Australia – Darwin

After our flights to get to Cairns, our 2 1/2 hour flight to Darwin was a breeze! Darwin is the capital and largest city of the Northern Territories. The city has about half of the Northern Territory’s population with less than 150,000 people. It is the smallest, wettest and most northerly of the Australian capital cities. Because of its close proximity, it is a key link to Southeast Asia. It also has a half hour time difference instead of the usual hour difference when changing time zones.

Our hotel again is a Hilton, and I admit to being surprised at the caliber of the Hilton hotels in both Cairns and Darwin. I had selected Hiltons in both cities because of their locations and because the reviews were good, but I was still surprised at how nice they are and how charming and helpful the hotel personnel are.

For our first night in Darwin, I slowed down the pace with the only plan being going to dinner at Crustaceans at Stokes Hill Wharf via Uber (which worked well here). The restaurant is at the end of the pier and open air, and it was a warm but real windy night. Anything not anchored down did not stay on the table long!

We were rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

Following breakfast the next morning we were off to the Darwin Military Museum and the Defense of Darwin Experience, which was an amazing 20-minute film about the bombing of Darwin by the Japanese on February 19, 1942. It was an extraordinary film complete with sound effects and excellent visuals. I admit I had never contemplated Australia’s role in WWII (probably because our focus is on our own country’s role?), but as a part of the Allied Forces with such proximity to Japan, they were a logical target. It was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia with 188 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacking Darwin, ships in Darwin Harbor and the town’s two airfields in an attempt to prevent the Allies from using them as bases to oppose the invasion of Timor and Java. The Japanese inflicted heavy losses at little cost to themselves as Darwin was lightly defended.

Although military museums are not generally “my thing,” (and I did choose to go to this museum), the film about the bombing of Darwin was nothing short of profound.

For a totally different type of film experience, we attended the Deckchair Cinema in the evening. It is quite an interesting outside setup with “deck chairs” for seating and drinks and food available for purchase. We happened to catch the Darwin International Film Festival, and the movie showing was a documentary entitled “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” about the indoctrination of eastern Ukrainian school age children.

And, again we had a beautiful evening with an exquisite sunset.

Knowing so little about Darwin and the Northern Territory, a visit to the Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory seemed in order. There was a great array of exhibits starting with the exhibition of the 2025 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards winners. Then there was an exhibit entitled “Unruly Days – Territory Life 1911-1921” (life was rough!), there was an exhibit on invertebrates (spiders, bees, beetles, etc.), there was a maritime exhibit, and then the exhibit I wanted to see on Cyclone Tracy. Cyclone Tracy struck about 2:00 a.m. on Christmas Day 1974 and devastated 80% of the city. Beyond the pictures there was also a “sound booth,” which simulated the sound of the cyclone. The primary difference between a cyclone and hurricane is their geographical location, plus cyclones spin in a clockwise direction.

For our last evening in Darwin we had dinner at the Hanuman Restaurant, a very good Thai and Indian restaurant. The decor was very tasteful, rich and tropical. One thing we find different is that, at least thus far, payment for meals is made at the counter as you leave with no bill brought to the table. Tipping is not expected, and often there is no place for tips. But before dinner we stopped at Shenanigans, a rather wild bar. We are finding the Aussies to be very friendly and welcoming with the couple pictured with me below asking if we were local? I consider that to be a high compliment!