Darwin is situated at the centre of Australians north coast.
Founded in 1869, under the name of Palmerston. The city was renamed after Charles Darwin in 1911. During World War II it was an allied base for action against the Japanese in the Pacific and suffered repeated bombing, the only Australian town to do so. Darwin is a strange place, back on Christmas Day in 1974 the entire town was flattened by Cyclone Tracy, so everythings brand new. However there are very few old buildings dating from the towns inception in 1869 and its a very cosmopolitan city, if you can call a place with only 70,000 inhabitants a city.
It is a service centre for the northern part of Northern Territory. Industries include mining, fruit, meat canning and brick making, while in the surrounding area pastoral are farming, and tropical horticulture producing and tourism are important occupations.
Darwins gardens are tropical in nature naturally and are packed with palm trees, shady walks and waterfalls. Theres a beautiful grass amphitheatre where concerts are often held. The gardens are really attractive.
Museum and Art Gallery to see the Cyclone Tracy Room and magnificent examples of Aboriginal art. At the front of the Museum is also a great coffee shop, with beautiful ocean views.
The Darwin weather can be very draining especially if you are not used to humidity and heat. The city water is very drinkable so there is no need to buy expensive bottled water in Darwin. Just grab a container and fill it up with our beautiful water from any tap.
In Darwin people generally prefer to think in terms of the wet and the dry weather. The wet season begins in October, when humidity levels begin to climb, until by January and February the combination of heat and humidity is quite stifling. The end of the wet is characterised by the fierce storms.
There are many ways you can use your time and one is by combining some of the smaller attractions together to plan the perfect day. A few examples and recommendations include some of the following. Litchfield National Park, Jumping Crocs Cruise, Fish Feeding, City Territory Wildlife Park combined with swim at Berry Springs, Yellow Waters Cruise, Crocodiles Park, or hire a houseboat on the Mary River. Sunset dinner cruise on Darwin harbour.
The completion in 2003 of a railway link to Alice Springs and Adelaide fuelled hopes that Darwin could eventually become the continents transport hub with Southeast Asia.
A billion pound development of the cities waterfront area was recently undertaken, with a new convention centre, a large hotel, numerous cafes and restaurants, a wave lagoon and a public promenade scheduled for completion by 2008.
