On the last night of our trip on The Ghan, we were dropped at our hotels in the city of Darwin, capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.
The next morning I set out on an exploration of the city. Darwin was hit by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas morning in 1974, and pretty much flattened. Having been rebuilt, it is now a modern city.
My hotel was right in the middle of town, just up from the pretty Smith Street mall.
It was only 8 am but it was already hot. Darwin’s winter temperatures are in the 30s. I headed the two blocks down to the bay. Bicentennial Park stretches all the way along the esplanade.
It was a Saturday morning and there was some sort of fun run happening. I kept having to jump out of the way as they charged past me.
I wandered all the way along to the administrative district on Fort Hill overlooking the water. I love the tropical architecture of Parliament House. They call it the Christmas cake because it’s square and filled with fruit and nuts. I wouldn’t say that, though.
Government House is awfully quaint.
Steps lead down to the roadway and a bridge, at the end of which is an elevator to take you down to the waterfront and restaurants and bars.
A pedestrian bridge takes you across the river to the very impressive Convention Centre.
I wended my way back into the Smith Street mall and discovered a spot which would provide my morning coffee fix for the next few days.
After grabbing a sandwich for my lunch, I returned to my hotel and collapsed on the bed. That was pretty much my routine for the few days I was there. Exploring in the morning and collapsing in the afternoon, other than a fabulous wetland tour on the second day. I have to admit, the heat got to me. Still, I soldiered on, drawing it in for when I returned to wintry Melbourne.
Darwin is quite small – you can walk the main city area in a day – but if you want to venture further out, to the Botanic Gardens or the Museum and Art Gallery, or the Casino, there’s a bus service leaving from the Visitor Centre that does a loop, dropping you off at various points and picking you up on the way back. Not cheap, I thought, $47 for one day but definitely worth it.
The museum is fabulous. I highly recommend it if you’re visiting Darwin.
The Chinese temple was gorgeous.
There’s a lot to do here in terms of tours: full day tours to Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks, jumping crocodile tours, Darwin Harbour cruises and more. I was very happy with my wetlands tour, which I’ll cover next time.
I enjoyed my visit to Darwin. It’s a pretty place, sitting on the water’s edge, with its palms and tropical foliage. And then there are their famous sunsets. I did my best to capture some.
Planning to the Nth 
This looks like a great place to visit Coral. Thanks for taking us along. The sunsets are gorgeous.
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Thanks, Darlene.
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I have visited Darwin many times as my lovely friend since childhood lives there. Despite the heat, there is something magical about the place, especially the sunsets.
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Thanks, Kathy. I missed some stuff. Very disappointed I didn’t make it to the Botanic Gardens and Fanny Bay Gaol. Looks like another trip in the future.
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Thank you for showing me a glimpse of Darwin. Why was it called Darwin? Anything to do with the famous anthropologist, Charles Darwin?
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Yep, there is a Charles Darwin connection. In 1839, the HMS Beagle with Lt. John Stokes aboard sailed into the waters of what is now known as Darwin harbour. Stokes named the harbour after his former shipmate, Charles, though Darwin himself never visited the area.
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Such a pretty city. Two of my girlfriends from school moved there many years ago. I can understand the attraction now.
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Thanks, Miriam.
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In a timely coincidence, our U.S. public television station recently ran a program devoted to the Ghan and you were writing about it. They spoke about its creation and operation. Both your posts and the TV program make me want to take it. But i will just have to take vicarious pleasure as we are no longer up to traveling that far.
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Such a coincidence, Ray. I understand the distance thing – one of the reasons I’m doing so much of Australia now rather then overseas. Cheers.
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Not what I imagined at all! I didn’t know Darwin had been flattened and rebuilt.
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Actually, Anabel, it also suffered severe damage in 1942 when bombed by the Japanese, in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using the area as bases to contest the invasion of Timor and Java. So they’ve had to rebuild twice. Very resilient people up there.
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I have an image of Darwin as a rugged, back woods kind of town, but it is much more modern than I thought..You coastal and sunset pictures are gorgeous. Maggie
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Exactly what I thought!
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Thanks, Maggie. I understand it was that way before the cyclone. I’m sad I didn’t have the money to travel when I was young, because I really wanted to get up there and experience it. Even while there, I was told stories of how a lot of the inhabitants are up there escaping from something. Another world, for sure.
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Great photos, we love Darwin and have been many times. I agree that the museum is terrific and it’s a very pretty city now. I hadn’t heard about the Christmas cake though, I love it! 🙂
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Thanks, Glenys.
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I’ve always wanted to get to Australia but haven’t yet. Your photos are beautiful and I’m so happy I can experience it through your blog. Thank you so much, Coral
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Thanks so much, Margie. Thanks for reading. I’ll be checking out yours. I haven’t had a chance to get to Italy yet.
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Sounds good, Coral!
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