TheTraveler

 

The Top End of Downunder
Brian Norris

As its name suggests, the Northern Territory is not a State, but rather a Territory, funded by the Australian Government. It's Australia 's last mainland frontier and is known simply as "The Territory", with a population of only 100,000 in an area about the size of Texas . Much of it is sparse scrub or desert, so the bulk of the population tends to clump in two main areas, on the coast at the top and in the Red Centre at the bottom.

In the early 1800's the British noticed Dutch and French interest in northern Australia and put in a concerted effort to colonise this part of the country to keep them out. The first few efforts at settlement failed. They were beaten by the harsh climate, sickness, rugged terrain, lack of supplies and worst of all, they couldn’t keep the beer cold!

Then gold was discovered in the north and south of the Territory and the rush was on. Pine Creek became the site of the Territory's most frenetic gold rush, when a work party drilling holes for the Overland Telegraph discovered gold in 1870. As is usually the case, the miners made fortunes…for the merchants.

With the prospectors came the pastoralists who carved out huge cattle empires. The forage was poor so they needed vast tracts of land to feed the stock. The gold petered out in the early 1900's but the pastoralists stayed.

The Territory has always epitomised Australia 's pioneer spirit. It has always attracted hardy individuals who were either looking for something or hiding from somebody. A place where it was easy to lose an identity and create another one…even a few years ago it was unwise to delve too deeply into anybody's background.

Today civilisation, with its transport and communication technologies, has caught up with the pioneers. Cattle mustering (roundup) is done with helicopters and quad bikes…exploring is done by satellite navigation and cell phones…mushrooming steel and concrete high rise buildings are starting to invade the city skylines. Tourism is one of the Territory's largest industries, second only to mining. Of the three most famous Australian tourism icons, the Territory has two…Ayers Rock and Kakadu National Park , both World Heritage listed. And there is much more to see…from stark red deserts to lush green rainforests…spectacular gorges and gorgeous sunsets.

Aborigines inhabited this part of the country for thousands of years before the rest of the world even knew about it. There is ample evidence that prior to 1600, Aborigines were trading trepang (a sea slug delicacy) with Maccassan vessels from the South Celebes Islands …making them Australia 's first exporters.

The Aborigines and their culture are an integral part of Territory tourism. Their legends about the world and its creation are called the Dreamtime and the Territory is referred to as the "Never Never". This is not to be confused with "Never Never Land"…the domain of Peter Pan, Captain Hook and the crocodile responsible for the hook. Actually the Territory does have crocodiles, thousands of them, but to our knowledge none of them make ticking noises!

Life in the Northern Territory is very laid back and nobody is in a hurry to get anything done. It's been suggested that the initials NT should stand for Not Today…Not Tomorrow…Next Tuesday, maybe.

The Territory can be broken down into two distinct areas, the Top End (tropics) and the Red Centre (desert).

The Tropical Top End

Darwin - Tragedy and Triumph

The Top End is the embodiment of the Australian spirit of adventure, where men are men and beer is mother's milk. Even its capital Darwin is a capital city with a small "c".

Darwin is the capital of The Territory and as such is the seat of government. It is the most integrated multi cultural city in Australia . We lived there for 15 years and in our small street there were families from five different nationalities. There are no ghettos or ethnic based suburbs. The population is a mere 70,000 with a high Asian content... Darwin is closer to cities in Indonesia than to any other city in Australia .

From its vagabond beginnings as a sweaty, rough and tumble, beer swilling outpost, to the present refinement of air conditioning, fine wines, great restaurants, nightclubs and a casino, Darwin has become a victim of civilisation-itis to a certain extent. But scratch the genteel surface and the frontier erupts. You can go from sleeping in five star, to sleeping under a million stars, at the drop of an Akubra hat.

A downside of Darwin 's isolation is that when disaster strikes help is a long way away. This has been evident several times in the city's chequered past. Darwin has virtually been rebuilt twice since World War Two.

