the first week in August, this horse race it is a highlight
of the social calendar.
- Doctor's Gully: Family fun where huge amounts and huge
fish come in for their daily feeding.
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Lowlights:
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- Beaches: while the weather is hot and the beautiful beaches
are welcoming, the water off Darwin is frustratingly out of bounds
for much of the year due to stingers and crocs.
- Heat and Humidity: If you have to spend a lot of time
outdoors, and you are not used to it, the heat and humidity can
be quite depressing
- Cold: the supermarkets and other shops believe that you
can counteract the heat outside with extreme cold inside. I can't
explain why they set their thermostats so low.
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Eating, Drinking & Sleeping:
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- Eating: some of our favorite places to eat in Darwin
are the Nirvana Restaurant, Cornucopia, and the Parap markets.
The Nightcliff and Mindil Beach Markets have much the same great south asian fare. The Wharf is the place to go for Barra and chips while watching the fish below and the thunder storms come in.
- Drinking: beer gardens, and the pubs along Mitchell St.
In particular, Lizards Lounge, the Vic, Rourkes, Shenanigans.
- Sleeping: If you are backpacking, there are several places
along Mitchell St, just where you want to be amongst all the action.
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Other things you should know about:
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- It is a great place to visit all year round, but you should
know the seasons so you are prepared. The dry season (clear blue
skies, low humidity, warm sunshine) is from approximately April-Oct.
The build up is about Nov-Dec, where there is high humidity and
no refreshing storms. The spectacular tropical storms come during
the wet season, Jan-May.
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More information:
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