Northern Territory

Photo © Utrecht

Travel Guide Oceania Australia Northern Territory

Introduction

Devil's Marbles, Northern Territory

The Northern Territory, or NT, takes up a sizable slice of central and northern Australia. The territory is divided into two distinct climates, a tropical climate in the north (known as the Top End) and a desert climate in the southern part of Territory. It is a land of wide open spaces, dense rain forests and an indigenous history that dates backs over 40,000 years.

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Geography

Although over 75% of the Northern Territory officialy lies within the tropics, most of the area resembles more of a desert or semi-desert. The Tropic of Capricorn lies just north of Alice Springs and only the area called the Top End is really tropical with hot and humid conditions yearround and a real rainy season. The north is more savanna like and there are some small patches of rainforest. Much of the area is quite flat, with the Barkly Tablelands and the Arnhem Land Plateau being somewhat higher. The Tanami Desert makes up most of the western and southwestern areas. Near Alice Springs, both to the east and west, are the McDonell Ranges, rocky hills and mountains with deep gorges. You will also find nice gorges at Nitmiluk and Litchfield NP, with great waterfalls in the latter as well.

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Regions

Top End - The tropical northern part home to the vibrant capital city Darwin and the Kakadu National Park
Barkly Tableland - Sparsely populated region home to Tennant Creek and the Devils Marbles. The Victoria River Region offers a wide variety of opportunities for adventure, culture, history, and nature
Red Centre - The heart of Australia, home to famous outback town Alice Springs and iconic Australian outback landscapes and characters

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Cities

Darwin - the Northern Territory's tropical capital city and gateway to the area with a unique history and culture
Alice Springs - Australia's famous outback town is the Territories second largest city, and is surrounded by cavernous gorges, boundless desert landscapes, Aboriginal communities and charming pioneering history
Katherine - a regional town about 3 hours south of Darwin, gateway to the majestic Katherine Gorge
Tennant Creek - more of a large town but a convenient stop on the way north or south located in the heart of the territory. This desert landscape is home to the Devil's Marbles, immersed in Aboriginal culture and has plenty of friendly outback pubs

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Sights and Activities

Devils Marbles

The Devils Marbles are a collection of large round granite boulders shaped over thousands of years by the weather, located about 100 kilometres south of Tennant Creek.

Explorer Highway

The Explorer Highway is just one of many great road trips in Australia. The route follows the trail of legendary explorer John McDouall Stuart, the first European to cross Australia from south to north. Although the original route is not exactly the same anymore, parts of it still are. The route starts in Adelaide, or actually in Port Augusta, north of the city. From there you cross the deserts of South Australia and the Northern Territory before ending in tropical Darwin. Along the way are many points of interest, including Coober Pedy, Alice Springs and Katherine. But don't forget to take bypasses to Uluru (Ayers Rock) for example, or to Kakadu National Park up in the north of the country. To enjoy this trip, take at least 3 to 4 weeks. In the last few years, it has also become possible to travel all the way from Adelaide to Darwin by train.

Kakadu National Park

Kakadu National Park is a vast park the size of Israel in the Northern Territory, Australia, east of Darwin. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Kakadu supports a huge variety of flora and fauna, many species of which are rare or endemic. Historically, Kakadu was the home of Aboriginal people, and much of the current National Park is Aboriginal land. The area is also rich in Aboriginal rock art, with over 5,000 sites found.

Litchfield National Park

Litchfield National Park, covering approximately 1,500 km2, is near the township of Batchelor, 100 kilometres southwest of Darwin. Each year the park attracts over 260,000 visitors. Proclaimed a national park in 1986, it is named after Frederick Henry Litchfield, a Territory pioneer, who explored areas of the Northern Territory from Escape Cliffs on the Timor Sea to the Daly River in 1864.

Nitmiluk National Park

Katherine Gorge

Nitmiluk National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 244 kilometres southeast of Darwin, around a series of gorges on the Katherine River and Edith Falls. Previously named Katherine Gorge National Park, its northern edge borders Kakadu National Park. The gorges and the surrounding landscape have great ceremonial significance to the local Jawoyn people, who are custodians of Nitmiluk National Park. In Jawoyn, Nitmiluk means "place of the cicada dreaming".

Uluru (Ayers Rock)

Uluru (or Ayers Rock) is a large sandstone rock in the center of Australia and the country's most recognisable natural feature. Uluru is part of the larger Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Kata Tjuta is native for the Olga's, another remarkable feature in this park. The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Other Sights and Activities

Kings Canyon - in between Alice Springs and Uluru, reachable by direct 4x4 route or tarred road
The McDonell Ranges - great hiking areas west and east of Alice Springs
Rainbow Valley - near Alice Springs.
Outback tracks - take a short cut along the Tanami Road to Western Australia, Plenty Highway to Queensland, the Great Central Road to Western Australia or the Old Ghan Road towards South Australia.
Arnhem Land - a vast wilderness and officially Aboriginal land, only accessible if you have the permits
Tiwi Islands - just north of Darwin.

Uluru detail

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Events and Festivals

ANZAC Day specifically commemorates the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps that landed at Gallipoli, Turkey in World War I and more generally honours the contribution that Australian soldiers have made in various wars. There are major parades and commemoration services in all the cities as well as a minute of silence. ANZAC day is on the 25th of April.
Summer in Australia is much about Outdoor Music Festivals. With single day events, camping festivals out of town and week long festivals, there is definately a music festival to suit all tastes.
Global Green Challenge - or the World Solar Challenge, a race with solar cars from Darwin to Adelaide, usually during October. The next one is from 24 to 31 October 2009.
The Parrtjima Festival takes place near Alice Springs and is showcases light installations by Aboriginal artists set against the MacDonnell Ranges. The next one is in September 2020.
The Barunga Festival celebrates Indigenous community life through music, sport and culture. It takes place 70km outside Katherine on the Central Arnhem Road; accommodation is at the campsite and "showers" are in the croc-free creek! It has great music, a didgeridoo competition, storytelling, AFL and more! Held once a year during the dry season.

