World City Guide

Mini Guide of Darwin

City Overview

Darwin, named after the famous naturalist, Charles Darwin, is Australia’s most northernmost state capital. Its tropical climate and proximity to Australia’s northern neighbours has attracted many Asian immigrants, which in turn has helped turn this once rough-and-ready frontier town into a multicultural city beside the sea. Though it’s relatively small, and very relaxed, Darwin has suffered from a turbulent history. During World War II, Japanese bombers raided the city 64 times, killing around 900 people and destroying 77 aircraft and several ships. Then, on Christmas Eve 1974, the city was almost entirely wiped out by Cyclone Tracy, which dealt out the highest wind speeds ever seen on the Australian mainland.

Darwin is dominated by two distinct seasons. The wet season, known locally as ‘The Wet’, runs roughly from early November to the end of March, and the dry season, or ‘The Dry’, which generally lasts from April to October. Expect torrential rain lasting a couple of hours a day during the wet season, and very high humidity. The dry season is characterised by cool crisp nights and warm days perfect for shorts and t-shirts.

Darwin is the ‘gateway’ to the world-famous Kakadu National Park, the gorgeous Litchfield National Park, dramatic Katherine Gorge, and the red crags of the Kimberley region.

Getting There By Air

Darwin International Airport (DRW)
Tel: (08) 8920 1811.
Website: www.darwinairport.com.au

The main international and domestic gateway to the Northern Territory, Darwin International Airport is located approximately 13km (8 miles) from the city centre.

Qantas (tel: (02) 9691 3636 or 131 313, Australia only; website: www.qantas.com.au), flies into Darwin. So too do Airnorth, Merpati Nusantara Airlines (Indonesia), Garuda Indonesia, Royal Brunei and Australian Airlines. Approximate flying time from London is 21 hours, usually with a stop over in Singapore or Bali.

Discount airline Virgin Blue (tel: (07) 3295 2296 or 13 6789; website: www.virginblue.com.au) flies between Darwin and Australian state capitals. Airnorth (tel: (08) 8920 4001 or 1800 627 474 in Australia only; website: www.airnorth.com.au) flies to destinations across the Northern Territory and north-western Australia, as well as East Timor, and Kupang in Indonesia. Skywest (tel: (08) 9478 9999 or 1300 66 00 88, in Australia only; website: www.skywest.com.au) flies between Darwin and destinations in Western Australia.

Airport facilities include ATMs, bureaux de change, left luggage, restaurants, bars, shops and car hire (Avis, Budget, Hertz and Thrifty).

Darwin Airport Shuttle Bus (tel: (08) 8981 5066 or 1800 358 945, in Northern Territory only) runs between the airport and city hotels. The trip into the city takes around 15 minutes.

Getting There By Water

Getting There By Road

It’s 1,480km (920 miles) to Darwin from Alice Springs, along the Stuart Highway. From the east, the Barkly Highway connects with the Stuart Highway at Tennant Creek, 922km (572 miles) south of Darwin. From the west, the Victoria Highway joins the Stuart Highway at Katherine, 314km (195 miles) south of Darwin.

The Automobile Association of the Northern Territory (AANT) (tel: 13 11 11, in Australia only; website: www.aant.com.au) provides emergency roadside assistance.

Buses usually arrive and leave from the Darwin Transit Station, on Mitchell Street. Greyhound Australia (tel: (07) 4690 9950, or 13 14 99, Australia only; website: www.greyhound.com.au) runs buses between Darwin and Alice Springs (around 20 hours); from Broome, via Kununurra and Katherine (24 hours); and from Cairns, via Townsville and Tennant Creek (40 hours).

Getting There By Rail

The Darwin Train Station is situated approximately 20 minutes drive south of the city centre. The Ghan, below, is Darwin’s only train link.

The Ghan runs from Adelaide to Alice Springs (trip time: 20 hours), and onto Darwin (trip time: 24 hours). Contact Great Southern Railways (tel: (08) 8213 4592 or 13 21 47, in Australia only; website: www.gsr.com.au) for information on these trains.

Getting Around

Public Transport
Darwinbus (tel: (08) 8924 7666) runs the local buses. The city terminal is located on Harry Chan Avenue (near Bennett Street end of the Smith Street Mall). The suburban Casuarina terminal is in Bradshaw Terrace, and the suburban Palmerston terminal is on the edge of the Palmerston Shopping Centre.

You can buy single tickets on buses and a one-day Tourcard, which allows unlimited travel until midnight, at newsagents and bus terminals.

Taxis
The main taxi company is Darwin Radio Taxis (tel: 13 10 08). You could also try City Radio Taxis (tel: (08) 8981 3777).

Car Hire
Car hire companies include Avis (tel: (08) 8981 9922, website: www.avis.com); Budget (tel: (08) 8981 9800; website: www.budget.com.au); Hertz (tel: (08) 8941 0944, website: www.hertznt.com); and Europcar (tel: (08) 8941 0300; www.deltaeuropcar.com.au).

