Where to stay and what to do in town

If you haven't already booked your transport, have a look at our getting here page for infoamation about how to get to our departure points.

People often ask us where they can stay and what they can do in our departure towns. Here are some good websites for info.

Darwin

Accommodation

Accommodation in Darwin is both fairly expensive and in high demand in the peak season. Some places book out months in advance. (The first weekend in August is the absolute worst.) If you are coming up, book your accommodation as soon as you can. The Tourism Top End website has the most comprehensive listing. To see a list of Darwin accommodation, click the link below. Before clicking "show all" or "show availability", you must

Click the type or types of accommodation which interest you.
Click "town" in the setting section.
If you don't do this you may get accommodation from many places outside Darwin.
Click "Darwin Region" in the location section

You will then see a list of places which are actually in Darwin.

Darwin Accommodation

Red Eye flights are often the cheapest way to get to Darwin. If you are going to arrive too late for our pre-trip meeting and want to maximise your sleep time, you might want to consider staying near the airport. The Darwin Airport Resort and the Darwin Airport Inn are both only about a 350 m walk from the airport terminal. The Darwin Gateway Airport Motel is about 1.5 km from the terminal and less expensive than the other two. All three are well out of town so you would probably be better off in the city if you'll be in Darwin for more than a single night.

Things to do

Many people know that the Tourism Top End website has good information about tours and accommodation. Not so many know that it has a lot more. Have a look at their page for locals. Click on their links to things like "Brain food for kids" or "Top Ten Kissing Spots" (I think we could add a few). Why should the locals have all the fun?

Darwin is flat. The dry season weather is near perfect. It has a great network of purpose build cycle paths which make it one of the best places in Australia for cyclists. I couldn't find a single listing for all the places which hire bicycles, but a Google search for "bicycle hire Darwin" will get you a good list.

Want more ideas? How about one or more of the following.

The Territory Wildlife Park lets you get up close and personal with our wildlife. I once had a spangled drongo land on my head as I walked through one of the aviaries. (Something similar happened to me out bush once. What is it about my head that attracts birds? Anyone else have a similar experience?)
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory is always worth a visit. If you want a better idea of what's there, click the link "Explore our Collection" on their left menu, then click one of the links on the new right menu.
World War II History. The Japanese bombed Darwin a total of 64 times during the war. Here are two websites which tell the tale.
- The official Australian government website.
- The Wikipedia article.
As for what you can actually do and see
- The East Point Military Museum has a number of interesting exhibits.
- The Tourism Top End attractions page lists a number of World War II sites as well as other attractions around town.

Kununurra

Accommodation

The Kununurra Visitor Centre accommodation page has the most comprehensive listing.
Be sure to click the link to page two near the top of the page if you want to see the full listing.

Things to do

The Kimberley Australia Travel Guide website is a great source of information.

Their Kununurra page has some good general information. Be sure to scroll down the page and visit some of the other Kununurra pages, especially
the Kununurra Attractions and Sights page.

The Kununurra Visitor Centre website has more information. Three particularly useful pages on that site are the

Things to see and do page which has a list of a number of things to do.
Attractions page which lists a variety of places to visit.
Maps page which has maps of the town and nearby areas.

The Department of Land Administration Kununurra map has even more detail than the one produced by the Visitor Centre.

Alice Springs

Accommodation

The Tourism Central Australia website has the most comprehensive listing we have found. Put your cursor on accommodation on the left menu, then slide across to Alice Springs and surrounds, then across to the type of accommodation you are looking for and click that.

The Alice Springs Accommodation Guide has a fairly comprehensive listing as well.

Things to do

The"Things to see" page on the Tourism Central Australia website has a good list of things to see. The many other pages on this site offer a wide variety of additional information.

Two attractions which we think deserve a special mention are the

The Olive Pink Botanic Garden is one of the least known attractions in Alice Springs. For someone with an interest in the flora of central Australia, it is one of the best. By doing some or all of the seven short, self-guided walks in the garden before a trip will enable you to better understand some of what you will see on your bushwalk.
The Alice Springs Desert Park displays the plants, animals and landscapes of Australia's deserts and their traditional use by Aboriginal people.

Tom Price

Accommodation

The Tom Price Visitor Centre accommodation page has a good listing of what's available there.

Things to do

There isn't a lot to do in Top Price. Two things which have been recommended to us are the mine site tour and the walk to the top of Mt Nameless. The walk leaves from near the caravan park, so it's a fair way if you are staying in town. See the Tom Price Visitor Centre website for more information.

Willis's Walkabouts Top-Level Menu

Where to stay and what to do in town

Darwin

Accommodation

Things to do

Kununurra

Accommodation

Things to do

Alice Springs

Accommodation

Things to do

Tom Price

Accommodation

Things to do