On February 19, 1942 Darwin was devastated by a Japanese sneak air attack. The raid was led by the same Japanese Captain who led the attack on Pearl Harbour just 10 weeks previously…the post office was flattened, hundreds of lives lost and many ships sunk in Darwin harbour. But unlike Pearl Harbour , Darwin was to endure air attacks on a smaller scale for the next 21 months. Later, and not for the last time, the evacuated civilians returned and Darwin was rebuilt.

Just after midnight on Christmas Day 1974, Darwin was flattened by Cyclone Tracy. One of the strongest cyclones on record, it was believed to be heading out to sea when it did a sharp turn back and cut a devastating swathe through the city and suburbs, killing 65 people. It was more than 24 hours before the rest of Australia became aware of the enormity of the disaster. By that time there was no running water or electricity and precious little medical supplies. Again most of the shell shocked citizens of Darwin were evacuated, but with help from the rest of Australia and the world they returned and Darwin was rebuilt into the vibrant, cosmopolitan city that it is today. Such is the indomitable Territorian spirit.

The weather – heaven and hell

The Top End has two seasons…the Wet (December to March) and the Dry (April to September)…and between the two, a period of what is unfondly known as "the Build-up". From October, imagine 80 - 90% humidity at 6 am and it often doesn’t get much lower. It's like walking around with a 10 ton block of concrete on your shoulders and even breathing is an effort. To make it even more unbearable, while the daytime temperature rarely exceeds 100 degrees, at night it usually doesn't go below 80 degrees. Try that for a few weeks and you'll feel like you're melting into a grease spot. The locals call this the suicide season, with good reason. Air conditioning is not a luxury, it’s a necessity!

The only redeeming features of the Build-up season are the mangoes…huge skin-bursting, chin-dribbling, taste bud titillating mouthfuls of the undisputed queen of tropical fruits…and the thunderstorms. You'll see nothing like these huge celestial fireworks anywhere else in the world. Jagged coruscating forks of incandescent light slashing the night sky asunder, followed by the crashing booms of thunder, making the ears ring and the windows rattle. The Top End records the most lightning strikes on earth ( Cape Canaveral in Florida is number two) and meteorologists come from all over the world to study this phenomenon.

The monsoons in December come as a blessed relief. The driving rain washes all the muck out of the air and the landscape is lush and green with bursting new life. If you have nothing better to do, just go outside and literally watch the garden grow.

The Dry season is the most pleasant time to visit the Top End. Temperatures typically range from 55 to 90 degrees over 24 hours and humidity is low. Every day the weather forecast is "fine and sunny" and it rarely rains between late April and early September.

The Territory has less accessible sandy beach coastline than any state in Australia and there's no surf, so leave the board at home. However, being right on the end of a peninsula, Darwin suburbs have miles of accessible beaches, with hard packed sand ideal for walking. Casuarina Beach in the northern suburbs is a favourite with early morning and late afternoon walkers. Be warned, at the far north of the beach is an area where men and women go to air their differences…it's a nude beach! Also in the northern suburbs, Nightcliff Beach and Vesty's Beach at Fannie Bay (yes, that really is its name) have good walking beaches.

Mindil Beach , just out of the city centre near the Casino, is wonderful for an early evening stroll watching the blood red sun being slowly sucked into the sea. The award winning Mindil Beach Sunset Market operates every Thursday night and Sunday afternoon. It features hundreds of craft stalls and food from thirty different countries. Plus massage, Tarot and palm readings, buskers and live bands. But get there early, most of the population of Darwin and beyond seems to cram in there.

Don’t swim in the sea between October and April. Deadly stinging jellyfish abound at this time of the year.

Getting there and getting around

There is a brand new rail link from southern Australia to the Top end. It’s an extension of the existing railway line from South Australia to Alice Springs at the bottom of The Territory. It was a multi billion dollar project covering 850 miles and has captured the Australian public imagination like nothing else. Since the first trip in February 2004, this new railway link has taken over US$20 million (that is not a misprint!) in bookings and is in fact booked out until the end of 2004.

