Darwin attractions

With dramatic sandstone escarpments, ancient Aboriginal rock art sites, and crocodile-filled billabongs, the wild landscapes of the Kakadu National Park are beyond photo-worthy. Spread over 4.2 million acres (1.7 million hectares), Australia’s largest national park offers a thrilling look at the native landscape, wildlife, and culture.

During the 1950s, a resident of Doctors Gully began tossing breadcrumbs into the water at high tide, and fish started turning up for the free meal. Today hundreds of fish, including mullet, batfish, catfish, and milkfish, come near to shore for the daily feeding frenzy that disrupts the typically tranquil waters of the Gully.

Perched on Beatrice Hill, the highest point of the lower Adelaide River floodplain, Wetland View Top Centre (formerly Window on the Wetlands) offers 360-degree wetland views from its top floor. Designed to resemble a dancing brolga (a wetland bird), it hosts interpretative displays, a small cinema room, a little café, and a gift store.

To learn more about the Aboriginal inhabitants of Kakadu, visit the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre in the heart of the park. It was developed by the traditional owners of Kakadu and shares local stories through multimedia exhibits, artifacts, images, and videos. You can also browse the attached Aboriginal art gallery.

If you’ve ever wondered what it was like inside a 19th-century prison, this is your chance to see for yourself. Dating back to 1883, Darwin’s Fannie Bay Gaol served as the city’s principal jail for almost 100 years. The historic site is now a museum, where visitors can see the prison cells, maximum security compound, and gallows.

Australia’s toothy residents are the stars of the show at Crocodylus Park, a research, conservation, and education center in the Northern Territory. The park is home to crocodiles from around Australia and the world, as well as monkeys, marmosets, big cats, wallabies, kangaroos, and birds.

Built in 1934, this former aircraft hangar was once owned by Qantas, Australia’s largest airline—aka the “Flying Kangaroo.” After withstanding Japanese bombing during World War II and Cyclone Tracy, the historic hangar is now a museum. Run by the Northern Territory’s Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts Club, it is home to an impressive yet little-known collection of automobiles, locomotives, and other vehicles.

Stretching for about 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) along Darwin’s waterfront cliffs, Bicentennial Park is an airy green strip with a track great for running and walking. The south end is home to the Darwin Cenotaph; the north offers fish feeding at Doctor’s Gully. In between, attractions include a kids’ playground and an outdoor gym.

At the time it was built, Lyons Cottage was the first stone house in Darwin, and it remains the only surviving example of colonial bungalow architecture in the city. Made from local porcellanite stone, roof tiles from England, and timber from Asia, the 1925 building once served as the home of the lawyer John "Tiger" Lyons.

Adelaide River is the name of both a river and a town that sits on the banks of that river. Neither are anywhere near the South Australian city of Adelaide, but in the Northern Territory, near Darwin. Travelers come to the Adelaide River area to go on cruises, spot crocodiles—and especially for the “jumping croc” activities.

The capital of the Northern Territory, Darwin is Australia’s northernmost city and a popular stop for intrepid travelers cruising the northern shores or arriving from Southeast Asia. Located in the heart of Darwin, Darwin Cruise Port offers easy access to the city center, and it’s a gateway to Australia’s impressive national parks.

The Mary River Wetlands are located within the Mary River National Park, in Australia’s “top end”, or northern parts of the Northern Territory. During the rainy season, the plains flood and a variety of animals, birds, and reptiles gather here, including saltwater crocodiles, water buffalo, wallabies, and more.

Arnhem Land, at the far north-east of Australia’s Northern Territory, is a huge wilderness area inhabited mostly by Yolngu Aboriginal people. Some of the most ancient rock art sites in the country can be found in Arnhem Land, as well as rainforest, woodlands, gorges, wetlands, escarpments, beaches, and rivers. Outsiders must usually visit on an approved guided tour, and have a permit to enter.

Spanning 500 acres (200 hectares), East Point Reserve is Darwin’s biggest park. It offers safe swimming in man-made Lake Alexander, plus beaches, playgrounds, workout stations, picnic and barbecue areas, cycle and walking paths, and sunset views. Ecosystems include monsoon forest, mangroves, and an intertidal boardwalk.

The Myilly Point Historic Precinct comprises a group of four houses built in the 1930s by B.C.G. Burnett—the only remaining of this pre-WWII housing style in Darwin. Built for top-tier civil servants, the light and breezy homes are raised for ventilation and painted in pale colors to fit the tropical climate.