Darwin
and surrounds
Darwin
|
Soak
up Darwin’s balmy weather and the melting pot of food and cultures in
the city’s many outdoor festivals and markets. Then explore the
region’s dramatic history – from World Way II air raids to Cyclone
Tracey – in the museums and galleries. Sail Darwin harbour at sunset,
cruise next to crocodiles and bushwalk through monsoon forest.
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Do
a day trip to Litchfield National Park, where you can swim in crystal-clear
waterholes and see thousands of tall termite mounds. Or visit the Tiwi Islands,
where you can watch traditional weaving and painting or immerse yourself in the
noise and excitement of a local football game.
Kakadu
and Arnhem Land
Kakadu
National Park
|
See
wildlife, waterfalls and one of the world’s largest areas of accessible
rock art World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park. Bushwalk, spot rare
and spectacular wildlife and plunge into sparkling waterholes. Explore the
many rich and detailed Aboriginal rock art galleries. See Namarrgon, the
Lightning Man at Nourlangie Rock and some of the world’s finest examples
of X-ray art at Ubirr Rock in Kakadu’s north-east.
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North
in wholly Aboriginal-owned Arnhem Land, you can fish off the spectacular beaches
of the Gove Peninsula and in the creeks, reefs and ocean of the Cobourg
Peninsula. Explore the eco systems of Mt Borrodaile with an Aboriginal guide and
watch Aboriginal artists at work in the traditional community of Oenpelli.
Tennant
Creek and surrounds
Tennant
Creek
|
Pan
for gold and explore an underground mine in the Battery Hill Mining Centre.
Visit the Telegraph Station built in 1872 to link Australia to the outside
world. See the huge, precariously balanced boulders known as the Devils
Marbles in the plains south of Tennant Creek. You can learn about their
cultural significance to traditional owners the Warumungu people at the
Nyinkka Nyunyu Culture Centre.
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Buy
Aboriginal art in the tiny township of Ti Tree and visit Australia’s UFO
capital of Wycliffe Well. Stay on huge cattle stations north of town and in the
vast Barkly Tablelands to the east.
Katherine
and surrounds
Katherine
Gorge
|
Explore
the historic pioneering township of Katherine and see ancient Katherine
Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park. Sink into the hot springs of Daly River
and fish in the remote waterways of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Spot rare
wildlife and wander gorges in Gregory National Park, in the Victoria River
region, and relax in Mataranka’s sandy-bottomed thermal pool.
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Katherine’s
rugged and ancient landscapes - which stretch from the Gulf of Carpentaria to
the West Australian border - also invite you to canoe, bushwalk, bird watch,
camp and four-wheel drive.
Alice
Springs and surrounds
Ormiston
Gorge
|
Stay
in the famous outback town of Alice Springs, which sits in Australia’s
red heart just 200 kilometres south of its geographic centre. From here
you can bushwalk, four wheel drive or join a camel trek across the rolling
sand dunes of the Simpson Desert. Trek through Ormiston Gorge and Pound,
visit breathtaking Glen Helen Gorge and see rock wallabies at Simpsons
Gap, all in the nearby East and West MacDonnell Ranges.
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Bike
ride to Simpsons Gap at dawn, discover different Aboriginal art styles along the
Tanami Track and explore the rock art, artefacts and ceremonial sites near the
small Aboriginal community of St Teresa.
Uluru-Kata
Tjuta
Uluru
|
Lose
your breath at Uluru, which rises 348 metres from the desert and matches
the light and weather with shades so vivid they upstage the sunset. Learn
about Uluru’s cultural significance as you walk around its base with an
Aboriginal Anangu guide. Get up close to the grandeur of nearby Kata
Tjuta - sacred russet domes formed through millions of years of erosion -
on the Valley of the Winds Walk. |
In
Watarrka National Park, you can trek to the rim of Kings Canyon and swim in a
waterhole in the lush valley of the Garden of Eden. Walk to Kathleen Springs,
drive the Mereenie Loop or soar over the canyon on a helicopter.