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Weather

The Northern Territory is one of the warmest parts of Australia on average. The Top End where places like Darwin and Katherine are located, has tropical conditions with hot and humid weather. Temperatures here are highest just before the wet season which starts in November. During October and November, temperatures rise to 40 °C, combined with very high humidity. The wet season lasts until April. Obviously, the months of May to September are the best to visit this area weatherwise.

More the south, the wet season becomes more and more severe until you reach the Red Centre around Alice Springs and Uluru, where hot summers (temperatures up to 45 °C) are combined with mild winters, when temperatures can drop below zero at night. Alice Springs doesn't have a wet season and some months go by withouth a single drop of rain. Spring (September-November) and autum (March-May) are good seasons to visit, but also the wintermonths, although relatively cool, are good.

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Getting There

By Plane

Darwin International Airport is the only international airport in the Northern Territory. International destinations include Dili in East Timor, Bali, Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore. Qantas, Virgin Blue and Air North are the main operators flying here, with connections to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Perth, Broome and Kununurra in Western Australia.

Alice Springs Airport and Yulara (Uluru) have interstate connections as well, mostly to Perth, Cairns and Sydney (both airports) and Brisbane and Melbourne (Alice only).

By Train

The Ghan connects Darwin and Alice Springs with Adelaide in South Australia.

By Car

Well maintained tarred roads lead into the Northern Territory from Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.

The first one enters Northern Territory just east of Kununnura. From South Australia the Great Explorer Highway enters at Kulgera, while from Queensland the road enters at the outback town of Camooweal, some 200 kilometers west of Mount Isa.

Of course, there are other routes to take, both those usually require a 4wd vehicle and some more planning as well.

By Bus

Greyhound is the main bus company, providing services to a number of Northern Territory places (Darwin, Alice, Tennant Creek) from Adelaide, Perth, Broome, Cairns, Mount Isa and even Brisbane.

By Boat

You will need your own boat if you want to arrive in the Norther Territory over water. There are also no connections to Darwin from Indonesia, as is sometimes believed.

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Getting Around

By Plane

Darwin, Alice and Yulara all have connections between them and smaller planes fly to some regional airfields as well, including some of the islands to the north of the NT.

By Train

The famous Ghan train stops in several towns and cities in the Northern Territory, including Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Darwin.

By Car

Good tarmac roads connect Alice Springs with Tennant Creek, Katherine and Darwin. There are also good roads towards Uluru and the Litchfield, Katherine Gorge and Kakadu National Parks and into South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. Most other roads are dirt roads, which sometimes can be navigated by regular car, but mostly you will need a 4wd. There are plenty of companies you could choose to hire a car from, including Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty. Car hire is often not available to drivers under 25, or if it is, it's more expensive for younger drivers.

By Bus

Greyhound offers connections on the main north-south corridor and to Yulara. You can also hop off and on on the routes towards Queensland and Western Australia.

By Boat

No public services go to the islands off the northern coast but between March and November there are tours to Bathurst Island (one of the Tiwi Islands) by catamaran.

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Eat

Make sure you take in the culinary delights of multi-cultural Darwin while in the Northern Territory. There’s a great range of outdoor eateries, exotic local produce and a diversity of culinary choices on offer.

Great eating areas in Darwin include the local markets for something cheap made on the spot. Head to Parap for Chinese, Mexican or gourmet goodies, Cullen Bay has a barrage of seafood choices and expansive harbour views, or you could grab some picnic-style take away at Stokes Hill Wharf. The Fannie Bay area offers some great pub-style food or seafood, and Darwin CBD is brimming with restaurants, cafes and pubs – classy or casual but always relaxed.

In spite of its small size, Alice Springs has a good and varied restaurant scene. Heaps of little cafeteria style places serving everything from crepes to Chinese to sandwiches in the malls as well as the usual fast food outlets.

Katherine is a very small town, but there is a reasonable choice of places to eat there, think along the lines of home style dishes and traditional pub food.

Basic food is available at the sporadic rest stops and museums throughout Kakadu National Park. Being such a small town, there are only a couple of options to choose from in Tennant Creek, mostly pub food and home made.

The northern tropics of the Northern Territory are also famous for their Aboriginal bush tucker. The billabongs, woodlands, sandstone escarpments and coastal beaches provide a rich source of food and medicines used by Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years. What we know as "bush tucker" is a multitude of plants and animals that are used in a variety of ways to best extract their nutritional and medicinal values. The different environments of the tropical north feature plants endemic to each habitat, as well as some that thrive across the entire region.

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Drink

The Northern Territory is famous for its legendary outback pubs. Every small town has somewhere you can drop by to chat with the local characters or learn some history. For some more sophisticated nightlife, head to the numerous clubs and bars in Darwin and check out some local music at Brown’s Mart.

Please note, within certain areas of the Northern Territory, there are restrictions on the consumption of alcohol in public places.

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Sleep

Major towns have plenty of options, so do popular parks like Kakadu. The further you venture into unpopulated areas, choices become few and far between. Sometimes there is just a room in a pub or a basic motel.

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