Bicycle Hire
Many hotels and hostels offer bicycles for rent.

Business

Sightseeing

Sightseeing Overview
Darwin, with its parks, harbour and tropical climate, is a pleasant city to wander around – as long as it’s not pouring down with wet season rain of course. You could aim for a bit of sunbathing or a swim off one of the two city beaches, or take a walk along the Esplanade, where there are good views out to sea. Otherwise, saunter through the Botanic Gardens, which has a representative of every baobab tree species on the planet. There’s a pleasant 5km (3 miles) walking track alongside Fannie Bay to the East Point Military Museum, where you could see hundreds of wallabies skipping around on the grass nearby. Darwin is quite small and compact and most of the main attractions, though outside the city centre, are accessible by foot or via a short taxi ride.

Tourist Information
Tourism Top End
38 Mitchell Street
Tel: (08) 8936 2499 or 1300 138 886 in Australia only.
Website: www.tourismtopend.com.au

Key Attractions

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
The one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about this part of the world includes collections of Aboriginal artwork, arts and crafts from Southeast Asia and the Pacific, a maritime gallery, minerals and insects, a giant stuffed crocodile, and a room set aside for visitors to experience some of the force of Cyclone Tracy.

Conacher Street, Fannie Bay
Tel: (08) 8999 8264.
Website: www.dcdsca.nt.gov.au

Crocodylus Park
Over 1,000 crocodiles live here, from hatchlings to adults weighing half a ton! Croc-feeding sessions are fascinating, and there’s a diverse range of other wildlife. It’s a 15-minute drive from town.

815 McMillans Road, Berrimah
Tel: (08) 8922 4500.
Website: www.wmi.com.au/crocpark/crocpark.html

East Point Military Museum
This interesting museum, which focuses on the World War 11 bombing of Darwin by the Japanese, is housed in a gun command post. Displayed are field and anti-aircraft artillery, historical weapons, photos, videos, Japanese swords, and various armoured vehicles.

East Point Road, East Point
Tel: (08) 8981 9702.
Website: www.epmm.com.au

Australian Aviation Heritage Centre
Here 17 complete planes and helicopters compete for space with the wreckage of a Japanese Zero, lots of engines, relics, uniforms and bombs.

557 Stuart Highway, Winnellie
Tel: (08) 8947 2145.
Website: www.darwinsairwar.com.au

Aquascene – Fish Feeding
Every day, at high tide, hundreds of milkfish, mullet, catfish, bream and barramundi come to shore to be fed by hand. Rays, cod, mangrove jack and diamond fish lurk in the shallows too.

Doctor's Gully
Tel: (08) 8981 7837.
Website: www.aquascene.com.au

Further Distractions

WW11 Oil Storage Tunnels
Constructed to protect Darwin's oil supplies from bombardment during WWII, these tunnels extend from the Wharf and house an excellent photographic display of wartime images.

Kitchener Drive
Tel: (08) 8985 6333.

George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens
These gardens showcase the flora of Northern Australia, including rainforest, coastal dunes, mangroves and open woodlands.

Geranium Street, The Gardens
Tel: (08) 8981 1958.
Website: www.nt.gov.au/ipe/pwcnt

Tours of the City

Get out on Darwin’s beautiful harbour with Australian Harbour Cruises (tel: (08) 8941 4000; website: www.australianharbourcruises.com.au). Three-hour sunset cruises (some on a restored traditional pearling lugger) leave Cullen Bay Marina in time for the sunset. Lunch cruises are also available. Another sunset option is a three-hour sail around the harbour on a lovely old sailing boat, the Cape Adieu (tel: (08) 8942 2011; website: www.capeadieu.com.au). It includes a seafood and barbeque banquet with lots of local seafood.

If you want to see more of the city step aboard the open-topped Tour Tub Bus (tel: (08) 8985 6322). It visits most attractions and city hotels on a hop-on/hop-off basis.

Plenty of tours head out from Darwin to Litchfield National Park and Kakadu (below). A good website to check out for plenty of tour options is www.tourismtopend.com.au. Fit and active people aged 18 to 45 or so could try one of the many multi-day tours offered by the YHA Australia (website: www.yha.com.au).

Excursions

Kakadu National Park, 220km (136 miles) east of Darwin, features ancient Aboriginal rock art, waterfalls, lakes, mangroves and forests. It’s listed as an UNESCO World-Heritage site and is home to around 280 species of birds, 115 species of reptiles (including giant saltwater crocodiles), and 25 species of frogs. (tel: (08) 8938 1120; website: www.deh.gov.au/parks/kakadu for more information)
Litchfield National Park, 140km (87 miles) south of Darwin, is famous for its waterfalls, rainforests, intriguing magnetic termite mounds, weathered sandstone pillars, and cooling lilly-clad ponds. (tel: (08) 8976 0282; website: www.nt.gov.au/ipe/pwcnt for more information).

Sport

Shopping

Darwin offers plenty of opportunity for shoppers looking out for Aboriginal art and crafts as well as pearls. Find authentic Aboriginal art at the Raintree Aboriginal Fine Arts Gallery, shop 5, 20 Knuckey Street.

