Darwin's evolution

Sinking sun: Hundreds of people line Mindil Beach to watch the sun disappear over the horizon

Writing's on the wall: Visitors taking a close-up look at rock art at the Kakadu National park

Rock art: An example of aboriginal painting in the Kakadu National Park

Just resting: A crocodile enjoys the sun on the riverbank at the Kakadu National Park.

Great shakes: Darwin belly dancers put on a display to celebrate the opening of the Mindil Markets.

All action: Bathers catch great action from the wave machine at the city's swimming pool.

Majestically tall: These royal palms are a feature in Darwin's botanic gardens.

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Tourism is a billion-dollar business in the Top End and a great winter escape, as former Timaru Herald news editor John Middlemiss reports.

"Darwin is different," the shuttle bus driver remarks as he drives the seven kilometres from the airport to our hotel on the esplanade uptown.

That much is noticeable the moment we step off the plane and cross the tarmac, assailed by the 32 degree Celsius heat. For someone from the cool of Timaru, this is at once different and inviting: a holiday in the tropics.

We arrive at the start of the dry season, coincidentally in time for the opening of the Mindil Beach markets, a twice-weekly sunset event at a strip along the coast. Everybody is there, it seems, and for good reason. There's a sense of anticipation among the swelling crowd, drawn to the sound of amplified didgeridoos on one site and whip-cracking on another. A Chinese dragon is visiting the stalls and belly dancers shimmer by. Inviting smells waft from all the food caravans, with cuisine as diverse as Mexican to Greek, including Spanish, Chinese, Thai, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Philippine and South African. Over 1200 menu items are said to be on offer, bringing in A$15 million (NZ$18.3m) to the Northern Territory economy.

It's a fun and vibrant event. There's even a climbing wall for the children. In the heat of the evening, the fruit juice stalls are doing frenetic business and the multitude of craft stalls is kept busy under outdoor lighting until closing at 10pm. On this night, there's a fireworks display just off the adjoining beach to celebrate the opening of the markets. Hundreds have made their way to the beach earlier to watch the golden sun sink spectacularly into the sea.

Hundreds of locals are also relaxing at their own picnic tables or lying on rugs in an area between the beach and the markets. This is family time and a chance to commune with other Darwinians, an aspect in evidence throughout the Top End. This is especially so at the Deckchair Cinema, where the style is as laid-back as the canvas seats. Coffees, wine by the glass, beers and cheap bain marie meals are on offer to enjoy while watching mainly art-house movies under the starry sky. This is an institution that has been going since 1994. The experience is unique.

Outdoor settings abound in Darwin, especially restaurants. Some are casual, but many are formal and offer exotic menus, such as the Char Restaurant, where elegant tables draw the finely dressed to dine al fresco on a top steak, crab and croc lasagne or sichuan pepper squid. Such fare and quality has won the Best Restaurant in Northern Territory award for the past two years. In contrast, there are several hole-in-the-wall food cafes where a decent meal can be had for as little as A$10, appealing to the many backpackers.

At night the city throbs. Pubs and watering holes are doing the business but nowhere like the Monsoon, a remodelled venue that boasts live entertainment seven nights a week and an abundant party atmosphere. It packs them in. In the city centre, lusty night noises can be heard even seven floors up in the hotel room. Every night. And it doesn't ease up until 4am.

By day, the city presents a fresh and sober scene. Tree-dotted streets are well laid out in oblong fashion, but there's not the number of shops one might expect. The suburbs a few kilometres away are the place for that.

Darwin, population 120,000, has been rebuilt twice: in 1974 Cyclone Tracy destroyed more than 90 per cent of the buildings and killed 71 people, and in February 1942 the first day of Japanese bombing killed 243 and wounded 400.

By November 1943, there had been a total of 64 air attacks. It's a sombre feeling looking on a map at all the red dots where 250kg bombs fell on so much of the CBD, but a visit to the city's East Point Military Museum is worth the time and the historical perspective. The city has a lot to offer.

There's the Tour Tub, a hop on and off bus, and walking and cycling tours can be organised, as well as scooter hire. Popular local attractions are Aquascene, where visitors can feed the ocean fish by hand, a pearling exhibition, the wave pool, the botanic gardens, the museum and art gallery and Fannie Bay jail.

Darwin is also the hub for outdoor adventure. Well over a million tourists come, some by the Ghan train from Adelaide, for the Outback excitement, which ranges from buffalo and wild boar hunts to fishing charters, diving and skydiving or the more leisurely sunset cruise on a renovated pearling lugger. And, of course, there's the national parks – three of them.

The largest is Kakadu, covering nearly 20,000 square kilometres – about half the size of Switzerland – and home to Aboriginal people for more than 50,000 years. It is world heritage-listed for both its cultural and natural values.

Tourists are drawn by the diverse wildlife, rocky gorges, waterfalls, beautiful billabongs, walks and splendid rock art. The paintings tell a story, the tour guide tells us. Some are sacred, or creation stories, others are information.

A graphic image on the rocks is a stick figure with swelling of the joints. This shows the onset of radiation poisoning and is a warning not to camp too long in certain areas where there's uranium underground.

Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk National Park, home to the Jawoun people) is actually a series of 13 gorges carved in limestone by thousands of years of torrential rains. Both daytime and evening cruises are popular. Campers and trampers abound. Our "bush tucker" guided walk has insufficient numbers on the day and park staff upgrade us to a helicopter flight instead. How sad.

Litchfield National Park boasts magnificent waterfalls, great walks, magnetic termite mounds, rainforests and safe swimming holes. The tour takes in the Jumping Crocodile Cruise.

Many tours stop at the Adelaide River Inn, where the water buffalo that starred with Paul Hogan in the Crocodile Dundee movie stands steadfast, mounted, on the bar.

Too soon, time runs out in the Top End and we are back in a shuttle to the airport. The driver remarks expansively: "Another day in paradise." It's a sentiment shared by many of the locals.

- © Fairfax NZ News