The capital of Northern Territory is much more than a gateway to Kakadu National Park. It’s a large multicultural city famous for its thunderstorms, sunset dining in Darwin Wharf Precinct and colourful Mindil Beach Markets. In the city, there are Northern Territory Parliament House, Fannie Bay Gaol Museum, Darwin Entertainment Centre and Darwin Botanic Gardens. Outside are Charles Darwin National Park, Crocodylus Park, Territory Wildlife Park and Berry Springs Nature Park. Here is some Darwin travel information, and in the end of the page is a map of Darwin.
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Darwin sunset. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - City Centre The central Darwin is a compact area between Cavenagh Street in north and the Esplanade in south. The main shopping area is around the pedestrian Smith Street Mall, east of which is the harbour and Stokes Hill Wharf, and south of which is the backpacker thoroughfare Mitchell street.
Smith Street Mall. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - Northern Territory Parliament House South of the Smith Street Mall are the Old Court House and Northern Territory Parliament House. The Northern Territory Parliament House (in the southern end of Mitchell Street) also houses the state library; and there are free guided tours in Saturday mornings. A little south of Parliament house are Government House and the old Deckchair Cinema where you can watch movies under the stars – there is also a licensed bar and you can buy snacks and light meals.
Northern Territory Parliament House. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - Darwin Wharf Precinct East from here is the Darwin Wharf Precinct, Stokes Hill and below the cliffs the Stokes Hill Wharf, popular with sunset dining in the end of the wharf, outside an old warehouse called the Arcade. In the Darwin Wharf Precinct there are oil-storage tunnels which you can visit, built during the WWII. Near Stokes Hill is Indo-Pacific Marine - a marine aquarium where you can get close to the Top End’s marine life, and study box jellyfish, stonefish and other amazing creatures. Near the Indo-Pacific Marine is the Australian Pearling Exhibition with displays of the history of pearling which has been practiced in the area.
Stokes Hill Wharf. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - Aquascene and Darwin Entertainment Centre South of the city centre is the Esplanade with Aquascene, Darwin Entertainment Centre and Bicentennial Park, popular with walkers and roller skaters. Aquascene is the place for the famous fish feedings where hundreds of fish come to the shore every day to be hand-fed at the high tide. Aquascene only opens when the fish arrives, so the opening hours depend on the tides and vary each day, check the link above for the tide times.
Bicentennial Park. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - Cullen Bay and Mindil Beach Markets On the western side of the peninsula is Cullen Bay with speciality shops and waterfront restaurants, and north of it is Mindil Beach famous for its Mindil Beach Markets. Cullen Bay is a lovely place to watch the sunset over a drink or have a nice dinner. Mindil Beach Markets, held on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons between April and October, is one of Australia’s most popular markets. It is a cosmopolitan market with local produce as well as goods from Pacific Islands and south-east Asia, complete with food stalls and street performers – if you are in Darwin during the dry season, don’t miss it.
Mindil Beach Markets. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - Darwin Botanic Gardens Across the Gilruth Avenue from the Mindil Beach is the area called The Gardens, which includes sports ovals, a Gardens Cemetery and the 42–hectares Darwin Botanic Gardens – a good place to have a picnic and relax, or learn about the flora of northern Australia and other tropical areas around the world. There are orchids, tropical rainforests and over 400 palm species and a self-guided Aboriginal plant-use walk.
Darwin Botanic Gardens. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - Fannie Bay Gaol North from Mindil Beach and the Botanic Gardens is Fannie Bay with Ross Smith Memorial and Fannie Bay Gaol Museum. The Fannie Bay Gaol Museum which housed the town’s prisoners between 1883 and 1979 is an interesting place, complete with gallows made for a hanging in 1952.
Fannie Bay Gaol. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Darwin Sailing Club and Darwin Trailer Boat Club South of here are the Darwin Trailer Boat Club and Darwin Sailing Club – nice places for a sunset drink or a dinner with views over the ocean. Also in Fannie Bay is the Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory, where there is the Cyclone Tracy exhibit mentioned above; and some interesting displays of the area’s history, natural sciences, culture and art. The Northern Territory Aboriginal Art collection is great with paintings from Arnhem Land and Tiwi Islands, but there are also arts and crafts from other Pacific regions and south-east Asia. A highlight of the museum is Sweetheart – a 5m stuffed saltwater crocodile that was killed for attacking fishing boats outside Darwin.
