Darwin
 

Is it worth to travel to Darwin? I was told today (3 times-different people) that it's not worth to travel to Darwin, instead spend more time on east coast. I have problem with getting all the dates together, it looks like I want to see to much in a given time. So, if I do not go to Darwin it may be a little bit better. Am I missing anything important? Is May OK to go to the center? I still want to see Uluru and the area.
Thanks a million,

May is not too bad a time for the centre as the edge will have been taken off the lingering summer red-hot heat and there shouldn't be too much in way of winter winds about which can make it more on the chilly side at times, the inland desert areas do drop in temp remarkably as sun goes down from about May on, Alice known to get down to 0C overnight at times.

As for Darwin, the main reasons people go are Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks, not to mention people wanting some close up Crocodile encounters as well, and the NPs do have some ruggedly beautiful and awe inspiring scenery, giving one some feel as to why indigenous people had many centuries ago developed an afinity for the land.

Whilst there are tours with reasonable comfort that can take you to quite a few locations, some of the more remote and less tourist travelled are well off the beaten track requiring some more arduous travelling.

And travelling you will do for it's a long drive into Kakadu and out again, there being kilometre after kilometre of fairly plain scrubby forest/plains to get to somewhere and have a relatively short time to appreciate it, and it may not be everything for everyone.
May is not the best time to go there as it'll still be very humid and could be that some accesses are still closed.

I was there in July last year and though I got well off the beaten track, doing a camping tour I actually left with the thought of whether it was really worth it to do all the travelling to go in some places hiking through the scrub to find a beautiful gorge location to have a swim in a rockpool - for you can do that in many other locations within Australia and in living most of my life away from the larger cities, I've had that opportunity.

You have to remember though, that to see Uluru, it'll mean travelling even further on a tour unless you fly in.

Interesting article in today's Australian on Kakadu:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...72-601,00.html

That article covers a few issues Pat, even if not all that well.
There'll always be what is the approach that the indigenous owners want and for some places off the beaten track you do have to get special permits which are apparently only good for a day at a time and limited to a few operators.

Constructing all weather roads into some places could mean that the entire road in places could be that 700 mm. or more under water unless it was all raised and then you would have to generate weir/culvert constructions that can lead to other problems.

Our group swam in about five different gorge type areas, some meaning a good walk up off the plains.

My most lasting impression of how tourists could kill themselves rather than the park was at Jim Jim falls where there is a clamber up the gorge through a section of several hundred metres of huge jumbled boulders, not an easy route by any means and then you have parents/grandparents taking tiny tots along and one fella had like a baby car seat backpack on with bubs perched right up there head and shoulders above his and you know whose head was going to get cracked open if he took a tumble.

You could at least have a swim up there - another natural swimming spot, unless I've got JJ and Twin mixed up re where we swam and the ban has been lifted or is being ignored.

But the main thing people have to appreciate is that you are a long way from anywhere and it is costly to get there, bit like Uluru but people can fly in/out there if they want to.

Ralph kind off sums up the place for me with
"Ralph believes Kakadu can be appreciated only for its subtleties - it's not an in-your-face experience like the Rock. "What we don't want is people coming here with too great an expectation. And that's the problem with these ads about the place. Some are over the top."

And with it's subleties it is the sort of place one looking to take their time with could enjoy and there are overnight walking trails, or at least we came across some backpacking hike groups, but again you have to get well off the beaten track.

To those who advised that Darwin was not worth visiting, I would ask what they did there, what time of year they went, and what failed to impress them. I would also ask yourself what you like to do and see.

While the city itself offers some attractions (the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, for example), for visitors it is primarily the gateway to nearby (3-4 hrs drive) Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks.

I'd say May will be a very good time to visit - still a lot of water flowing over the gigantic waterfalls, major features of both Litchfield and Kakadu. Unlike visiting in the Wet Season, when access to key attractions is limited, I would think tours to Jim Jim, Twin Falls, etc should be up and running.

To suggest that Kakadu can only be appreciated for its subtleties is ridiculous. If that is true, then the same might as well apply to all of Australia (which after all is the world's flattest continent). There is nothing subtle about the beauty of sunset at Ubirr Rock, or Yellow Waters with its water lilies, or towering Jim Jim Falls with its 900 foot drop and plunge pool, or the walk around Arnbangbang Billiabong with Nourlangie Rock as backdrop.

We took our kids to Kakadu, Darwin and Litchfield for 10 days in Aug 2000...a fantastic trip that the whole family still loves to talk about. I wouldnt rule it out by any means.

I do not think anyone has said Ralph that Darwin is not worth visiting, and you have agreed with the main reason a lot have for heading up there.

But as to the claim on subleties being ridiculous, I feel you need to look at the meaning of the full paragraph of your namesake to appreciate what is being said.

"Ralph believes Kakadu can be appreciated only for its subtleties - it's not an in-your-face experience like the Rock. "What we don't want is people coming here with too great an expectation. And that's the problem with these ads about the place. Some are over the top."

You can get quite massive year to year variations too Ralph and whereas you could normally expect to get off Bitumen access from May on if at times mid to late May, if wet season rains come later and with intensity, it may not be so, just something anyone planning a trip needs to be aware of.

May is a good time to visit Darwin. The wet season is over. At the same time, as Ralph states, there is a still a lot of water about but it is beginning to dry up a bit, so the wildlife is concentrating in great numbers around the billabongs--loads of birds, wallabies and kangaroos. Everything is gorgeous and green.
The first time I visited Darwin and the Kakadu was in May. The second time was during an October and, while the foliage was still green and the weather still dry and sunny, the temperature was a tad warmer, almost hot.
I am emphasizing your timing because sometime in the future, on another trip to Oz, you might find yourself with enough time to visit Darwin, but it might end up being during Darwin's wet season (when cyclones can strike). You just wouldn't be able to appreciate the region as much. You might be limited in what you could see and do.
You asked if you would be missing anything "important" by skipping Darwin (and Kakadu or Litchfield, I presume). Well, I guess that would depend on your priorities. I thought the Kakadu landscape was breathtaking, something like a cross between wetlands and the red rock country of the American Southwest. I also appreciated Kakadu's ancient Aboriginal rock art--some of the oldest art on earth. The wildlife was unbelievable. So many birds--it turned me into a lifelong birdlover and a lifelong fan of Australia.
As for Darwin itself. It is an attractive and interesting city, extraordinarily multicultural--with many Asians and Aboriginal Australians, in addition to Australians of European descent. Its restaurants and open air markets reflect this mix. Darwin's Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory offers interesting exhibits of natural history, Cyclone Tracy, and Aborginal Australian art. The museum is also beautifully situated by the Arafura Sea. Of course, the region has a lot more going for it than this, but these, as well as visits to Litchfield Park (rockpools, waterfalls, and more wildlife) and Bathurst Island (home to the Tiwi people), were the highlights for me.
Now, if these things don't interest you, then Darwin wouldn't be worth it for you.
If I were you, I would pick up a guidebook. Meanwhile, you might take a look at this if you are still curious about the region:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakadu_National_Park