Darwin City Guide

Australia>Darwin City

Darwin, the capital of northern Australia with its population of 70,250 is closer to Jakarta than it is to Sydney, and closer to Singapore than it is to Melbourne. This proximity and familiarity with Australia's northern neighbours is reflected in the town's relaxed, cosmopolitan and tropical atmosphere.

There are fanciful events being held in this Wonderful spot: beach parties, rock concerts, the Royal Darwin show, and Boat races are held for craft constructed entirely of beer cans. Other festivities include the Rodeo and Mud Crab Tying Competition, and the Darwin Cup horse race.

If you like nature, you could visit these places: Howard Springs, Darwin Crocodile Farm and Litchfield National Park. They are the pleasant spots for an excursion and it's a way out of town.

Other exiting activities you could do are: fishing for barramundi, a freshwater and saltwater perch that often grows over a metre long, is a popular pastime in Darwin. There are also boat trips at Adelaide River Crossing, to see crocodiles.

There is also bungee jumping on weekends at Wharf Precinct, and a parachute club at Batchelor, 85km south of Darwin. Darwin is a good place to organise bushwalking or 4WD drive tours of the Top End, Kakadu or the Kimberley.

For the art enthusiasts, there is a perfect place for you- Museum and Art Gallery of NT. A well-presented museum at Fannie Bay is its collection of Aboriginal art. There are carvings and bark paintings from Arnhem Land, Bathurst and Melville islands. There's also a good collection of artifacts from the Pacific and South-East Asia.

In relation to cuisine, Darwin has a wide range of delicious and fine delicacies to offer you which are the Australian and International cuisine.

Getting There and Moving Around

By air

Darwin's airport services both international and domestic routes. Lots of flights run between Darwin and Bali, as well as to other spots in South-East Asia. You can also fly to Darwin from all other states in Australia, although you might end up going via Alice Springs, Brisbane or Adelaide.

By road

Darwin has a fairly good city bus service, but it's only in full swing from Monday to Friday, and it shuts down entirely on Sunday.

The Tour Tub is a private bus which does a shuttle of Darwin's major places of interest. You can reach Darwin by bus on three routes - the Western Australian route from Broome, Derby, Port Hedland and Kununurra; the Queensland route through Mt. Isa to Threeways and up the Track; or straight up the Track from Alice Springs.

There is also an extensive network of bicycle tracks and bikes can be rented or borrowed from many of the backpackers' hostels.

Moving Around

It's easy to get there because it is esily accessed as there are bus services operate in the city and suburban areas, there is also a Tour Tub bus service links the major tourist attractions. Or, you can take a flight as Darwin's airport services both international and domestic routes.