Things to do in Darwin

Darwin is the doorway to the ‘top end’s’ three major national parks; Kakadu National Park, Litchfield National Park and Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park. But, the city has a lot more to offer. Even though Darwin is generally known as the gateway to these other main attractions, the city itself has many appealing local attractions worth visiting. From fish feeding, coastal reserves and lakes to WWII history, jumping crocodiles and wildlife, Darwin has a lot to offer visitors of all ages.

Chinese Temple

The Chinese have left their mark upon the city and visitors can go to the Chinese Temple on Woods Street, about 1.5kms from the city centre, where the local Buddhists, Taoists and Confucians still worship. The building has a very chequered history, having been destroyed by the 1937 cyclone; Japanese bombing raids in 1942; and by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Open from 08:00 to 16:00 daily, the temple is an interesting example of the rich racial mixture which is such an important part of the history of Darwin.

Christchurch Cathedral

One building which is a reminder of the devastation of Cyclone Tracy is Christchurch Cathedral in Smith Street, near the harbour. The original building was completed in 1902 however it was 'enhanced' by the Armed Forces in 1944. Using stones taken from the old Post Office, they built a porch as a memorial to the people who died in WWII. Significantly, when Christmas morning of 1974 dawned, the only part of the cathedral left intact was the porch. The cathedral was subsequently rebuilt incorporating the porch into the new design.

Darwin Harbour

Darwin Harbour is twice the size of Sydney Harbour, with sunken ships lost in WWII and Cyclone Tracy as well as some confiscated Indonesian fishing vessels lying at its bottom. In addition, there are cultured pearl farms, mangrove tidal areas and sandy beaches. Take a voyage of discovery around the foreshores or spend a day fishing for barramundi, jewfish, golden snapper and threadfin salmon, or go for the adventure of scuba diving around the wrecks.

There are a number of very popular options for discovering the true extent of the harbour. Enjoy a relaxing cruise on an old pearl lugger, a thrilling flight in a seaplane, a gentle hovercraft trip, or for the more adventurous, helicopter flights are available.

Mindil Beach Sunset Market

Each year, from April through until the end of October, the Mindil Beach market folk come together for their world-famous 'show and sell'. Held every Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon, the market regularly attracts crowds of up to 15,000. It is by far Darwin's most popular market, with local produce, authentic fare from different countries, some of the most colourful Territorians plying their wares and services, and plenty of excellent street performers to keep you entertained.

Aquascene

At Doctors Gully, right in the heart of Darwin, is Aquascene, where hundreds of fish come to shore at high tide to be fed by hand. The daily fish feeding ritual began over 40 years ago, when a nearby resident started throwing bread scraps to a few small mullet at high tide. Today, visitors come from near and far to participate in this unique spectacle. Trays of bread are provided at regular intervals during the feeding period for hand-feeding the mullet and milkfish. Many other species including catfish, rays, cod, diamond fish and parrot fish may also be seen in the shallows if you watch carefully.

Darwin Harbour is subject to tide movements of up to eight metres and the fish that visit Aquascene can only come to the shore for a few hours each day, before returning to the sea as the tide goes out. The numbers of fish which arrive and opportunities to hand feed them vary each day according to the size of the tide and the clarity of the water, breeding and general seasonal and weather conditions.

Morning feeding sessions are usually best, especially between the months of December and August, when fish numbers are highest. Souvenirs and refreshments are available at the kiosk. As feeding times change daily with the tides, and Aquascene is only open at those times, it is important to check this information before visiting. Remember that if you intend on entering the water to feed the fish, you would probably like to wear shorts or even a swimsuit.
Phone: +61 889 817 837; website: www.aquascene.com.au/.   

Botanical Gardens

It is easy for southerners to forget that Darwin is both geographically and temperamentally a 'city in the tropics'. Therefore the city's Botanical Gardens (enter via Gardens Road) are something worth visiting. Started in the late 1870s by the German botanist Dr Maurice Holtze, they contain over 400 species of tropical plants.
Holtze was one of those remarkable and urbane Europeans who found their way to Australia by strange means.

He had worked in the Royal Gardens in Hanover and the Imperial Gardens in St Petersburg before migrating to Australia where, from 1878 to 1891, he was government gardener at the Palmerston Botanic Gardens. The government officials, being typical philistines in terms of horticulture, put him in charge of the production of fruit and vegetables for their tables, but Holtze rebelled saying that the 'raising of cabbage heads was not the greatest ambition of the true botanist'.

With his son, Nicholas, who became curator of the Gardens in 1891, Holtze began a series of experiments to see whether the climate of the 'top end' was suitable for the growing of tropical crops. He experimented with rice, rubber, coffee, tobacco, peanuts, sugar and other lesser known crops and advocated that the Northern Territory could become a rice bowl. In 1891, he left the Territory and became director and secretary of the Adelaide Botanical Gardens. Phone: +61 889 811 958.

Kakadu National Park

This stunning park, covering almost 32,375 sq kms, was added to the world's list of World Heritage sites in 1984, and is regarded as one of the natural marvels of Australia. The land itself is believed to be more than two billion years old, and is a jigsaw of wetlands, gorges, waterfalls, floodplains, rainforest pockets and escarpments. It offers visitors a breathtaking variety of superb landscapes, teeming with wildlife, and features some of Australia's most magnificent examples of Aboriginal rock art. About 5,000 Aboriginal sites have been identified in the park area. The park can be visited on a daytrip from Darwin, and it contains more than 1,600 species of plants and 500 different kinds of birds and animals.
Phone: +61 889 381 120 (Bowali Visitor Centre).