With an area greater than France, Spain and Italy combined there is plenty of territory here to explore. The hub is Darwin, yet apart from the state capital and Alice Springs there are no other significant urban centres.
The coastal areas of the state are quite flat but the land rises to nearly 5,000 feet in the MacDonnell Range of the interior. Otherwise the landscape is arid and characterised by shifting dunes. Tropical storms sweep down across the coast with some regularity. Indeed, Darwin was practically obliterated in a hurricane at the end of the nineteenth century.
Modern Darwin is home to over 110,000 inhabitants and is regarded by many Australians as the “gateway to Asia”. The city hosts the Arafura Games. This event is held every two years and is organised along similar lines to the Olympic Games, although on less grand a scale. Participants are all drawn from the Asia Pacific region. The next games are scheduled for May 2009.
There are a number of conventional tourist sights in the town. The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory covers the natural history of the region besides housing an exhibition of indigenous artefacts. Aboriginal art can be purchased in many outlets in Darwin and this is not surprising since around a quarter of the population claim aboriginal descent. Cheap car hire in Australia is never a bother and there are a number of excellent National Parks relatively close to Darwin which are easily reachable by car.
A visit to Kakadu National park repays those cheap car hire costs. It is widely held to be one of the most attractive landscapes in Australia and is scarcely 150 miles east of Darwin. The site is recognised by UNESCO as precious not only in terms of its natural history but also in acknowledgement of the part this landscape plays in the creation story of the aboriginal peoples.
The Alligator River that flows through Kakadu is a misnomer: there are no alligators here. There are, however, two species of crocodile (the salt and fresh water varieties are quite abundant). Sixty species of mammal can be found in the park including various wallabies and kangaroos. Mostly these are nocturnal. Easier to spot are tropical birds: more than 280 species have been recorded in Kakadu. Furthermore there are in excess of 25 species of frog hopping about. The landscape in the south of the park is marked with numerous termite mounds: an alien sight for the European visitor but one which, with car hire, is not inaccessible.
By: Mark Lauterwein
About the Author:
The coastal areas of the state are quite flat but the land rises to nearly 5,000 feet in the MacDonnell Range of the interior. Otherwise the landscape is arid and characterised by shifting dunes. Tropical storms sweep down across the coast with some regularity. Indeed, Darwin was practically obliterated in a hurricane at the end of the nineteenth century.
Modern Darwin is home to over 110,000 inhabitants and is regarded by many Australians as the “gateway to Asia”. The city hosts the Arafura Games. This event is held every two years and is organised along similar lines to the Olympic Games, although on less grand a scale. Participants are all drawn from the Asia Pacific region. The next games are scheduled for May 2009.
There are a number of conventional tourist sights in the town. The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory covers the natural history of the region besides housing an exhibition of indigenous artefacts. Aboriginal art can be purchased in many outlets in Darwin and this is not surprising since around a quarter of the population claim aboriginal descent. Cheap car hire in Australia is never a bother and there are a number of excellent National Parks relatively close to Darwin which are easily reachable by car.
A visit to Kakadu National park repays those cheap car hire costs. It is widely held to be one of the most attractive landscapes in Australia and is scarcely 150 miles east of Darwin. The site is recognised by UNESCO as precious not only in terms of its natural history but also in acknowledgement of the part this landscape plays in the creation story of the aboriginal peoples.
The Alligator River that flows through Kakadu is a misnomer: there are no alligators here. There are, however, two species of crocodile (the salt and fresh water varieties are quite abundant). Sixty species of mammal can be found in the park including various wallabies and kangaroos. Mostly these are nocturnal. Easier to spot are tropical birds: more than 280 species have been recorded in Kakadu. Furthermore there are in excess of 25 species of frog hopping about. The landscape in the south of the park is marked with numerous termite mounds: an alien sight for the European visitor but one which, with car hire, is not inaccessible.
By: Mark Lauterwein
About the Author:
Mark Lauterwein is a UK based writer. He is currently writing on car hire and cheap car hire.