A brief overview of the place
Darwin is the biggest city found in the Northern Territory of Australia. Darwin, like any capital city, has lots to offer from amazing places to eat to incredible nature. It is only a few hours drive to Kakadu and Litchfield national park. The city is also known for its museums, that showcase some incredible indigenous art.
What I did in Darwin
Being one of the first ports I was able to get off at, Darwin holds a special place in my heart.
The overwhelming heat and the smell of the lagoon which I could see as I got off the ship, filled my senses. The lagoon is surrounded by lush, well-kept greenery that the locals were having picnics on whilst their children played in the water.
The outer ring is made up of beautiful restaurants and bars that were filled with equally beautiful people drinking their colourful cocktails.
I got off with a new friend and we wandered through the harbour into the city. As the city is on higher ground than the harbour, Darwin has provided lifts to take you up onto a bridge that will then lead you right into the city centre.
I always think of cities as being very busy but Darwin had a very laid back feel to it. Almost like the city is 20 years behind in some cases, but very modern in others. For example, I found it to be bright, clean and colourful and very geared up for the disabled but some of the things I found in the shops, like gollywog dolls and kangaroo skins, I just couldn’t believe they were allowed to be sold.
We stopped for lunch at a local cafe tucked away down an alleyway. A fabulous wooden board with passion fruit, grapefruit, banana and grapes sprinkled with icing sugar arrived which had me very excited. To my delight, it tasted as amazing as it looked and as it was quite clearly a local eatery, it worked out cheaper than eating at the harbour would have been.
Walking back to the harbour gave us a chance to walk off our amazing lunch. Before getting back on the ship we decided to stop off at one of the snazzy bars to have a sneaky little cocktail. However, it didn’t turn out to be so sneaky, as the most crew turned up just as we ordered them. But since they joined us in the day drinking, it wasn’t a problem.
Feeling slightly tidley we all mosied back to the ship before it set sail. A pleasant day in Darwin. From what I saw, Darwin is a very unique and eclectic city.
Restaurants
We had lunch at Four birds
The Rabbithole
Tims surf & turf
Free things to do
Swimming in the Lagoon
Popular excursions
Crocosorous cove
Litchfield national park tour
Kakadu national park tour
Hop on hop of bus
Things to know
From the ship, it is a 15-minute walk into the city or you can catch a shuttle bus that the ship provides.
Language
Australian English
Currency
Australian dollars
Population
145,000 people.
