Things to do in Darwin
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Hanuman
Ask most locals about fine dining in Darwin and they'll usually mention Hanuman. Sophisticated but not stuffy or pretentious (you can wear a T-shirt), enticing aromas of innovative Indian and Thai Nonya dishes waft from the kitchen to the stylish open dining room and deck. The signature dish is oysters bathed in lemon grass, chilli and coriander, or the meen mooli (reef fish in coconut and curry leaves) but the menu is broad, with exotic vegetarian choices and banquets available. Killer cocktails, too.
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Cornucopia Museum Café
Appended to the museum and gallery, this café makes for a good stop while you're in the 'hood. Maybe share a trio of dips, commenting on how good a dip would be, while overlooking Vestey's Beach. Try a salad or pasta special, remarking on how special that collection of artwork you've just walked around is. It's also good for a late breakfast, for the children and for meaty mains.
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Mindil Beach Sunset Market
As the sun heads towards the horizon on Thursday and Sunday, half of Darwin descends on Mindil Beach Sunset Market with tables, chairs, rugs, grog and kids to settle under the coconut palms for sunset, and decide which of the tantalising food-stall aromas holds the greatest allure. Food is the main attraction and it spans the globe from Thai, Sri Lankan, Indian, Chinese and Malaysian to Brazilian, Greek, Portuguese and more, all at around $5 to $8 a serve. Don’t miss a flaming satay stick from Bobby’s brazier. Top it off with fresh fruit salad, decadent cakes or luscious crêpes. But that’s only half the fun: arts and crafts stalls bulge with handmade jewellery, fabulous r…
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Darwin Ski Club
Leave Mitchell St behind and head for a sublime sunset at this laid-back waterski club on Vestey’s Beach. The view through the palm trees from the beer garden is sublime and there are often live bands.
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Deckchair Cinema
During the Dry, the Darwin Film Society runs this fabulous outdoor cinema below the southern end of the Esplanade. Watch a movie under the stars while reclining in a deckchair − bring a cushion for extra comfort. There's a licensed bar serving food (teriyaki noodles, pasta bolognese etc) or you can bring a picnic (no BYO alcohol). There are usually double features on Friday and Saturday nights (adult/child $20/9).
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Aviation Museum
Darwin’s aviation museum, about 10km from the centre, is one for military aircraft nuts. The centrepiece is a mammoth B52 bomber, one of only a few of its kind displayed outside the USA, which has somehow been squeezed inside. It dwarfs the other aircraft, which include a Japanese Zero fighter shot down in 1942 and the remains of an RAAF Mirage jet that crashed in a nearby swamp. Free guided tours commence at 10am and 2pm.
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East Point Reserve
North of Fannie Bay, this spit of land is particularly attractive in the late afternoon when wallabies emerge to feed and you can watch the sun set over the bay.
Lake Alexander, a small, recreational saltwater lake, was created so people could enjoy a swim year-round without having to worry about box jellyfish. There's a good children's playground here and picnic areas with barbecues. A 1.5km mangrove boardwalk leads off from the car park.
On the point's northern side is a series of WWII gun emplacements and the small but fascinating Darwin Military Museum. Video footage of Darwin Harbour being bombed is a sobering reminder of Australia's only wartime attack.
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Skycity Darwin
On Mindil Beach, this is Darwin’s flashy casino complex, with accommodation and three restaurants and all the card tables, roulette wheels and pokie machines you need – all the tools to help you lose your shirt (or win your fortune). To ensure you have a shirt to lose there’s a dress code, which means no singlets, thongs or scruffy clothing.
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Crocodylus Park & Zoo
Crocodylus Park & Zoo showcases hundreds of crocs and a minizoo comprising lions, tigers, a Persian leopard and other big cats, spider monkeys, marmosets, cassowaries and large birds. Allow about two hours to look around the whole park, and you should time your visit with a tour, which includes a feeding demonstration.
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Deck Bar
Wash down delicious Asian, Moroccan and European offerings with a selection from the excellent range of wines, many available by the glass, or the 20-odd ales on tap. The lubricated chatter out on the expansive wooden deck is about the latest mobile phones, the boss, the property market or the Deck's first-rate coffee.
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Yots Greek Taverna
With a prime deck overlooking the marina, Yots serves up classic Greek and Mediterranean fare from saganaki and souvlaki to moussaka and spanakopita, along with barramundi and prawn dishes. Try the Greco barramundi served on spinach with baked lemon potatoes and a caper sauce. There's a cheaper lunch menu, too, and a wine list travelling from WA to France.
