Hottest 7s in the World, Darwin, Northern Territory Australia.

Darwin is a thriving modern Australian city of around 100,000 people on the doorstep of Asia, blessed with a tropical climate and relaxed lifestyle.

For a small city, Darwin has a wide range of excellent pubs, clubs, cafes, restaurants, cinemas, sporting and cultural facilities.

Tourism is very important for Darwin as it is an ideal base for exploring Kakadu, Litchfield and Nitmiluk National Parks. The Northern Territory receives around 1.5 million overseas and interstate visitors a year.

Darwin is a favourite stopover for international backpackers, cruise ships and US and other foreign naval R&R visits.

Darwin is a military town, which has provided a huge boost to the local economy and the ongoing commitment to East Timor reinforces this. Around ten percent of Darwin’s population consists of defence force personnel or their dependents. Darwin is also poised to boom as a major oil and gas centre which will be complimented by the recently completed Adelaide to Darwin railway.

Life Style

The Top End's tropical weather lends itself to a great outdoor lifestyle. For the fisherman there is some of the best fishing in Australia (some say the world). The parks and beaches around Darwin are excellent and the numerous national parks and reserves nearby such as Kakadu, Litchfield, Nitmiluk etc are world class.

Darwin is both a State (Territory) Capital and a major tourist centre, so facilities are generally far superior to that of similar sized cities in the rest of the country. Shopping, nightlife, education and health services are comparable to the other capital cities.  The cost of living is slightly higher than the main centres, but this is offset to an extent by lower unemployment and certain allowances. Whilst Darwin is fairly isolated from other Australian centres, places like Bali, Singapore and Malaysia are quite close and cheap to get to. Darwin is a young population with the average age being 29 yrs old. People here are generally a lot more relaxed than their Southern counterparts which makes social scene more enjoyable.

Getting There

By Road Darwin is served by the Stuart Highway linking Adelaide via Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Katherine. To the West is the Victoria Highway through the Kimberleys and onto Perth and the Barkly Highway which heads east to Queensland. During the wet season the East and West highways are sometimes cut off, but the Stuart Highway is seldom affected by flooding.

By air
Darwin is served by QANTAS and Virginblue offering direct flights between most other Australian capitals. There are also several International carriers that fly to Darwin, mainly from Asian destinations (Qantas, Australian, Garuda Indonesia, Royal Brunei)

By Rail
The Adelaide to Darwin Railway first Ghan passenger service arrives in Darwin on 3rd February 2004.

Climate

Darwin has two distinct seasons. The Wet and the Dry. Click here for more in depth weather info on Darwin.

The wet (from December to April) is characterised by higher temperatures, high humidity and monsoonal rain. It is also the cyclone season. On the plus side it is also the growing season so everything is lush and green. The lightening storms that the Top End is reknown for can also be spectacular. Temperatures; average high 33C (92F), average low 20C (68F)

The Dry (from April to October) is like the perfect summer in a temperate climate except it is our winter. The temperatures are still hot during the day, but cool considerably at night. Humidity drops and there is a constant light sea breeze. During the Dry season it almost never rains. This time of the year is most popular for tourists because of the cooler temperatures and easier access to a lot of the attractions. Temperatures; average high 30C (88F), average low 15C (58F).