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Northern territory

Australia's outback

By Bianca Janelle

April 10^th, 2019

Long never ending roads

Honestly, there's nothing much once you cross the border of WA to the Northern Territory. There are a few nationals parks here and there and a nice long river probably full of crocodiles. So, why are we up here?

We did stop to have lunch at the Timber Creek roadhouse, not close to Wolf Creek, I can assure you. Our lunch consisted of tuna with bread and more tuna, the good stuff. My mercury levels were so far at its highest since the beginning of this roadtrip, not that I actually did care but still. In general, I am a very clumsy person, which isn't always the best thing while travelling... I accidentally locked the keys inside the car in the middle of nowhere... Even though I felt so bad, this mishap was quickly taken cared of by one friendly truckie, Australian slang, yet again, for a trucker. Momo never entrusted me with the keys again, haha.

Cruising along the never-ending road, we finally arrived in Katherine, the first outback "city" of the Northern Territory. One major difference that I noticed with WA, the predominance of Indigenous communities. It reminded me a lot of Canada's First Nation but in a different way. When travelling to a new country, it is always important for me to learn about the culture and the history of the land. This one doesn't have a good beginning (obviously). Of course, they lived here thousands and thousands of years before Europeans invaded, bringing with them diseases and killing a lot of them. Sending convicts from Great Britain to Australia didn't help at all. Communities, languages and traditions were lost during massacres over the 19th and 20th centuries. For a long time, Indigenous people weren't even considered human beings. The 1967 Referendum finally changed all that. They finally were considered as citizens of Australia with the right to vote. Except, this wasn't enough. Until today, many Indigenous activists are still fighting for changes. The biggest one is the recognition of Indigenous people as the original inhabitant of the land.

Some other travellers might only think they are full of sh*t, drinking, taking drugs and not doing anything, but it's still very important to respect them and their culture.

Nitmiluk national park

Our second taste of the NT was this beautiful park. A nice evening hike to a river gorge was the best remedy after a long boring drive. Of course, a little frothy was in order while enjoying the sunset.

On our way back, out of nowhere, hundreds and hundreds of bats were flying over our heads. Could this scene be from Jurassic Park?

edith falls

The weather is getting warmer and warmer every day. I won't complain about it because there is no better feeling than the warm sun on your skin. What I do love is finding natural outdoor pools to relax, swim and have fun.

Litchfield national park

Second favourite park so far! Home to stunning waterfalls, clear pools and magnetic termite mounds, this is the right place to be on a weekend!

Up to 100 years old, Magnetic termite mounds are unique to this part of Australia. The thin edges of the mounds keep the termite cool while being exposed to the very hot sun. Every year, they grow 10cm taller. Termites work pretty hard!

I loved this park so much that I came here twice, before and after visiting Darwin.

90% of my time is spent in the water. How perfect, even though I was on edge about crocodiles lurking around.

Darwin

The final destination is Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory and the closest city to Indonesia. Crazy to think that a long time ago, people sailed the Timor Sea to Australia. Apparently, even crocodiles crossed from Indonesia. Such a long swim indeed.

The wettest, smallest and most northerly of the Australian capitals cities, Darwin was rebuilt 4 times. 4 TIMES! During the wet season, from November to April, cyclones are more than friendly. 1897, 1937 and 1974 were devastating years for the residents. The Second World War also had a big impact on this city when Japanese air raids attacked. This might not be the best place to live perhaps... Since then, this city has grown and flourished so much! It is an awesome place to be.

Since I booked a flight back to Perth in two weeks time, I was a bit worried I would get bored in this city. A good thing was staying at a hostel where I met a lot of other travellers, consisting of Germans and French. I didn't realize until now how many of them actually existed!

My time was pretty much spent with alcohol, not too much though. As you must know, Darwin is known for good partying.

When I wasn't around cervezas, I was swimming and tanning at the Harbour Front lagoon of Darwin. It's a relaxing and fun area with a lot of restaurants and cafes.

fish crave

Darwin is also very known for its seafood. Barramundi fish, meaning "large-scaled river fish" in one of the Australian Aboriginal languages from Queensland, is very popular here and in South East Asia. This is a must to all foodies out there!

sunset Markets

Where Asian flavours meet Western food. A lot of South East Asians live in Darwin, so there is a big food influence here. It is unbelievably good! I ended up eating these small puffy round crêpes covered with banana and hot melting chocolate sauce. The perfect way to start a meal!

It can be frustrating because there is so much to choose from. Although, if you are in Darwin for a while or even a week, the markets are on Thursdays and Sundays.

Oh, and the sunsets are amazing!

Champagne cruise

Sunset cruise with free champagne and hors-d'œuvres: this was probably my biggest expense of all the trip but the most well spent.

Butterfly farm sanctuary

This is the most magical random place in the NT. It was very comforting doing something different, spending time with animals and discovering the little nooks and crannies of this sanctuary. Everywhere you walked, there was always something to look at: a veggie garden, some pigs, butterflies flying everywhere, rabbits hopping and more!

THE END

Although I really wanted to see the great red rock, Uluru, in the middle of Australia, it was still about 1900km South of Darwin. I can't imagine how long and boring it would be driving in the outback. I guess it'll be for another time.