Australia - Explore Australia Northern Territory 2013

CONTENTS

[ KINGS CANYON, WATARRKA NATIONAL PARK ]

THE NORTHERN TERRITORY is Australias least settled state or territory, with vast tracts of desert and tropical woodlands. But to regard this country as empty is to do it a disservice; Aboriginal people have lived and travelled across the territory for thousands of years, and still do. Many non-Aboriginal Australians also see it as the last great frontier because of its remoteness, spectacular landscapes and hardy outback characters.

Desert regions lie towards central Australia, while the tropical Top End is lapped by the Timor and Arafura seas. Although the diversity of landscape and wildlife makes it one of Australias most inspiring destinations, visitors should expect to cover a lot of distance between highlights.

The coastline and offshore islands are places of special beauty pearly white beaches interspersed with rocky red cliffs and rich mangrove habitats. The coastal rivers are home to thousands of bird and marine species, and their flood plains carry the annual wet season deluge into the Timor and Arafura seas, and the Gulf of Carpentaria. The rivers are also spawning grounds for barramundi, which attract anglers from around the world.

The north-east includes Arnhem Land, the largest Aboriginal reserve in Australia, where trade and mingling of cultures occurred between Yolngu people and Indonesian seafarers from the 1600s. Today it is home to many groups who still live a semi-traditional lifestyle. It is also the custodial land of Australias most famous Indigenous instrument, the didgeridoo. Here visitors can explore parts of the Gove and Cobourg peninsulas, with their green vegetation, turquoise waters and great fishing.

The Red Centre is ancient and breathtaking, a land of intense as well as muted tones created by beautiful gorges, rock holes and vistas. While many travellers are drawn to Ulu r u and Kata Tju t a, the surrounding countryside is equally impressive from the rolling red sandhills of the Simpson Desert to the undulating grasslands west of Glen Helen. North of Alice Springs, the Tanami Desert is incredibly remote and vastly interesting.

Population 230 200

Total land area 1 335 742 square kilometres

People per square kilometre 0.15

Beef cattle per square kilometre 1.3

Length of coastline 5437 kilometres

Number of islands 887

Longest river Victoria River (560 kilometres)

Highest mountain Mount Zeil (1531 metres), West MacDonnell National Park

Highest waterfall Jim Jim Falls (160 metres), Kakadu National Park

Highest town Areyonga (700 metres), west of Hermannsburg

Hottest place Aputula (Finke), 48.3C in 1960

Strangest place name Humpty Doo

Quirkiest festival Henley-on-Todd Regatta with boat races in the dry riverbed, Alice Springs

Longest road Stuart Highway (approximately 2000 kilometres)

Most scenic road Larapinta Drive, from Alice Springs to Hermannsburg

Most famous pub Daly Waters Pub

Most impressive gorge Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park

Most identifiable trees Pandanus palm and desert she-oak

Most impressive sight Electrical storms in the build-up to the wet season, Darwin

Favourite food Barramundi

Local beer NT Draught

Interesting fact Some 50 per cent of the Northern Territory is either Aboriginal land or land under claim

VISITOR INFORMATION
Tourism Top End
6 Bennett St
(08) 8980 6000 or 1300 138 886
www.tourismtopend.com.au

R egarded as Australias northern outpost, Darwins proximity to Asia and its immersion in Aboriginal culture makes it one of the worlds most interesting cities. It retains a tropical, colonial feel despite having been largely rebuilt after the devastation wreaked by cyclone Tracy over 30 years ago.

The founding fathers of Darwin laid out the city centre on a small peninsula that juts into one of the finest harbours in northern Australia. Their names live on in the wide streets of the city centre, which is easy to get around and lacks the winding lanes of older Australian cities.

The Larrakia people are the Aboriginal traditional owners of the land that Darwin is built on. It is a beautiful green city with parklands and gardens of palm trees, raintrees and frangipani while the waters of the Timor Sea lap three sides of the city.

The population of 127 500 comprises over 50 ethnic groups, the diversity stretching back to the early days of Darwins development when Aboriginal, European and Chinese people worked side by side. More recent arrivals include migrants from Greece, Timor, Indonesia and Africa.

Evidence of the early days remain, but Darwin is also a modern city. With so much natural beauty around its harbour, along the beaches and in its tropical parks, it remains one of the most fascinating cities in the world.

The city centre is open and vibrant with wide streets, leafy parks, a shady mall and outdoor dining. Stunning Aboriginal art and artefacts characterise the retail areas. Tall, modern buildings have replaced the old colonial-style buildings but they retain a fresh, tropical flavour.

Smith Street

Smith Street Mall is the retail heart of the central business district (CBD). Shady Raintree Park at the northern end is popular. Walk down the mall between May and the end of August and hear buskers who have travelled north to beat the southern winter. Plazas and small arcades sell Aboriginal art, locally made jewellery and tropical clothing. At the southern end of the mall are grand buildings with shops selling South Sea pearls and authentic crocodile products. Opposite is the Star Village Arcade, once the open-air Star Theatre. Today it houses a quirky collection of boutiques and cafes.

Smith Street continues south past Browns Mart Theatre, built in 1883, home to the Darwin Theatre Company; (08) 8981 5522. Behind it is the Darwin City Council Chambers, with its ancient banyan tree, known as the Tree of Knowledge. Planted at the end of the 19th century, the tree has been a meeting place, dormitory and soapbox for generations. Nearby is the Christ Church Cathedral, built in 1902 and restored after damage from both Japanese bombers and cyclone Tracy.

Mitchell Street

West of Smith street is this popular dining and entertainment area. With backpacker accommodation, pubs and outdoor dining areas, cinemas and the Darwin Entertainment Centre, it is a bustling part of Darwin; (08) 8980 3366. Swim with crocodiles from the safety of a perspex cave at Crocosaurus Cove.(08) 8981 7522.

Cavenagh Street

East of Smith Street is Cavenagh Street, with commercial buildings and government departments, and a few art galleries and cafes. This street was Darwins original Chinatown, full of ramshackle huts and the occasional opium den in the 1800s. A reminder of its Asian history is at nearby Litchfield Street where a modern