Welcome to the UFO capital of Australia.
On our way to Alice we made a short stop at a petrol station in Wycliffe Well. Where according to some newspapers UFO sightings have happened. If you believe in these stories or not, make a short stop and enjoy the touristy styled petrol station. 🙂
Welcome to a series of posts about unique and fun places in Australia.
Today I would like to show you the Daly Waters Pub “Outback Servo” in Northern Territory Australia.
Daly Waters is about 620 kilometres south of Darwin and three kilometres west of the Stuart Highway. This pub not only has fantastic barramundi burgers but it also houses lots of stories through memorabilia left by visitors from around the globe.
You can find hundreds of t-shirts, bras, car signs and plenty of other unique things at this place in the middle of nowhere. A lonely pub? I am not sure. It’s in the middle of nowhere, but people come to this place, enjoy great food and leave amazing things here.
I’ve been thinking (and writing) about Australia quite a lot lately. That’s why I want to present you my top 3 favourite places in Australia in this post.
Whitehaven Beach is a 7km long beach and is considered the whitest beach in the world. I believe it’s true, because I visited this beautiful place. It is accessible by boat aswell by seaplanes.
Some people would say it’s a big city like many another big cities.
I my opinion Sydney is so much more. You have the amazing Opera House, the Sydney Royal Botanic Garden next door including the St. George Open Air Cinema. You can take a ride on the iconic Sydney ferries to Manly Beach. Sydney also offers a wide variately of food and dining options. And the famous Bondi Beach is only a few minutes away. Watch the Surfers or enjoy some quality time at the beach. There’s even free WiFi!
Read more about Sydney
Kakadu National Park. In my opinion one of the most beautiful national parks on our planet. It is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, about 170 km southeast of Darwin. So it’s best to plan a long drive or even stay at a hotel near the park area.
Read more: Kakadu National Park
Katherine is a small town in Northern Territory, Australia. It’s about 320km south of Darwin.
In this post I want to highlight the Katherine Gorge which is the main attraction at the Nitmiluk National Park. The gorges can be explored by canoe and flat bottomed boat. We opted for the latter and did a 3 hours long cruise a long several parts of Katherine Gorge. In the middle we had to do a bit of a walk to get to the second boat. Between them we could see ancient aboriginal arts and learn something about their history.
See series of sandstone gorges carved over millions of years which stretch along the Katherine River. This is definitely one of my hights of my Australia 2013 tour.
My tip: If you want a relaxed afternoon on a boat while you’re in Australia, then spend some time in Katherine and do a cruise. Or do a canoe tour along the Katherine river.
More info: Australia’s Outback
Welcome to Kakadu National Park. In my opinion one of the most beautiful national parks on our planet. It is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, about 170 km southeast of Darwin. So it’s best to plan a long drive or even stay at a hotel near the park area.
I took the opportunity and did a short scenic flight over the park area with Kakadu Air. The whole park has covers an area of 19,804 km2 (7,646 sq mi), so it’s a convient way of seeing at least a part of it.
The best time to visit Kakadu is end of October or later, because then all the waterfalls should be filled with enough water to create an amazing landscape.
We were at beginning of the wet season when we visited the place. Therefore most waterfalls didn’t had enough water to flow, but it is still one of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve seen.
If you plan to visit the Northern Territory, make sure you visit Kakadu. The photos don’t show the whole beauty, because it’s hard to take vivid photos while flying at speeds of several hundred kilometers an hour.
More info: Kakadu Air
Welcome to my first hotel review in Australia this year.
In October 2013, I stayed at the Travelodge Mirambeena Resort Darwin. This resort offers both “motel” and “hotel” accomodation. In this review I focus on the so called “motel room”. There’s also a so called “budget motel room”, which I wont describe in this post.
I got a motel room with Queen size bed and a second bed on the first floor (one level above ground floor). The room featured a flatscreen TV, an A/C and a small table. The bathroom was clean and had a shower. There also a small fridge in the room and a in-room safe with digits pad.
