Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CAR
Having your own vehicle in the NT means you can travel at your own pace and branch
off the main roads to access less-visited places. To truly explore, you'll need a well-pre-
pared 4WD vehicle and some outback nous. The
Automobile Association of the North-
vise on preparation and additional resources; members of automobile associations in oth-
er states have reciprocal rights.
Many roads are open to conventional cars and campervans, which can be hired in Dar-
win and Alice Springs and can work out to be quite economical when split by a group.
Some driving conditions are particular to the NT. While traffic may be light and roads
dead straight, distances between places are long. Watch out for the four great NT road
hazards: speed (maximum speed on the open highway is now 130km/h), driver fatigue,
road trains and animals (driving at night is particularly dangerous). Note that some roads
are regularly closed during the Wet due to flooding.
Quarantine restrictions require travellers to surrender all fruit, vegetables, nuts and
honey at the NT-Western Australia (WA) border.
TRAIN
ing between Darwin and Adelaide via Katherine and Alice Springs. The
Ghan
is met in
Port Augusta (SA) by the
Indian Pacific,
which travels between Sydney and Perth; and
in Adelaide by the
Overland,
which travels to/from Melbourne.
The
Ghan
has three levels of sleeper berths plus a chair class.
DARWIN
POP 127,500
Australia's only tropical capital, Darwin gazes out confidently across the Timor Sea. It's
closer to Bali than Bondi, and many from the southern states still see it as some frontier
outpost or jumping-off point for Kakadu National Park.
But Darwin is a surprisingly affluent, cosmopolitan, youthful and multicultural city,
thanks in part to an economic boom fuelled by the mining industry and tourism. It's a
city on the move but there's a small-town feel and a laconic, relaxed vibe that fits easily
with the tropical climate. Here non-Aboriginal meets Aboriginal (Larrakia), urban meets
remote, and industry meets idleness.
Darwin has plenty to offer the traveller. Boats bob around the harbour, chairs and
tables spill out of streetside restaurants and bars, museums celebrate the city's past, and
