Thread: whats worth a look in Darwin?

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 .

Don't miss the fishmonger, very hospitable fellow.

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.

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.

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.

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

EAST POINT the bomb shelters and other military things


Mrs hh

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.