“If you don’t love sunsets and markets, you don’t love Darwin.”
Darwin is in fact famous for its intense red sunsets. The best way to enjoy them is to take a stroll along the promenade in the late afternoon, or an evening cruise in Darwin Bay (even for dinner) or make a stop in Mindil Beach, the most beautiful beach in the city.
And speaking of markets, during the cool dry season, the Mindil Beach Sunset Market hosts street performers, musicians and craft stalls, with a wide range of international food to choose from in the green area behind Mindil Beach. To avoid queues, we suggest arriving around 6 pm.
If you are there on a Saturday, you should also visit Parap Market: it’s not big, but indeed colorful and offers multi-ethnic food. You can find everything here, from Chinese to Indian food, or fantastic fruit smoothies.
Most hotels and clubs are located in the Central Business District (also known as CBD), while the main street of the city centre is Mitchell Street, home to the highest concentration of pubs, restaurants, clubs and accommodation for tourists.
Darwin certainly offers a series of exhilarating activities. First of all, the possibility of having a close encounter with a crocodile in complete safety. If you do not mind the idea, a visit to the Crocosaurus Cove in the city center is a must. The most adventurous people will also have the opportunity to plunge into the crocodile tank by letting themselves fall into a cage (the cage of death). Another experience (for circus lovers, I may add) would be taking part in a cruise along the Mary River for a leaping crocodile sighting. While sailing, you might be able to see some crocodiles jumping out of the water to bite pieces of buffalo meat hanging from long hooks.
If you feel like watching a movie in an unusual cinema, then plan a night at the Deck Chair Cinema: it’s an outdoor room where, instead of the armchairs, you sit down on deckchairs. Also, if you happen to be here in August, the Darwin Festival takes place during this month, with lots of art and music shows for both adults and children. In this case, it’s necessary to book a room well in advance. We had to stay at a hostel and in separate rooms as it was the only solution available.
Lastly, Darwin is the ideal town from which you can easily reach both the Litchfield National Park – with its natural water pools and the giant termite mounds – and the Kakadu National Park, the largest natural park in Australia with a lot of sites where you can admire rock painting.