Aboriginal art, such as bark paintings, painted didgeridoos and boomerangs, is also available at the Aboriginal Fine Arts Gallery, on the corner of Knuckey and Mitchell streets (website: www.aaia.com.au).

Some of the world’s best pearls (well, those that haven’t already been shipped to Japan) are on sale at Paspaley Pearls, on Bennett Street off The Mall (website: www.paspaleypearls.com). Diamonds are a big thing up here too and, if you fancy a rare pink one, from the Argyle Diamond Mine in Kununurra, you can choose from hundreds at Creative Jewellers, located at 27 Smith Street, The Mall.

General city shopping hours are Monday to Friday from 0900 to 1730, Saturday 0900 to 1700, and Sunday 0900 to 1500.

Culture

While most tourists come to Darwin to see the amazing scenery and flora and fauna of Kakadu National Park, if you stick around you might just come across some cultural offerings too.

The Darwin Symphony Orchestra is the only resident symphony orchestra in the Northern Territory. It produces up to eight performances a year, including performances on the lawns of MGM Grand Casino and university campuses. Meanwhile, the Darwin Theatre Company (website: http://darwintheatrecompany.com.au) provides a mixture of old and new works at its theatre located at 56 McMinn Street.

Watch a movie under the stars at the Deckchair Cinema (tel: (08) 8981 0700; website: www.deckchaircinema.com). The relaxed open-air cinema offers movies every night from April to November. Expect some 250 deck chairs, 100 straight-backed seats, and a bar. Entry is via a walkway from the Esplanade off Kitchener Drive.

Nightlife

It gets hot up here in the Northern Territory - so beers go down very easily indeed. In a drinking culture it’s not hard to find watering holes, and many of them are spread out along Mitchell Street in the city centre. As for the best nightclubs, don’t expect to get in dressed in the typical Northern Territory dress of thongs (flip-flops), stubbies (shorts), and a singlet (vest). For more information on pubs, bars, nightclubs and music gigs look up www.whatsondarwin.com

To feel like a ‘true-blue’ Aussie head to the Blue Heeler Bar, Herbert Street (corner of Mitchell Street), an Australian theme pub plastered with memorabilia on the walls and ceiling. Escape the clutter in the beer garden. A slicker establishment (despite it’s 70’s retro look) is The Cavenagh, 12 Cavenagh Street. The bar is a relatively new addition to the Darwin scene and comes with lounge chairs and an outdoor patio. For a bar with a view of the sea and the sunset, try the casual Darwin Sailing Club, Atkins Drive on Fannie Bay. There’s a nice restaurant here too, frequented by a family of goannas (monitor lizards).

Darwin’s best-known dance spot is Discovery Nightclub, 89 Mitchell Street. As well as late-night/early morning dance sounds, it regularly features live bands. A backpacker haunt is the more casual Victoria Hotel, 27 Smith Street, The Mall. It’s got two bars and attracts bands as well as some cool DJs.

Irish bars are everywhere of course and Australia’s most northern state capital is no exception. The two representatives of the shamrock in town are Shenannigans Irish Pub, 69 Mitchell Street, and Kitty O'Sheas Irish Bar & Café, Herbert Street (corner of Mitchell Street). Both have a good atmosphere and offer bands several times a week. More traditional is the Top End Hotel, Mitchell Street (corner of Daly Street), a Darwin landmark blessed with the city’s largest beer garden, a nightclub, and a band room.

City Statistics

Location: Northern Territory, Australia.
Country dialling code: 61.
Time zone: GMT + 9.30 (GMT + 10.30 from last Sunday in October to last Sunday in March).
Electricity: 220-240 volts AC, 50Hz; flat three-pin plugs.
Average January temp: 32°C (89°F).
Average July temp: 30°C (86°F).
Annual rainfall: 1,651mm (65 inches).

Special Events

Arafura Games, May, leading international sporting competition for athletes from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, including USA. Every two years (next May 2007) (website: www.nt.gov.au)
V8 Supercars, late May, three days of fast and loud motor racing with intermissions of parachutists, drag cars and motorbike stunt riders, Hidden Valley Raceway (website: www.v8supercar.com.au)
Darwin Fringe Festival, late July-early Aug, annual performance and arts festival for visiting national and international artists, throughout the city (website: http://darwinfringe.octa4.net.au)
Darwin Cup Carnival, early Jul-Aug, the Northern Territory’s biggest horse racing event culminates in the running of the Carlton Draught Darwin Cup, Fannie Bay Racecourse (website: www.darwinturfclub.org.au)
Darwin Festival, Aug, local and touring performances and events including outdoor concerts, workshops, theatre, dance, music, comedy, cabaret, film, and visual arts, throughout the city (website: www.darwinfestival.com.au)

Cost of Living

1 Australian Dollar (A$1) = £0.43; US$0.76; C$0.88; ¬0.63
Currency conversion rates as of October 2005