Cities tend to demonstrate their main characteristics and feel, after you have spent a bit of time in them. Sydney is busy and professional, Melbourne is all about food and music culture and Adelaide is about beauty in old style architecture. Darwin’s feel is one simple word- relaxed.

I was surprised to hear that Darwin actually has a smaller population than the place I grew up in, which I considered to be a small country town. On Friday night, we joined our host’s brother and his girlfriend for their regular Friday night drink. They explained that they would go down to this bar (The Deck Bar) and see who of their friends would show up, or who they would run into. This capital city is so close knit that it is expected that you will run into someone you know.

Delicious Cocktails

Perhaps what draws Darwinians together is a shared sense of hardship in the extreme weather conditions. The air during Darwin’s wet season feels like sticky treacle until it is cut through by the persistent force of rain. A LOT of rain. The explanation of the rain, again by our host’s brother, was that weather in Darwin goes through cycles of six months – the wet season, 28 to 32 degrees and rain, and the dry season, 26 to 30 degrees and dry. We were told that locals receive frequent phone calls from relatives concerned about the approaching cyclone or torrential rains while the reality can be blue skies.

Our stay still involved quite a bit of rain, which seemed to occur mostly on the weekend – when our hosts were actually free to show us around. Thus, a lot of time was spent indoors, rather than on the exciting outings we had planned. We experienced even more disappointment during the week as we learned most of Darwin’s great activities were closed for the wet season.

Nevertheless, we still found plenty to keep us busy during our week long stay in Darwin. The thing I loved about coming up at this time of year was that it was so full of life. We were able to experience the glories of getting close up and personal to creatures big and small. The first couple of days lead us to a jumping crocodile tour. This involved driving the hour long journey to Adelaide River. On the way we stopped off at Fogg Dam, one of several parks in the lower Adelaide River catchment, that provide havens for wildlife. Among the blooming water lilies, we saw fish happily swimming and Magpie Geese dipping their feet in the water. Wallabies were also spotted jumping through the plainlands. After a quick stop at an Adelaide River environment information centre, we headed on to join our cruise down the river.

Once on the water, it wasn’t long before we saw our first crocodile and, after a bit of coercing, were able to witness the brilliant power of these fantastic animals as they pushed themselves out of the water to get their meal. The four, five metre long crocs which we were able to witness performing this perfectly natural routine (along with a few others spotted in the water along the way), impressed us with their size, their strength and, surprisingly, their unwavering caution and patience. As well, Steven and I, and the rest of the passengers on this cruise, were lucky enough to witness the operators attracting Kite Birds to fly directly beside the boat, so we could see the birds feeding habits up close.

5 metre croc – Cassa Nova

Darwin also offers chances to get close to animals, right in the city. Aquascene allows you to feed hundreds of fish from Sting Rays to Mullet to Milk Fish while standing right beside, or even right in, the water. Crocosaurus Cove allows you to get right up close to crocodiles (even feed one if you pay a little extra!) along with fish in an impressive aquarium and reptiles in a large reptile display. We were also given the chance to hold a baby crocodile, Fluffy (quite appropriate for a dangerous predator, don’t ya think?), a snake, a blue tongue lizard and a dragon lizard.

Steve and I at Crocosaurus Cove

If you are not that into animals, Australia’s smallest capital city still has a lot to offer. I felt anywhere you ventured in Darwin, you were surrounded by the sea, a lake, or some form of water. This provided some spectacular sights over the water, especially at sunset. The second night in Darwin we were able to witness fantastic sights while enjoying a beer and a meal at the Ski Club at Fannie Bay. I felt the beauty in the contrast of the orange of the sky with the deep blue of the ocean summed up our experience in Darwin – relaxed beauty.

Sunset view while having a drink at the Ski Club

Ski Club after sunset

History is important to local Darwinians. The city has had to be rebuilt twice, first after bombing in World War II and secondly after the devastating effects of Cyclone Tracy (Xmas 1974). As a result, a special sort of hardened, but extremely helpful and friendly breed of people has developed here. People from across the world have come to Darwin, initially to visit, but have never left. This feeling and history is perfectly summed up in the collection at the Art Gallery and Museum of the Northern Territory. Right beside the Ski Club, it is a must on any visit to Darwin.

If you are looking for more spectacular views, you can head up to East Point and enjoy some fish and chips or over to Nightcliffe and take a walk out on the pier. If delicious food and unique trinkets take your fancy, you can’t go past Parap Markets. Feeling hot? (as you most definitely will be), you can head down to the Waterfront Precinct and enjoy a swim in the Lagoon (protected from the dangerous creatures that abound in the rest of Darwin’s water), and follow that with some food or a drink in one of the many bars and restaurants around. Darwin has so much to offer in its compacted little city, that I feel I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface. Our visit wasn’t even in the tourist season, but even as I’m writing this, I’m realising how much we did, and how much there was still left to do.

After returning the favour of cooking dinner for our hosts, as they had done for us on Saturday night, we packed up our bags on Tuesday and went to bed, dreading the 3am start the next morning to catch our flight to Cairns. Our excitement for the next leg of our journey was slightly dampened by our sadness at leaving this charismatic city that proves that good things really do come in small packages!