Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine/Gorge help for 2011, please.
 

Gosh, two trips to the Northern Territory within 18 months. Will post a report on our July trip to Alice and Ayers Rock very shortly, but meanwhile would love some help for the above places.
At this point of planning I am trying to glean ideas of the time to spend in each area to do justice to this part of the NT. Our trip will be in either July or early October, our school holidays. We are a couple in our sixties, used to long days, and enjoy getting to 'know' the history and nature of an area. We do not do 'adventure' activities, and often use tour companies to get the local knowledge and info. I do have time constraints of 2 weeks which will include another trip to Alice for about 5 days, but if needs be I could take a week's leave without pay as this will definitely be the only time we head this way again - probably !! I have been onto quite a number of websites already and have begun to develop the impression we need to spend a few months in the area.
I think I have worked out accommodation in Darwin. We enjoyed our stay at Crowne Plaza in Alice, and hope our niece / travel agent will be able to get us a similar good deal for Darwin. However, if you have an absolute must-stay hotel in Darwin, please let me know.
Thanks heaps in advance.
Dot

<b>"We enjoyed our stay at Crowne Plaza in Alice, and hope our niece / travel agent will be able to get us a similar good deal for Darwin. However, if you have an absolute must-stay hotel in Darwin, please let me know."</b>

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Darwin in May and was impressed with their superb location and outstanding customer service. You can see my Tripadvisor review here: http://tinyurl.com/28yv52p

When your neice/travel agent searches for good rates, make sure she considers IHG Friends & Family rates. I also suggest that you sign up (if you have not already done so) for IHG's Priority Club Rewards program. The Darwin Crowne Plaza has a very nice (free) reception for PCR members, on Wednesdays, I think. It's a great way to meet the General Manager and all other department managers, all of whom, try very hard to make your stay as enjoyable as possible.

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Indeed a few months and you might see everything you want, but don't be too intimated, I find in travel that is most places in the world. I'd recommend planning to enjoy the countryside and I'd look at this site for figuring out your accommodations. http://www.bookitnow.com.au/ It will give you a good list and appearance of hotels in the area though if you can get a great deal at a place you like then go there for sure! But there are some wonderful places to stay in Darwin so look around.

Hotel Darwin is nice, quite old fashioned. I like it.

Katherine Gorge is spectacular. Consider hiring a canoe and taking a paddle up it. I did this a while ago and camped out in the gorge over night. It was very special.

Thank you all for your helpful ideas. We will take all into consideration. HAve started to look at other options for accommodation.
Although we will not be canoeing on Kstherine Gorge I'm afraid, Peter, we will definitely be taking a cruise - in fact, have just chosen a couple of cruise options.
We have found some great informative websites that have given us info/ideas that we wanted. At this point we have allowed 3 days for Katherine, 3 days for Kakadu and working on how many we need in Darwin. Thanks again.

Heading the right way, I think, Dotty. In Darwin, allow enough time to visit the Cultural Centre & Art Gallery. (I'm ashamed to admit it's 3 or 4 years since I've been there & can't now remember whether they're housed in the same complex). If you only see three things: The Cyclone Tracy exhibition, the boats in which people entrusted their lives to come here, and the Aboriginal art - it will have been worth the couple of hours it took.


Also, take the hop on-hop off bus; there's a wealth of historical spots worth a look. Take a walk along the waterside - beautiful & interesting. Mindil Markets if they're on while you are there. Fresh barramundi on the wharves. Catamaran sailing just as the sun sinks into the ocean.

Thanks, bokhara2, for your contributions. We are now thinking 4 days in Darwin, and most definitely plan to see the Cyclone Tracy exhibition. Are the boats you mention the small dinghy-style boats like we saw on Sentosa Island (Singapore) in 1989? They really moved us with their painted eyes. Barramundi is definitely on the menu, as are visiting the markets. I haven't yet discovered the hop-on-hop-off bus info but will look for this this weekend. Received a lot of very useful booklets from the Katherine visitor centre this week so that is the weekend reading away from the computer!
Mind you, all this research is making me find other interesting places we should visit. Oh to be able to not worry about time (and financial) constraints.

That's the thing isn't it dotty? The more you research, the more you want to see ...

No - these are bigger boats, but some of them very flimsy and when you're looking at them, visualising them bobbing around on the sea between Vietnam & Darwin, full of people with small children, it's just numbing. I have friends who came here that way in the 70's & now run a very successful restaurant in Sydney. Luke says he came as "cargo" - his Mother was pregnant with him.
http://www.redlantern.com.au/

Your hotel will be able to advise you about the hop on/hop off bus.