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The scenic modern
town of Darwin and its huge harbor take visitors by surprise. The
unexpected lushness of the tropical city surrounded by blue water
and sandy beaches make it an ideal place to stay whilst visiting
the many beautiful natural attractions of the Top End.
Darwin offers
all the sophistication of an international city with restaurants,
hotels, museums, art galleries, as well as nightlife. Yet Darwin's
tropical boundaries are the glittering allure of the Timor Sea and
the luxuriant greens of the tropical wetlands.
The history
of Darwin and the Top End is also on display with many historical
reserves, museums and attractions charting the progress of the region.
From the pioneering days of early settlement, the mining boom times,
the war years of WWII, and the impact of cyclones and the natural
environment. The endeavors of the spirited pioneers that made Darwin
what it is today.
Local attractions
include the Mindil Beach, crocodile farms, George Brown Darwin Botanic
Gardens, the Aviation Heritage Centre, Casuarina Coastal Reserve,
NT Art Gallery, and the East Point Military Museum.
Australia's
only tropical capital city boasts a population of 77,000 with about
20,000 more in the combined satellite city of Palmerston and the
surrounding rural area. Approximately half the Northern Territory
population lives within a 40km radius of Darwin and like the city
itself, on average they are younger than the rest of Australia.
It may be the
city's relaxed lifestyle, the magnet of its attractions, the haunting
majesty of the monsoonal storms, or the smell of the tropics, but
people who experience Darwin never forget it.
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