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Darwin

Darwin is the Northern Territorys capital; a modern, tropical city that sits on a harbour twice the size of Sydneys. Considered Australia's most culturally diverse city, more than 50 nationalities make up Darwin's population. Darwin is a stepping stone to some of the world's greatest adventure playgrounds. Located only an hour-and-a-half drive from Darwin, the 1500 square-kilometre Litchfield National Park features sandstone escarpments with waterfalls hidden in monsoon rainforest, crystal-clear swimming holes, kilometres of bushwalks and wildlife.

The Tiwi Islands, lie 80 kilometres, or a half-hour flight north of Darwin. The Tiwi people are known around the world for their beautiful and distinctive art and craft, which travellers can purchase on the Islands from local artists.

Kakadu and Arnhem Land

Around two hours drive from Darwin in World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park; Australia's largest national park. Kakadu covers an area of around 20,000 square kilometres. It has a dual World Heritage listing for both its natural beauty and its Aboriginal culture, which dates back more than 50,000 years. Highlights of Kakadu are its many Aboriginal rock art galleries, waterfalls, gorges, rainforests, water-lilied billabongs, wetlands that teem with wildlife and vast grasslands.

Arnhem Land is the huge 91,000 square-kilometre expanse that bounds Kakadu to the north and east. Blessed with wild coastlines, deserted islands, rivers teeming with fish, rainforests and soaring escarpments, Arnhem Land is one of the last great pristine areas of the world.

Katherine and surrounds

The outback township of Katherine, about three hours drive south of Darwin is often described as the place ‘where the outback meets the tropics'. The Katherine region is most famous for Katherine Gorge, a system of 13 individual gorges, each separated by rapids which sit in the 2,920 square-kilometre Nitmiluk National Park.

The region is also renowned for its strong Aboriginal culture, scattering of natural thermal springs, quirky outback pubs and massive rivers. It is a popular place for bushwalking, birdwatching and fishing for barramundi, a famous Australian tropical fish, in the massive rivers of the region.

To find out more about the Northern Territory visit www.australiasoutback.com

Experiences

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 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.

You 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. Why not take one of a variety of Art Trails, available both in the Centre and in Arnhem Land? There are several to choose from depending on your level of interest and available time. See www.australiasoutback.com for more information. 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.

Australias Northern Territory is one of natures most untouched places with World Heritage-listed national parks and famous natural icons, like Uluru/Ayers Rock. It is one of the most sparsely settled environments on the planet and one of the last places on earth where ancient woodlands meet untouched beaches and even older desert dunes. In Central Australia, visitors experience a completely different type of nature; 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, Australias largest, dominate the desert skies. The Northern Territory is home to about 400 species of birds, 150 species of mammals, 300 species of reptiles, 50 species of frogs, 60 species of freshwater fish and several hundred species of marine fish. There are a range of operators offering birdwatching and nature based touring itineraries, see www.australiasoutback.com for more information.

Darwin & Surrounds

Kakadu & Arnhem Land

Katherine & Surrounds