whats worth a look in Darwin?

[discorevy]

So I'm turning the big Hawaii 5-0h[bighmmm][bigsad] , the bride and myself are flying to Darwin for a three day break as its going to be her birthday as well , I haven't been there since1995 , so was wondering what's worth going to see in and around the place , will be hiring a car . please no suggestions of tours of zimmer frame / walking stick factories, appreciate the suggestions

[trout1105]

Try Shady Camp on an afternoon or night on an incoming tide, Even if you are not into fishing just to see the sheer number of Crock's in the one place it makes the place a well worth visit.
Litchfield is another Must see.
I lived in Palmerston for 5 years But didn't spend much time in the City, I do remember a restaurant called "Seafood on Cullins" where you paid $20 and you could eat as much seafood as you could and it was great.
Other than that I spent my spare time fishing and exploring the rest of the Territory when I wasn't working.
Gods Country [thumbsupbig]

[Ean Austral]

Depending on how much you want to see /do
mindil beach markets - thursday & sunday
stokes hill wharf & the RFDS exhibit
East Point & the military museum
waterfront and the wave pool
Cullen Bay

travel further outand you can go Litchfield park , berry springs, Adelaide river , Kakadu and so on.

cheers Ean

[Homestar]

It's only 6 weeks until we are ther too! Never been before and really looking forward to it. :)

We've got 10 days to take in the sights. :)

[gusthedog]

Military museum is good 😉

[Tins]

According to my son, who was there for two years in the Army, the best thing about Darwin is the road out! He always was difficult to please, though, and he did meet his wife there...

[Nick S]

Go and check out the B52 bomber just out of town

[trout1105]

According to my son, who was there for two years in the Army, the best thing about Darwin is the road out! He always was difficult to please, though, and he did meet his wife there...



Darwin is not for everyone and I suppose the "Build Up" can be a bastard for many as it gets pretty Muggy then.

[Tins]

Darwin is not for everyone and I suppose the "Build Up" can be a bastard for many as it gets pretty Muggy then.

I once had a girl friend who spent a little time in Berrimah. You'd think that would put you off, but she couldn't get enough of the place, and probably lives there. As you say, to each their own. Personally, I've never been. But I will.

[strangy]

Have lived there and visited regularly.
I like it.
I have enjoyed the Oil Tunnels,
Crocadylus Park, Mindil Markets.
A little ferry ride from Fannie Bay to Mandorah fills in a lazy 2 hours.
Further than the city, a trip to Jabiru/Kakadu is worth the effort,

[trout1105]

I love the Territory But the Missus hated the Build Up, She put up with it for 5 yrs But in the end she had had enough and we had to move South :(
If you Love your fishing there are thousands of places to go .

[discorevy]

Thanks for the suggestions, will definitely be taking some of them up , the one of shady camp reminded me of what happened when I was there in 1995 , they used to hire tinnys ( probably still do) , I was there in my own at the time when I saw a group of swiss tourists coming in to take a pic of one croc ( girl balancing on the bow) they were coming in too fast, so driver hit reverse , girl came off , I managed to get between the girl and croc , but to this day I've never seen anyone launch out of the water so fast . Only there for 3 days and flying in so the fishing will have to wait until a planned lap next year .

[V8Ian]

Don't miss the fishmonger, very hospitable fellow. [bigsmile1]

[workingonit]

I could probably run you a "Meaningless Points of Interest Tour".

To give you an idea.

We would start at Berries Springs, visiting Dan's collection of series vehicles parked up in the mango orchard, the highlight being his 101 with a bent rear axle. Not far from Dan's we could visit the spirulina farm. It's not open to the public, but through the fence you can see their business sign and processing tank. You might see a pond if you stand on the roof of the vehicle.

Back to the Stuart Hwy we could call in on Hamptons cattle yards. There we might see some mighty road trains parked up for maintenance. If we're lucky and the tides are right we might even see them loading some live cattle for export. Failing that we can drive down one of the other public roads bounding the property and observe some brahman cattle out for agistment. Not far up the highway from Hamptons is a WWII airstrip complete with silhouettes of fighter planes cut out of plate steel. If there is no traffic in sight we could pull out the 22 for a couple of shots in the spirit of WWII (seems pilots were issued with 22s in case they crashed in enemy jungle territory, not so much for defence but ability to hunt without being heard).

If we have time we will go further down the highway where you can have a go at driving at 130kph! You're lucky the Stuart Hwy is so long, otherwise you would have to quickly go to unlimited speed for some distance.

