Darwin
Place: Darwin
Where: Northern Territory
A short work trip took me to Darwin in September 2019. The flight was longer than the actual workshop we hosted – and given the meeting was on a Friday, I took the opportunity to hang around and see Darwin. I had never been there before and this trip ticks off the final capital city in Australia for me.
After work, I walked around town and took in the Waterfront area where there is a swimming pool surrounded by sand. I’ve been assured they’ve made it crocodile safe, considering the Harbour is teaming with them and it’s only divided by a rock wall.
Then, it was pounding the streets of the city to see works from the Darwin Street Art Festival which had been held the previous weekend. They’ve worked up quite a collection of artworks over the last few years and many of them are quite impressive in their size, colour and detail.
That afternoon, I went and did the tourist thing see the Crocoseum where people pay a bucketload of money to be dunked in a perspex cage into a tank with a crocodile. Then, a beautiful sunset over the Harbour.
Next day I was booked on a day trip to Litchfield National Park where we did a couple of stops including the termite mounds, Wangi Falls and a few other swimming holes. The trip was with Offroad Dreaming and they were great – only nine people on the tour, as opposed to the big tour buses that were going through the park.
Before sunset, we did a crocodile tour on the Adelaide River. It was incredible to get so close to these prehistoric looking beasts – even getting splashed with water and mud as they thrashed about in the murky brown river. A really great experience – and some great pics below.
In my final few hours, I went to the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNET) where there was a great display from Cyclone Tracy, lots of wildlife (including crocs) and Indigenous artwork. Well worth a visit.