Top End Beginnings

It can take a while to really get under the skin of the tropical Northern Territory, but you can make a good start with a few carefully planned days spent within cooee of Darwin.

- Chrissie Goldrick

It’s not that Territorians don’t have to deal with the same issues that engender insecurity in us all: Darwin property prices are just as overinflated as in any other major city; secure employment is as tenuous; and the cost of living spirals along the same upward trajectory. Maybe the freewheeling, laid-back approach to life is just a front or stems from living way beyond the physical reach of the rest of the country in a dynamic, dramatic and occasionally dangerous climate. It’s hard to know. But the Territory and those who call it home are different alright.

THIS IS MY FIRST time in the Top End and what-ever preconceptions I had about Darwin dissipate with every kilometre as I’m whisked by taxi from the wonderfully central international airport to my waterfront hotel. We head along a six-lane highway flanked by utes and four-wheel-drives, passing blocks of industrial and retail sprawl with the occasional hint of a smart suburban estate in between. Gleaming multi-storey office buildings and apartment blocks reflect a cloudless blue sky and a blinding sun. I soon realise that my notion of Darwin is woefully outdated. This is a city that has risen from the ashes on numerous occasions and today reveals scant evidence of past incarnations.

The Darwin Waterfront Precinct betrays some familiarity in its distinctive bent arm of Stokes Hill Wharf elbowing into the Arafura Sea, recognisable from photos of the 1942 bombing of Darwin and Baz Luhrmann’s classic movie Australia. But between my hotel, the Adina, and the wharf is a sight I didn’t expect to see – kids swimming and messing about in the water.

Complete with wave pool and beach, it’s possible to swim, surf and sunbathe here, safe from any potential crocodile interference. Lining the water’s edge are bars and restaurants and smart new apartment blocks; absolute waterfront and no crocs! Who knew?