Moving back closer to town we will cross the Elizabeth River. Here you will see three bridges. The first is the old railway bridge, plate steel riveted together - you can walk across it if you want - there are no officials or nanny state to stop you. The second bridge, quite modern, was not built high enough, so nearly every wet it gets cut. The third bridge is the latest, and is build high out of harms way. In the '60s and '70s you could pull barra out of the river at this point, but no more.

A quick trip down the Arnhem Highway to see skid marks, the spot where my wife nearly collided with tourists doing a u-turn to go back and see the croc by the side of the road.

Probably the real highlight of the tour will be a stop at Coolalinga Central to see the new Coles and KMart complex recently opened, and freshly painted underground parking. The main plaza area is filling fast with shops and kiosks, but there is still enough room left for the daring to pull out a couple of badminton rackets and shuttle for a game before security move you on. A new All Tools is nearby. I live out this way, so I now have two Woolworths and one Coles complex each within 5 minutes drive. Talk about spending power of the Territorian. This is where you will buy lots of meaningless tourist items, in keeping with the theme of the tour, and also to keep the population of the Republic of Litchfield in employment. We can also visit the local pharmacy where my uni student son works, for your pensioner discounted medications, being 50 and all.

Moving closer to town, a visit to Palmerston is optional. Of more interest is that they are building a new hospital just outside Palmerston. There was a bit of concern that the construction would never start. Then there was concern that construction had started, but that they then buried it all shortly afterward. I believe there is something above ground now. We could try and see.

Again, just outside of Palmerston, near the Whaler or Robertson Barracks, are the old blue metal and gravel quarries. Originally I had trouble finding these quarries. Driving along the bush tracks any view to the left was obscured by a huge long dirt wall. We stopped and climbed the wall a few times, but could only see bush further on. At the point of almost giving up we came across an old rusted sign attached to star pickets on top of the dirt wall which said "No Swimming"...ahhaa! Sure enough, climbing the wall this time gave us a vista across a quarry that must be about 1km long, half wide and about 300m deep, filled with blue water having cut through the water table no doubt.

If you insist on going to Palmerston (Palmo) then we can visit the two water towers - the first being the original concrete one, shaped like an engagement ring - the second being recent, and made out of steel. We could contrast and compare construction techniques.

Moving closer to town, pulling off on the verge just before Berrimah lights, we can inspect a collection of old RAAF buildings removed from the base to make way for new construction. The government has relaxed cyclone standards for these buildings if they are relocated in the rural area.

Further in town now, we can stop near the old airport gates to see another (steel) water tower. This one is special, as I'm told the impression on the side of the tank is from a fridge blown up there in cyclone Tracy.

And so on.

Cost? A zillion dollars! And worth every cent.

You might actually be surprised at the amount of high rise that's gone up since 1995.

[Don 130]

I was going to put up a similar question, because we're flying up there too, and hiring a camper truck thingy. We're planning on looking at darwin,Kakadu and Litchfield, so I'll add the suggestions to the list. We fly on 21/6. Thanks.
Don.

[bob10]

Three days probably restricts you to Darwin, to be honest. Eans first few thoughts will keep you busy. However, if Territorians are anything like back in the 80's, you might get kidnapped and taken off the beaten track.

[flyinglandrover]

As someone else has said, The oil storage tunnels are definitely worth a look!

[The ho har's]

EAST POINT the bomb shelters and other military things


Mrs hh

[bsperka]

Adelaide River Crocodile cruise is worth considering. Should be good just after the wet. And not too far from Darwin. East Point as others have said, Stokes Wharf and Oil tunnels. Restaurants at Darwin harbour are good for lunch or dinner, or try the ones at Cullen Bay. Pizza place there was great.

[incisor]

Litchfield, the flight over kakadu and adelaide river pub.. for a start....

[Don 130]

Today my neighbour told me of an antique machinery collection housed in the only hangar that wasn't hit during the bombing of Darwin. He saw it many years ago. I've tried a search without success. Does anyone know if it still exists?
Don.

[Ean Austral]

Today my neighbour told me of an antique machinery collection housed in the only hangar that wasn't hit during the bombing of Darwin. He saw it many years ago. I've tried a search without success. Does anyone know if it still exists?
Don.

Yep the old QANTAS hanger in Parap. Its now run by the motor enthusiast club or similar to that . MIRVC I think may be the handle they go by , I could find out for you.



Cheers Ean

[Don 130]

Thanks Ean, we're going in a couple of days and will have a few days to explore Darwin before setting out with a camper ute thing.
Don.

[Ean Austral]

Thanks Ean, we're going in a couple of days and will have a few days to explore Darwin before setting out with a camper ute thing.
Don.