Darwin Trailer Boat Club. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - East Point and Lake Alexander North of Fannie Bay is East Point, with nice lookouts, walking and cycling paths, and year-around swimming in the Lake Alexander. East Point was an important location of the defence of Darwin in WWII and on the northern side of the peninsula are some wartime gun emplacements in a 200-hectare reserve, and the Military Museum - an interesting place to learn just how badly the city was hit by the Japanese in the WWII. East Point is also a great place to see wild wallabies hop around in the early mornings and late afternoons.
East Point. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - Charles Darwin National Park South of the city is the coastal Charles Darwin National Park which protects some extensive mangrove habitats between the mouths of Sadgroves and Reichardt rivers. It’s a perfect croc habitat so don’t go for a dip in the ocean, but the park is a nice place for a picnic with views over the city skyline.
Charles Darwin National Park. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Crocodylus Park and Darwin Crocodile Farm East of the city, on the crossroad of McMillans Road and Vanderlin Drive is the Crocodylus Park where you can get close to crocodiles while staying safe. Take the 45-min tour or just watch them being fed – there is also a small zoo park and a souvenir shop which sells all things croc. Another place to watch crocodiles is the Darwin Crocodile Farm south-east of the city off Arnhem Hwy. There are some beasts here that jump towards the fence as you walk past the lagoons – the most famous one is the 5.2m Bert – the Crocodile Dundee movie star. You can either just walk between the lagoons on your own (they’re fenced off of course) or attend daily tours and crocodile feedings.
Crocodylus park. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - Territory Wildlife Park Near the Darwin Crocodile Farm south-east of the city are also the Territory Wildlife Park and Berry Springs Nature Park. Berry Springs Nature Park which protects parts of Berry Creek catchment has some good swimming, picnic tables and a kiosk that sells snacks and refreshments. At the Territory Wildlife Park there are walks through wetlands, woodlands and monsoon and vine forests where you can see Australian animals in their natural habitats and there is also an aquarium, a nocturnal house and aviaries with lots of birds.
Territory Wildlife Park. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - Tiwi Islands Just north of the coast are Tiwi Islands – Melville and Bathurst. They are beautiful islands with some nice beaches and lush rainforest, but the most interesting thing about them is the Tiwi culture that you can learn from the local Tiwi People who have been living here for thousands of years. The islands have been fairly isolated and many of these people still follow a traditional lifestyle. They are also great artists and you can visit an art gallery on Bathurst Island. You need a permit to visit and the easiest way is to take a day tour from Darwin by Tiwi Tours. Other tours that take you to attractions outside Darwin are Adventure Tours Australia, Billy Can Tours, Desert Venturer, Kakadu Dreams, Kakadu 4WD Safaris, Wilderness 4WD Adventures and Xplore. In the city, there are the hop-on-hop-off buses by Tour Tub; or you can take a cruise with Equinox Fishing Charters.
Tiwi Islands. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Darwin Restaurants and Hotels in Darwin There are plenty of good cafes and restaurants in the city, Cullen Bay Marina, Wharf Precinct, and Fannie Bay. Some good places for a drink are Cavenagh, Shenannigans and Rorke’s Drift – the latter also has live music. Budget places to stay are Cavenagh, Gecko Lodge, Park Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Chilli’s Backpackers and Melaleuca on Mitchell. Other Darwin accomodation includes hotels like Value Inn and Barramundi Lodge; different B&Bs like Lily Pad B&B and Frangipanni B&B; and self contained apartments like Parap Village and City Gardens Apartments. You can camp at the Shady Glen Caravan Park and Hidden Valley Tourist Park.
Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Travel Darwin - Darwin Beaches The weather gets very hot here during the summer, particularly just before the wet season so you will want to know where to go to swim. Good Darwin beaches are Mindil Beach in the city, Vestey’s Beach in Fannie Bay and Casuarina Beach further north of the city in Brinkin. But remember the crocs, and read the box jellyfish warning signs on the beaches which tell you during which months the deadly creatures are present – the ocean water is a no-go area during the wet season. You can safely swim in the Lake Alexander in the East Point, and there is a public swimming pool in Parap.
Nightcliffe swimming pool. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Beer Can Regatta and other Darwin Events Like in most of Australian cities, there are lots of festivals happening in Darwin. In May there is the Down Under International Film Festival; in July there are the Beer Can Regatta and Darwin Fringe Festival and in August there are the Darwin Rodeo, Darwin Festival and the National Aboriginal & Torres Straight Islander Art Awards.
Here's a map of Darwin, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
