Six times the size of Britain, Australia's Northern Territory is the home of the real outback. The Northern Territory occupies about one sixth of Australia's total land mass, has a population of about 200,000 and is known around the world for its iconic natural treasures, including the World Heritage-listed national parks of Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta (Ayers Rock), and an ancient Aboriginal culture. The Northern Territory is far away in spirit from the hustle and bustle of city life. You'll be enchanted by its immense natural and cultural treasures.
Getting there is easy. Darwin is a major gateway into Australia and visitors can connect on to the regional airports of Alice Springs or Yulara at Uluru. There are also smaller airports in Katherine and Tennant Creek and landing strips in many, more remote, areas.
The Northern Territory offers overseas visitors truly unique experiences. It's a vibrant place, where in the space of a single day, the light on the landscape changes colour. It's an ancient place with spiritual connections that can still be explored in the present day and an adventurous place that can transform and energise you.
The Territory story unfolds through six main destinations, from the tropics of Darwin, Kakadu National Park and Katherine, through to the yellow plains of Tennant Creek and the desert landscapes of Alice Springs and world-renowned Uluru/Ayers Rock. Each destination has its own appeal and offers a unique range of experiences, people, places and history to uncover.
To find out more about the Northern Territory visit www.australiasoutback.com
Experiences
Nature:
Australia's Northern Territory is one of nature's most untouched places and one of the most sparsely settled environments on the planet. The Northern Territory is home to two remarkably different environments:
The Top End's tropical climate produces rich wetlands, wild rainforests and cascading waterfalls. World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park typifies this natural splendour. Birds congregate in their thousands in and around lush wetlands as do animals like the saltwater crocodile, barramundi fish, dolphins, buffalo and wallabies.
Central Australia offers the arid beauty of the outback, the magic of natural landmarks like Uluru/Ayers Rock and unique desert creatures like the thorny devil - a spiky lizard. Red kangaroos can be spotted bounding across the desert and birds of prey like the mighty wedge-tailed eagle, Australia's largest, dominate the desert skies.
These amazing habitats are rare and precious and they exist side by side in Australia's Outback Northern Territory.
Culture:
The Northern Territory is like a complex patchwork of diverse Aboriginal cultures. There are hundreds of different languages, customs and laws, each woven together to tell a story that is thought to be more than 50,000 years old.
Many of the national parks (including Kakadu, Uluru and Nitmiluk) are owned and jointly run by Aboriginal people. Visitors can join an Aboriginal guide for bushwalking and bush tucker tasting and hear Dreamtime stories. The natural galleries in many of these parks have some of the most famous Aboriginal rock art paintings in the world and you can walk right up to them for a close-up experience.
The more aesthetically minded may choose to invest in local indigenous art and craft. In some local galleries you can even meet the artist, see them at work and discover the story behind their artwork. Another way to absorb this ancient culture is to enjoy indigenous dance and music by one of the Northern Territory's many modern and traditional performers or watch an indigenous sporting event, such as the football grand final on the Tiwi Islands, held in March each year.
To find out more about Nature and Culture Experiences in the Northern Territory visit www.australiasoutback.com
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Carbon tips
1. Pack Efficiently: Fly with as little baggage as possible. This is most important on short haul flights, where research indicates that reduced baggage has the most impact on reducing per passenger emissions.
2. Public Transport: Use public transport as much as possible in your destination. Using intercity trains as opposed to air travel for shorter journeys saves carbon.
3. Remember the lights: Always turn the lights off when leaving your hotel room. Power usage creates emissions.
4. Local Produce: Buy locally produced goods. They will have travelled less and thus created less emissions than imported products.
5. Car Hire: When hiring a car choose lower emissions models and hybrids where possible, to reduce your emissions.
6. Departure: In the UK travel to the airport using train or bus connections where possible.
7. Your House: When you go on holiday make sure that all non essential power usage is turned off.
8. Air Conditioning: Use air conditioning sparingly and turn off when leaving your room.
9. Laundry: Make full use of hotel sheet and towel reuse programmes. Excess laundry activity creates emissions and wastes water.
10. Renewable Energy: Where available choose hotels that are eco friendly and use renewable energy.
Top 10 things to do
1. Join an art tour of Arnhem Land to invest in woven crafts, bark paintings and prints and meet the Aboriginal artists in their communities.
2. Canoe or cruise down breathtaking Katherine (Nitmiluk) Gorge looking out for hidden waterfalls, animals, birds and Aboriginal rock art along the way.
3. Marvel at the mystical beauty of the Devils Marbles, near Tennant Cree.
4. See Kakadu's best-known collections of Aboriginal rock art at Nourlangie Rock and Ubirr. An easy climb to the top of Ubirr affords 360-degree panoramic views of the surrounding floodplain.
5. Climb to the top of ANZAC hill for a 360-degree panorama view of Alice Springs town and the surrounding MacDonnell Ranges.
6. Hit a round or two at the Alice Springs Golf Course, rated one of the top ten desert courses in the world.
7. Enjoy a sumptuous meal beneath the stars at the Sounds of Silence dinner at Uluru or the Sounds of Firelight dinner at Kings Canyon.
8. Set off on the Valley of the Winds walk - an interpretative trail around the domes of Kata Tjuta.
9. Experience a fiery sunset on a yacht cruise of Darwin Harbour or at one of the many al fresco restaurants around the water's edge.
10. Read inscriptions from last Century's explorers at Chambers Pillar - a sandstone column that towers 50 metres above the desert floor.
Calendar of Events
March:
8th - Post Mardi Gras Dance Party in Alice Springs;
22nd-23rd - Borroloola Barra Classic (fishing comp) in Katherine.
April:
26th–3rd May - Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival in Darwin.
May:
3rd–5th - Katherine Country Music Muster;
24th - Bass in the Grass (music event) in Darwin.
June:
7th–9th - Tattersall's Finke Desert Race in Alice Springs;
24th–9th July - Darwin Pride Festival.
July:
5th–4th Aug - Darwin Cup Festival;
19th - Katherine Rodeo.
August:
6th–10th - Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair.
September:
6th - ASSA ABLOY Henley on Todd regatta in Alice Springs.
October:
11th - Gove Bush Golf Classic in Kakadu & Arnhemland.
11th-18th - Masters Games in Alice Springs;
November:
14th-16th - Lasseter's Open in Alice Springs.