Its in Holtze st Parap or some maps might list the suburb as Fannie Bay , the 1934 QANTAS hanger is what it used to be called.


Cheers Ean

[Don 130]

I've found a link (http://www.australiaforeveryone.com.au/nt/old-qantas-hangar.htm)on what seems to be an informative page on stuff to see and do up north.
Don.

[discorevy]

Big thanks to all for the advice , got back last week after 3 nights, 4 days in Darwin, was great , managed to get to the military museum, art gallery and museum, the oil tunnels , mindil beach and parap markets, seafood on Cullen's at sunset ( happy hour on Friday, awesome food ) the food was really good , people relaxed and friendly , weather great ( obviously, this time of year ) and was good to be out of the Nanny state even for a short time as 2 weeks prior to going , wife and self were towing the trailer sailer to Walpole (only an hour from home) got pulled over, everything checked over as well as my licence's ,rego's for everything ( wasn't doing anything wrong) and sent on my way , then out on the water coming back up the Frankland river , got pulled over by marine safety , asked to see my skippers ticket , my fishing from a boat licence , the boat licence , then they wanted to board ,when I said my dog isn't friendly ( she is very friendly) they wanted to know if dog was licenced, but by this time I'd had enough as out of the 5 of them on board not one was friendly, this got my back up,and I was probably showing it when one of them said it's for your own safety, to which I replied that if it was about safety they would be checking people out at the ramp before they headed out instead of swanning about in a $300 000 boat in a 20 metre wide river. Fast forward to the Trip up to Perth to fly to Darwin, second set of traffic lights I went through an amber light ( my bad ) and got pulled over by a copper that went through the same light ( red by this time) to be told how dangerous it was to go through an amber light ( seriously)
Sorry about this rant , but I must've needed to vent, I hope N.T. doesn't go the way of W.A
Thanks again to all for the advice

[strangy]

Glad you enjoyed Darwin.
It's good to get stuff off your chest.
Biggest concern for the NT is the petty influence from other states.
It will come sadly anyway.
Following behaviors and leftovers from Finke desert race which has just been run for 2017 and the number of travelers passing through, our time is coming.

[Ean Austral]

Big thanks to all for the advice , got back last week after 3 nights, 4 days in Darwin, was great , managed to get to the military museum, art gallery and museum, the oil tunnels , mindil beach and parap markets, seafood on Cullen's at sunset ( happy hour on Friday, awesome food ) the food was really good , people relaxed and friendly , weather great ( obviously, this time of year ) and was good to be out of the Nanny state even for a short time as 2 weeks prior to going , wife and self were towing the trailer sailer to Walpole (only an hour from home) got pulled over, everything checked over as well as my licence's ,rego's for everything ( wasn't doing anything wrong) and sent on my way , then out on the water coming back up the Frankland river , got pulled over by marine safety , asked to see my skippers ticket , my fishing from a boat licence , the boat licence , then they wanted to board ,when I said my dog isn't friendly ( she is very friendly) they wanted to know if dog was licenced, but by this time I'd had enough as out of the 5 of them on board not one was friendly, this got my back up,and I was probably showing it when one of them said it's for your own safety, to which I replied that if it was about safety they would be checking people out at the ramp before they headed out instead of swanning about in a $300 000 boat in a 20 metre wide river. Fast forward to the Trip up to Perth to fly to Darwin, second set of traffic lights I went through an amber light ( my bad ) and got pulled over by a copper that went through the same light ( red by this time) to be told how dangerous it was to go through an amber light ( seriously)
Sorry about this rant , but I must've needed to vent, I hope N.T. doesn't go the way of W.A
Thanks again to all for the advice

Some things definitely wont - the amateur fishermans assoc is argueably the most powerful lobby group in the NT , so as it stands, NO boat registration or skippers tickets. NO alcohol limit for people boating so no breath testing whilst on the water , but , they can check your safety gear. Make sure plenty of $$$ spent on boat ramps.

We are heading down the path tho , our cops now wear blue uniforms instead of the Kahkai they used to wear , I see we now even had a few motor bike cops , many years ago they were just the accident investigation team. I have a few friends who are cops and they tell me the locals are leaving the force in droves so that's not a good sign.

Glad you enjoyed Darwin and hope you come back.



Cheers Ean

[Homestar]

In less than 24 hours we'll be in sunny Darwin!

