Exotic holiday^lestinations to feed you
Wong Sher Maine loves the adventure and outdoor life in Australia's Northern Territory THE air stewardess on the Singapore-Darwin flight looked at us in faint disbelief as she clicked in her safety belt for landing. She must have been thinking: "You're really getting off at Darwin? You're not on transit to Cairns? I've been to Darwin. It's such a boring place." Is it? True, the capital of Australia's Northern Territories, a four-hour flight from Singapore, has no eyeball-grabbing sights screaming: "Lookatme!" It does not have a gourmet reputation like Sydney and Melbourne. Worse, there are actually not a lot of shops. But we like Darwin, for its access to raw nature, dearth of people — its population is about the same as that of Toa Payoh — and plenty of breathing space to enjoy the blue
skies and clean air. The best time to visit Darwin is in June. It is winter and when the rain doesn't fall for six straight months, the sky is cloudless and the hot dry air has a pleasant chilly bite at night. At this time, domestic tourists stream up from the freezing south. In December, the rain sometimes falls so hard, cars float and lightning dances all day. No, a year-end holiday here is probably not a good idea.
Crocs at my feet
Darwin falls short of man-made attractions but what really sets it apart is nature. Not pristine nature of the pretty-flower variety, but raw, dirty and wild nature. Crocodiles the size of canoes thrive in the muddy billabongs, and are routinely caught and thrown into the crocodile parks for gaping pleasure, as well as to adorn the front pages of local newspapers. To check out the reptiles that were hauled out of the creeks, there are two crocodile parks. At the more commercial air-conditioned Crocosaurus Cove, you can pay to stand in a croc-proof glass cage and be lowered into a pool of reptiles for the sensation of being mauled. At the more conservation-oriented outdoor Crocodylus Park, the pong of wildlife hits your nose at the entrance.
Wilderness camping
The writer and her family camped at the Wangi Falls in the Litchfield National Park.
Darwin is a gateway to the Katherine Gorge where you can canoe down a swathe of blue water. There is Litchfield National Park where you can swim in a waterfall with a bottle of beer; and the Kakadu National Park, the spiritual home of the Aborigines and where you can spot Aboriginal artwork on the cliffs. Camping i n the wilderness is a favourite weekend activity for the locals and tourists. Camping grounds, which require a fee, come with restaurants and simple accommodation so you can get a proper bed and electricity. For tourists who are willing, camping in a tent with food packed in the rented car is the
The Cage of Death at Crocosaurus Cove bears the marks of croc attacks, but for these two tourists, banging and shouting did not move a single croc to action.
way to go. Enduring memories were forged when our family of five bonded over bars of Twix chocolate and cups of steaming hot Milo — made with water boiled on a portable stove — under a black velvet sky strewn with diamond dust. In the still chilly night, the only sounds were those of wallabies foraging in the under growth and the occasional flying fox flapping overhead.
Soaking in the sunset
Back in Darwin city, which is tiny, all that a tourist might want to see is probably within a 45-minute drive. A favourite hangout for locals and tourists is the Thursday and Saturday evening pasarmalam type of markets at the Mindil Beach. This is probably the only place in Darwin where there is a shoulder-to-shoulder crush for food, including a stall that claims to sell
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From March 26, SilkAir starts direct Darwin flights four times a week and this comes with a special promotional price for outbound travel within a stipulated period.
An Aboriginal woman dancing to didgeridoo-and-drum group eMDee's music at the Mindil Beach market. road kill. Entertainment comes from the likes of fire-eaters and a high-energy didgeridooand-drum group called eMDee. The highlight is the sunset. To enjoy the colours, people swarm to sit on the cool fine sand, which when wet, turns into something that looks like chocolate ice cream. There are the requisite museums, zoo and parks, but the best thing about being a tourist in Darwin is that there are so very few of us. We had the run of the place at every stop. And sometimes, that alone is enough to make it a memorable holiday.
in the day, be prepared for the cold, especially if you are heading out to the national parks where the temperature can drop below 10 deg C at night in June. Pack swimwear for bobbing in waterfalls
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