Where:

Northern Territory, Australia

About:

Rob and Clare lived in Darwin between 1999-2003, and regularly return, this is one of our favourite Australian cities. This is because of the tropical weather, the laid back lifestyle, and the mix of cultures. There are three seasons - the wet, the dry and the build-up. If you are just visiting, the dry is the best time, as it is not too hot and the weather is consistently great. The wet season is great to experience too.

Why Go:

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.

Highlights:

• 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.
• Deckchair Cinema: a great outdoor cinema showing alternative and classic movies during the dry season.
• Balmy Evenings: nothing beats a nice beer by the pool on a balmy Darwin evening, or at Lizards or the Trailer boat 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 at Aquascene where huge amounts and huge fish come in for their daily feeding.
• Sunsets: at Mindil Beach or Casuarina Beach or while on a harbour cruise

Other things to do:

• Darwin Museum
• Cullen Bay
• Go on a fishing charter
• WWII history - oil storage tunnels
• Botanic Gardens
• Catch the Ghan to or from Adelaide/Alice Springs
• Crocodylus Park or the new croc display on Mitchell Street in the city
• Historic Fanny Bay Gaol

Lowlights:

• 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.

Eating, Drinking & Sleeping:

• 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.

Nearby:

• Kakadu: National Park
• 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.
• Mandora: a 8km ferry ride across the Darwin Harbour, or a few hours drive around
• Jumping Crocs on the Adelaide RIver
• Tiwi Islands
• Adelaide River township

Other things you should know about:

• 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.

More information:

• See Kakadu page
• Photos of Darwin
• see Jellyfish information

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