If anyone is up for a beer or two in the next 2 weeks, sing out! We are staying right in the City so an easy walk to anyone's favourite watering hole. :)

If anyone is up for playing tour guide at any stage, I won't say no to that either. I'll be going full on 'Tourist' as I know it will be very busy as it's School holidays. I'll be trying to be very Zen about all of this and I'm determined not to let that get to me.

The apartment we are staying at has a pool, so they'll be a bit of sitting around that too, but I want to see as much as I can in the time we have.

So, hopefully see some NT AULRO'ians up there. :)

[discorevy]

Speaking of beer you just missed the beer can regatta at mindil beach , never mind , you have a pool , you have beer , you can have your own ..... Enjoy it up there ..... I did[bigsmile]

[Homestar]

Well we're here! Slightly humid today but ohhhh so lovely and warm! Not going to complain a bit - 5 degrees at home this morning when we left, 32 when we touched down. Going to be a fun couple of weeks - I'm off to find a Bar...

[Homestar]

125829

Just a couple of blocks North of the CBD. :)

[Ean Austral]

125829

Just a couple of blocks North of the CBD. :)

I know that house , you must be in the apartments just down from Uncle Sams. across from the radio stations.

Cheers Ean.

[Homestar]

Could be - you would know better than me. :)

There's a small IGA I can see from the balcony next to a restaurant call Nirvana. We are 100 meters from there. :)

[Ean Austral]

Could be - you would know better than me. :)

There's a small IGA I can see from the balcony next to a restaurant call Nirvana. We are 100 meters from there. :)

Yep so on the opposite side of the road from that and about 50 mtrs towards town is Uncle Sams, plus a couple of other take away joints. across from that is domino's pizza.


Nirvana serves a good thai meal plus a bit of other styles , and has a bit of live music on the weekends , got a bar in there as well.


Cheers Ean

[Ean Austral]

So did you have a couple too many and let the camel out of the circus Gav ?? Seems odd the day you arrive a camel escapes.[bigwhistle][bigwhistle]


Cheers Ean

[V8Ian]

So did you have a couple too many and let the camel out of the circus Gav ?? Seems odd the day you arrive a camel escapes.[bigwhistle][bigwhistle]


Cheers Ean
Cheaper than hiring a car, no air conditioning though. [wink11][bigrolf]

[Homestar]

It's tied up in the car park under the apartment - it smells worse than I do after a week in the bush...

[Homestar]

Off to the Military History Museum this morning, before meeting up with my Brother later then tea at the Yacht Club this evening. :)

[Ean Austral]

Off to the Military History Museum this morning, before meeting up with my Brother later then tea at the Yacht Club this evening. :)

Sounds like a good day , far worse places to watch the sun go down than the Yacht club. Enjoy.[biggrin]



Cheers Ean

[donh54]

I'm flying up on the 19th, for a 5 day job interview! Sadly won't have much opportunity to catch up, dinner with the prospective boss on the 19th, then out bush for 5 days, then back to Darwin and fly home at 1:35 the next morning! I feel exhausted just writing it down!!

[Ean Austral]

I'm flying up on the 19th, for a 5 day job interview! Sadly won't have much opportunity to catch up, dinner with the prospective boss on the 19th, then out bush for 5 days, then back to Darwin and fly home at 1:35 the next morning! I feel exhausted just writing it down!!

5 day job interview.. Wow, depends where your going out bush , maybe should bring your fishing rod .

Cheers Ean

[donh54]

5 day job interview.. Wow, depends where your going out bush , maybe should bring your fishing rod .

Cheers Ean

Kakadu, Nitmiluk and Litchfield. Not much time for fishing, but if I get the job, I'll be up there for half the year, so I should be able to wet a line or two :bigrolf:

[Homestar]

Ended up at the Ski club as there's a big function on at the Yacht club tonight.

Absolutely love it up here!

125947

And some great fireworks over the water just now. :)

[Ean Austral]

The trailer boat club next to the yacht club is also a good place , nice meals but gets very busy .

mindel beach markets tomorrow night , take a bottle of wine down , sit on the beach or the grass and see it all again.

cheers Ean

[V8Ian]

The trailer boat club next to the yacht club is also a good place , nice meals but gets very busy .

mindel beach markets tomorrow night , take a bottle of wine down , sit on the beach or the grass and see it all again.

cheers Ean
I'll second that, wear comfortable shoes.

[pop058]

when is the actual wedding ??

[Homestar]

The trailer boat club next to the yacht club is also a good place , nice meals but gets very busy .

mindel beach markets tomorrow night , take a bottle of wine down , sit on the beach or the grass and see it all again.

cheers Ean

Yeah, the trailer boat club was taking all the overflow from the Yacht club and was also packed which is why we ended up at the Ski club. :)

Yep, we'll be at Mindel beach tomorrow night :)


when is the actual wedding ??