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Buzz Café
This chic bar-restaurant furnished in Indonesian teak and Mt Bromo lava has a super multilevel deck overlooking the marina and makes a seductively sunny spot for a lazy lunch and a few drinks. Meals are Mod Oz, with some zingy salads and dishes to share. Aim for a deck table cantilevering out over the water.
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Vietnam Saigon Star
Darwin's speediest, shiniest Vietnamese restaurant serves up inexpensive rice-paper rolls, and beef, pork, chicken and seafood dishes with a multitude of sauces. Vegetarians are well catered for and there are good-value lunch specials.
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Crustaceans
This highly regarded but rather touristy seafood restaurant perches on the end of Stokes Hill Wharf, where diners can enjoy the sunset and views over fresh fish, mud crabs, lobster, crocodile and oysters.
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Wisdom Bar & Grill
Bright blue walls, velour couches and a streetside terrace with a tree growing out of it add up to a more intimate version of the Tap. A good thing too, as most of the drinkers here are looking for intimacy, a search conducted seemingly without much wisdom.
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Charles Darwin National Park
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Stokes Hill Wharf
Squatting on the end of Stokes Hill Wharf is a hectic food centre with half-a-dozen food counters and outdoor tables lined up along the pier. It's a pumping place for some fish and chips, some oysters, a stir-fry, a laksa or just a cold sunset beer.
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Bicentennial Park
Bicentennial Park (The Esplanade) runs the length of Darwin's waterfront and Lameroo Beach - a sheltered cove popular in the '20s when it housed the saltwater baths, and traditionally a Larrakia camp area. Shaded by tropical trees, the park is an excellent place to stroll.
At the Herbert St end there's a cenotaph commemorating Australians' service to the country's war efforts: from those who lost their lives in WWI to Aboriginal men and women whose bush skills assisted the Army during WWII to protect the remote northern coastline. Also honoured are 200 Remarkable Territorians: hand-painted tiles in panels dispersed intermittently along the Esplanade commemorate some of th…
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Jatbula Trail
6 days (Darwin)
Bushwalking between waterfalls and swimming holes along the edge of the Arnhem Land escarpment.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$2,220 -
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Crocosaurus Cove
If the tourists won't go out to see the crocs, then bring the crocs to the tourists. Right in the middle of Mitchell St, Crocosaurus Cove is as close as you'll ever want to get to these amazing creatures. Six of the largest crocs in captivity can be seen in state-of-the-art aquariums and pools. You can be lowered right into a pool with them in the transparent Cage of Death (one/two people $120/160). If that's too scary, there's another pool where you can swim with a clear tank wall separating you from some mildly less menacing baby crocs. Other aquariums feature barramundi, turtles and stingrays, plus there's an enormous reptile house (allegedly the largest variety of rep…
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Explore Kakadu and Beyond
6 days (Darwin)
A classic exploration of some of the Top End's best secret spots.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$2,220 -
Darwin Crocodile Farm
When a croc is taken out of one of the Territory's waterways, this is usually where it ends up. But don't imagine they're here out of human charity - this is a farm, not a rest home, and around 2000 of the beasts are killed each year for their skins and meat. Get here in the early afternoon for feeding time, if you can.
The Darwin Crocodile Farm, 40km (25mi) south of the city, has around 8000 estuarine (saltwater) and freshwater crocodiles. If you don't have your own car, there are plenty of day tours to the farm running from Darwin. You can find croc steaks and burgers on menus all over Darwin.
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Kakadu, Nourlangie and Yellow Waters Tour with Optional Arnhem Land Flight
13.5 hours (Departs Darwin, Australia)
by Viator
Discover the magic of Australia's Kakadu National Park on this full day trip from Darwin. Cruise along the famous Yellow Waters, while looking out for crocodile…
Not LP reviewed
from USD$239.07 -
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Victoria Hotel
The Vic has bags of history − the stone building dates from 1890 − but it's hard to see it these days. This is Darwin's favourite backpacker pub and goes off every night of the week. Dirt-cheap meals draw the travellers to the upstairs bar, and they stay for the pool tables, DJs and dance floor. Downstairs has a pub quiz on Monday, table dancing, live bands and DJs.
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Fannie Bay Gaol Museum
This interesting (if a little grim) museum represents almost 100 years of solitude. Serving as Darwin's main jail from 1883 to 1979, the solid cells contain information panels that provide a window into the region's unique social history. Lepers, refugees and juveniles were among the groups of people confined here, and you can still see the old cells and the gallows constructed for two hangings in 1952.
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