Bear in mind that this rail link had been promised by successive Australian governments for over 50 years…long time residents of Darwin had been heard to mutter, "I'll believe it when the second train pulls into Darwin Central Station, the first one might be just a bloody mirage!"

Darwin International Airport is the hub for all air travel into and within the Top End, including flights from Asia .

The roads in The Territory are ex c ellent and this is the only pla c e in Australia where there are no speed limits on open highways. But be c areful, if you're not used to driving at high speed, now is not the time to start learning. Statisti c s show that a c c idents on the open road have a very high per c entage of overseas visitors. This is parti c ularly true of the many unsealed roads linking outba c k areas. Drive to survive and get there alive!

The Stuart Highway is sealed the entire north-south length from Darwin at the very top down into South Australia , passing through all major towns on the way. It started life as a one vehicle wide bitumen strip during World War Two. Passing meant that both vehicles had two wheels on and two wheels off the bitumen…a hair raising experience for the novice driver and accidents were common.

Just to add to the fun, the Top End has many road trains hauling goods north and south. A road train is a huge truck with as many as three trailers behind. The entire length can be the equivalent of 12 cars and they sometimes sway quite alarmingly. Overtaking one of these on the old narrow road was a thrill seekers dream.

Now it's a modern wide highway with multiple lanes and dual carriageways in some places and rest stops every 50 - 100 miles. Roads to other locations in The Territory all branch off the Stuart Highway .

Kakadu National Park

About three hours from Darwin and World Heritage listed, Kakadu is famous for its wetlands, teeming birdlife and Aboriginal art. The park is also adjacent to Jabiru, the site of Australia 's largest uranium mine. Keeping the mine producing and the park environment intact is a fine balancing act performed by miners and conservationists.

Kakadu is Australia 's largest national park and there is plenty to see throughout the area. To do it justice plan on spending more than one day there, otherwise you’ll spend most of your time travelling and still not see anywhere near all of it.

Aboriginal art and culture is an integral part of Kakadu and over 1000 sites have been identified. The park is jointly managed by the Aboriginal Traditional Owners and the Australian government.

The Wet season is the best time to see the spectacular waterfalls, Aboriginal rock art and teeming bird life in Kakadu, but the roads in are often impassable and the humidity is extremely high, that's the killer. The easiest way to see Kakadu at that time is from the air. Small plane charter companies make a fortune. In the Dry Season the waterfalls, which are rain fed, often stop flowing altogether. However there is another option, closer to Darwin , where the waterfalls cascade all year long.

Litchfield Park

Virtually unknown before the mid 1980's Litchfield Park rivals Kakadu for scenic beauty and accessibility. Just one and a half hours from Darwin , the park is compact enough so that most of its many splendours can be experienced in a day. Unlike Kakadu, each scenic highlight is only minutes from the next one and the majestic waterfalls are spring fed, so they cascade all year long. There are many well defined walking tracks ranging from short and easy to long and challenging.

Litchfield Park has plenty of water but no wetlands, so for teeming birdlife and Aboriginal art, Kakadu is still king.

Katherine and beyond

Next stop south is the town of Katherine, 190 miles from Darwin .

Katherine is a modern town with a population of 11,000 situated on the Katherine River, which contains Katherine Gorge (in Nitmiluk National Park), a series of 13 huge gorges carved through sandstone by the river.

In 1998 raging floodwaters raised the river level to an astonishing 100 feet, washing out the Katherine River Bridge . It was a flood to make Noah proud and inundated Katherine, causing the evacuation of two thirds of the inhabitants. The more unkind cynics were heard to say that the old town was in need of a damn good wash anyway.

Further south is Daly Waters which has little to recommend it apart from the Daly Waters Pub (pub is short for public house or hotel). Built in 1873 as a stop off point for cattle drovers heading south, the pub has been maintained in its original style. The old time drovers used it to wash the dust out of their throats at night and the blood off their knuckles the next day…the fights were legendary. Boys will be boys.