Saturday arvo/evening.

[trout1105]

Absolutely love it up here!

Be warned, The Territory can become addictive [biggrin]

[Pedro_The_Swift]

You home yet??

you know how I worry..

[Homestar]

Won't be home for a while - way too much to do up here. :)

Enjoying a fire show at Mindil Beach Markets at the moment.

[Ean Austral]

There is a good walk that goes along the waterfront down mindil, where all the stalls are if you walk to either end of the road , you will see a path 1 end leads in front of the Casino and goes to Cullen Bay, the other end takes you up thru the end of Darwin High School , past the ski club, the yacht club , trailer boat club then onto the road , up the hill and into east point.


In the park between the ski Club and the Yacht club ( behind Vesty's Beach ) there is a lake that has a bridge walk and a loop track around it , plenty of birds gather there if you are into bird watching - The feathered type I am talking about .


Cheers Ean

[Homestar]

Been too busy to post. Brothers Wedding was awesome and in a great location - in the Botanic Gardens.

126155

Now sitting in Sunset park at an after party enjoying another sunset. SWMBO is posing in this pano looking wistfully out to sea. :)

126156

[The ho har's]

Be warned, The Territory can become addictive [biggrin]

Very addictive [biggrin]

Mrs hh

[Homestar]

While I hear you loud and clear, it seems I may be the only one that isn't feeling the heat up here - I'm loving it, but everyone else is getting a bit cranky and sweaty by the end of the day. I doubt I could so the build up or wet season, but when we get on the road permanently in 4 1/2 years time, I can see it being our Winter home for a couple of months a year. :)

[Ean Austral]

As silly as it sounds , you have come up during a dry season that the past few weeks have been unusually humid and a few degree's warmer than normal.

Give me the wet season any day.


Cheers Ean

[Homestar]

Sent you a text earlier Ean - you up for a beer/tea tomorrow evening? :)

[Ean Austral]

Sorry Gav, left my phone at work , yep we can work something out. Im off to see Dracula in the morning , but will txt you once im finished there and work out a plan.

Cheers Ean

[Ean Austral]

Was great to catch up with you all Gav , hope you enjoyed Litchfield and the rest of your stay.

Hopefully catch up again when you return.

Cheers Ean

[Homestar]

Thanks mate - it's been a blast up here - really enjoyed myself. Big day at Litchfield yesterday but was great - had a swim with the 100's of other tourists. :)

[trout1105]

Thanks mate - it's been a blast up here - really enjoyed myself. Big day at Litchfield yesterday but was great - had a swim with the 100's of other tourists. :)

The best time to go there is during the build up, The tourists have all gone home by then [biggrin]

[Homestar]

Yes, next time will be out of tourist season for sure - would like to experience the place at different times of year.

Darwin has a unique vibe to it that I just love - I'll be back for sure. :)

[trout1105]

Yes, next time will be out of tourist season for sure - would like to experience the place at different times of year.

Darwin has a unique vibe to it that I just love - I'll be back for sure. :)

it's not the scenery or the fishing (Although Both are rather good) that make the NT such a special place.
It is the People that live their and their genuinely friendly attitude that make it such a Special and pleasant place to be [thumbsupbig]

[Homestar]

A couple of my favourite pics from yesterday.

126472126473126474

[Ean Austral]

it's not the scenery or the fishing (Although Both are rather good) that make the NT such a special place.
It is the People that live their and their genuinely friendly attitude that make it such a Special and pleasant place to be [thumbsupbig]

Well Said. Couldn't agree more.


Cheers Ean

[Homestar]

Well here I sit waiting to board the plane home - the BOM website says it's 20.8 degrees here at the moment - and 5.6 in Melbourne....

Gunna miss this place.

But I'll be back. :)

Thanks again Ean for meeting us out on the wharf the other night - was great to put yet another face to an AULRO name and yet again meet some great people through this forum.

See you next time we're up.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

wow,, glad you pair met up,, [smilebigeye]

[Homestar]

Honey I'm home!

What are you doing up in the middle of the night? :D

Back in Melbourne - clear soon to be sunny skies - 3 degrees....

Oh, and red eye flights suck, been up for 24 hours now - I'm off to bed...

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Your second line is answered by your last 4 words,, [bigwhistle][thumbsupbig][bigrolf]

[donh54]

Good grief! After the last few days at Kakadu, we're in Katherine - overnight it got down to 15, no wonder Darwinites don't like going south!!!