The hotel/motel offers two swimming pools and a bristro area. I enjoyed spending some time relaxing at the pool and reading my newest novel, which I bought at the Darwin Bookshop. A fitness room and internet terminals are also on location.
The hotel is conviniently located at Cavenagh Street. There’s a Woolworth supermarket located across the street. Want to send a postcard home? There’s also an Australia Post office on Cavenagh Street, just a 5 minutes walk from the hotel. Want to go on a shopping spree? Downtown Darwin is just a 10-15 minutes walk away. There quite a few smaller shops and a few shopping malls.
I only tasted the continental breakfast option, which was good. All the standards were on offer: coffee, tea, toast, vegemite, jam, cereals, fruits.
Sorry, no photos this time. Check out the photos from the official website, they’re pretty accurate.
http://www.travelodge.com.au/travelodge-mirambeena-resort-darwin/hotel-images
Welcome to my new series of posts about Australia.
This time I travelled from Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory in Australia to the centre “Alice Springs” and Uluru/Ayers Rock. Plus bonus: 2 days in Sydney.
To start off my new series: An article about Darwin.
Darwin, named after the naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin is a “small” city of approx. 129,000 people. It’s only about 4 hours flight time from Singapore and many other major Asian cities. So head out into the Territory!
Darwin has a a lot to offer. Period. Here are some examples.
Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
This amazing museum and gallery features collections of different animals of the past, aboriginal art collections, paintings from Arnhem Land and dot paintings from the desert.
Also they give the opportunity to learn more about Cyclone Tracy , in a multi-room display with movies, pictures from the life before and the recovery phase and also features replica homes from the time before Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin.
admission: free
Crocosaurus Cove
The Crocosaurus Cove is located in the heart of Darwin city, allows visitors to view Australia’s iconic Saltwater Crocodiles. And more the extra brave there’s an opportunity to Swim with the Crocs or to holding a baby Saltwater Crocodile. Many of y travel mate spent some time there and enjoyed it!.
admission: $26 AUD – $160 AUD (depends on package you choose)
Florence Falls
How about a relaxed afternoon by a water fall. Then head out to Litchfield’s Florence Falls. A place where you can swim under a waterfall and enjoy the sun or the shade under the trees.It’s a 2 hours ride from Darwin’s city centre.
admission: free
You like pizza? Try “il lido“, a Spanish restaurant, at the Darwin Waterfront. Their pizzas are amazing! Trust me.
more info: www.illidodarwin.com.au
You’re a bit in party mood? Try Monsoons Restaurant & Party Bar. We enjoyed their interpretation of the Oktoberfest to kick-off our tour through the Northern Territory.
They have a massive list of food and beverage options. And I am pretty sure the massive bar area will serve your needs.
more info: www.monsoons.net.au
The hotel prices are a little bit above Australian average (I searched for hotels in several places in Australia). You can find accommodation from hostels, 1 star little motels up to 5 star luxury hotels with bay view. I stayed at the 3/4 star hotel/motel “Travelodge Mirambeena Resort Darwin”. They have both so called “motel rooms” and hotel rooms. A had the opportunity to stay at a “budget motel room” and at a “motel room”. My tip: Definitely spend a bit more of your bucks and upgrade to the motel room. More details in one of my upcoming reviews.
Most hotels in downtown Darwin are in the walking distance of restaurants and Woolworth or other grocery stores. If you stay at the Travelodge Mirambeena Resort Darwin, Woolworth is just across the street.
Darwin is situated in in the tropical area of Australia. This means Darwin has a wet and a dry season. The wet season begins in early October which is also the beginning of Spring.
During my stay end of September/early October I had temperatures of up to 33°C during day time. In the summer you can expect temperatures of 40°C+. Keep in mind that you can exspect more rain during the wet season. The wet season begins in October.
Stay tuned for more about the Northern Territory in the coming days!