Located 230 miles from the Daly River turnoff, the tiny town of Borroloola has a population of about 600. Apart from the reputation of having some of the finest fishing in the Territory it also has a rich history in eccentrics and scoundrels, including rum smugglers, thieves and murderers. Strangely, in the 1920's it also had one of the largest libraries in rural Australia…over 3000 books including hardcover classics like the Latin version of Virgil's Aenid. Since most of the locals struggled to read English, how did they cope with Latin?

The Desert Red Centre

Alice Springs is the second largest city in the Northern Territory . You may remember an old Peter Finch film titled “A Town Like Alice”…that’s the one. Much of the interior of Australia is desert or at least very arid land, and Alice Springs is situated right in the middle of it. Geologists (or Rock Doctors as they are affectionately known) believe that millions of years ago Australia had a huge inland sea instead of desert.

Alice Springs is famous for two things. It’s the home of one of the biggest and most impressive rock monoliths in the world, right? Nope, that’s wrong! Many overseas tourists arrive in Alice Springs and immediately start scanning the horizon looking for Ayers rock, but it’s actually nearly 200 miles south.

It’s a huge sandstone monolith rearing out of the desert (nearly 6 miles in circumference and around 200 yards high), which for some strange reason fills everybody who sees it with the silly urge to climb it. I climbed it when I was 40 and the whole way up I kept thinking to myself, "I wish I'd done this 10 years ago, then I wouldn't have to climb the bloody thing now!" The only way to the top is to drag yourself hand over hand along the thick chain strung between metal posts from the base to the summit. It’s an arduous steep climb, heart attacks and strokes among unfit and overweight climbers are quite common…or maybe it’s really the Aboriginal Dreamtime Spirits showing their displeasure.

The Rock is sacred to the local Aborigines, who are none to pleased to have hordes of palefaces clambering all over it. Some tourists take pieces of the Rock home with them, which are often later returned when unexplained misfortunes continually befall the souvenir takers.

What’s the only boat race in the world which is cancelled when there’s water in the river? That’s the second thing Alice Springs is famous for…the Todd River Regatta. But first, a little background is necessary.

Running through the centre of Alice Springs is the Todd River , which in ages past was a torrent of rushing water but is now simply a big dry bed…unless it rains. To put things into perspective, this is true desert country and receives very little rain at all. However, every 5 to 10 years a prodigal storm wanders off track, somehow ends up over Alice ; gets such a shock it drops its load and the rain buckets down for a day or so.

When this happens, not only does the Todd River fill up, but the desert also literally blooms for a couple of short weeks, as the thirsty, barren ground eagerly slurps up the water and becomes a lush carpet of wildflowers, transforming the arid desert landscape into a blaze of vibrant colours like an explosion in a paint factory.

Every September Alice Springs runs the Todd River Regatta, which can only take place if the riverbed is dry. Thousands of spectators come from all around Australia and overseas to watch the teams race their craft (basically boat shells with no bottoms, carried by the crew inside the shells), up and down the dry riverbed. As the day wears on and the amber fluid (beer) is flowing freely, negotiating the course in a straight line becomes more difficult and spectacular pile-ups are the order of the day.

The culmination of the event is at dusk when two fully rigged pirate ships (actually four wheel drive trucks under the superstructure) enter the riverbed and the pirate crews engage one another with flour bombs, water cannons, fire extinguishers and water pistols. Grappling irons and the odd ramming are not uncommon either!

The Land of the “Never Never”, the Northern Territory is any adventure you want, just waiting to happen. Feed a crocodile, ride a camel or a quad bike, soak up Aboriginal culture, bounce a four wheel drive up the escarpment , climb Ayers Rock, hike through a rainforest, walk in the tracks of long ago explorers or leave the only footprints on a deserted beach. You’ll never, never know, if you never, never go!

The NT Tourist Commission has an excellent website www.nttc.com.au

Brian Norris is a freelance writer and regular contributor to The Traveler. He is based in Australia.

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