Northern Territory
Northern
Territory:
- hot, humid, wet summers with frequent afternoon thunderstorms
- warm, drier winters with balmy nights
- inland temperatures have extreme ranges with temperatures above 40degC
common during the day and close to zero degC temperatures at night due to
the cloudless nights in winter especially.
- in 1862 John McDougall Stuart became the 1st white man to traverse
Australia from south to north.
- how to get there:
- Qantas has flights from capital cities to Darwin, Alice Springs and
Uluru
- Virgin Blue has flights from Sydney to Alice Springs & from Sydney
or Brisbane to Darwin
- hire car either 2WD or 4WD are available at airports
- The Ghan train
travels from Adelaide to Darwin & travelers can take their car on or
off in Alice Springs
- by car on the "Explorer's Way":
- Adelaide to Darwin - 3016km of sealed road suitable for 2WD
vehicles
- Alice Springs to Darwin - 1491km - requires 5-7 days for site
seeing
Darwin:
- a tropical palm fringed little city of 100,000 people perched on the Timor
Sea, closer to Singapore than Sydney and looking as Asian as Malaysia
- it has been re-created twice:
- in the early 1940's, the Japanese bombed it more than 60 times, with
the harbour full of warships as its prime target.
- see the East Point Military Museum, which is the original bunker
where the Australian army planned the Top End defence strategy.
- see the oil storage tunnels built during the war & which wind
beneath the city
- in 1974, Darwin was decimated by Cyclone Tracy
- it is multi-cultural with 45-60 different ethnic groups:
- it has been the preserve of the Larakia Aboriginal clan for thousands
of years before European settlement in the 18thC, and their culture
remains string & evident
- Chinese immigrants from the 1870's gold rush remain prominent
- Greek community - many from Kalymnos
- Timorese refugees from Indonesia's occupation of East Timor
- visit the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets during winter to experience this
multi-culturalism
- it's a backpacker magnet, being informal enough with climate suitable for
thongs & sarongs in the city mall, while being an entry point into
Australia from Asia & a departure point for tourists heading to Kakadu
& Uluru.
- average age is <35yrs old, and it has a warm spirit with a touch of the
exotic that makes you feel at home, but feels like every day's a holiday.
- off shore lies Melville and Bathurst Islands
- 3-5 day stayers:
- day 1:
- stroll along the shaded esplanade & visit restaurants in
Mitchell St precinct or dinner on water's edge at Cullen Bay Marina
- day 2:
- museum & art gallery of NT, military musuem, Charles Darwin
National Park, Fannie Bay Gaol, Crocodylus Park to see estuarine
crocodiles. Cruise Darwin Harbour.
- day 3:
- Territory Wildlife Park
- Litchfield National Park, have a swim under a waterfall or
bushwalk
- spend night at Batchelor
- day 4:
- Windows on the Wetlands
- wildlife cruise along Adelaide River & the spectacular jumping
crocodiles
- return to Darwin in afternoon for Mindil Beach Sunset Markets
(Thursday 5pm)
- alternatively for extended stays:
- continue south to
Katherine, cruise up the majestic Katherine Gorge (2-4hrs), then
further south to Mataranka Thermal Pools or the nearby Cutta Cutta
limestone caves, then next day travel on to Kakadu National Park
& stay the night at Cooinda, then explore the east Alligator
River system, ancient rock art galleries at Ubirr Rock, then explore
the Mangarre Rainforest.
- the "Nature's Way" loop encompassing Kakadu,
Litchfield & Nitilmuk is 457km, mostly sealed roads but
access to some parts such as Jim Jim Falls requires 4WD.
- day 5:
- explore Darwin's Wharf Precinct, Aust. Pearling Exhibition, Indo
Pacific Marine display
Litchfield
National Park:
- only 100km from Darwin & typefies the Top End tropical wilderness
- stay at Mount Bundy Station
- permanent spring-fed waterfalls, tropical rainforests, huge rock pools
-
Kakadu
National Park:
- 200km east of Darwin; covers 6000 sq.km;
Katherine:
- historic town of Pine Creek
- Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) - 13 gorge system carved into sandstone
by torrential summer rains over millions of years
-
Tennant Creek:
- stop at Gemtree to fossick for gems
- Devil's Marbles geological phenomenon is 100km south of Tennant Creek
Alice Springs:
- camel rides along the dry Todd River bed
- Alice Springs Golf Course - one of the top 10 desert courses in the world
- Alice Springs Reptile Centre
- hot air ballooning at sunrise
- Royal Flying Doctor Service
- Alice Springs Cultural Precinct
- Red Centre Dreaming for dinner & show
- Alice Springs Desert Park
- West MacDonnell Ranges
- Simpson's Gap, Standley Chasm, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Ochre Pits,
Ormiston Gorge
- East MacDonnell Ranges
- Trephina Gorge, 4WD to see rock carvings at N'Dhala Gorge Nature Park
- travel south to Uluru
- Watarrka National Park
- Kings Canyon:
- formed when it was an inland sea
- Palm Valley - the last remnant of an ancient tropical
rainforest
- Glen Helen Gorge
- can take helicopter flight & glimpse Gosse Bluff
- Gosse Bluff:
- the "Pioneer's Path" encompasses Alice Springs, Uluru,
Kata Tjuta & King's Canyon covering 850km requiring 3-5 days and the the
Mereenie Loop between King's Canyon to Alice Springs is unsealed and
requires 4WD.
- the "MacDonnell Ranges Loop" encompasses Alice Springs
and either of the two ranges, covering 430-450km each, requiring 2 days
each, but many sites require 4WD.
Uluru
- Kata Tjuta National Park:
- Uluru formerly known as Ayer's Rock
- accommodation:
- Longitude
131:
- luxury resort with 15 luxury "tents" cabins snaking
over the dunes looking out to the changing colours of Uluru
- all meals & drinks incl. in tariff along with morning
& afternoon tours to Uluru & Kata Tjuta & the
must-do Sounds of Silence dinner under the stars
- built in 2002, & destroyed by bushfire Oct 2003, it has
now been rebuilt
- Kata Tjuta aka The Olgas
-