Two weeks ago, I had a quick (and beautifully warm and sunny) break in Darwin and the Tiwi Islands (north of Darwin).
I haven’t been to Darwin/ Larrakia for many years but I loved it as much as I had on my previous visits. It might sound a little odd, but I’m now taking the approach when I visit places of ‘I won’t be back, so see all the things and do all the things’ (hence going to the Tiwi Islands).
Darwin highlights:
We spent a morning at the Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. The absolute highlight was the 2026 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. We spent hours looking at the paintings, sculptures, ceramics and textiles. Truly outstanding.
Pics: top – Queen Quilt, made of pandanus, kurrajong bark and natural dyes by Dorothy Bunibuni
above – Kubumi by Anniebell Marrngamarrnga (pandanus and bush cane); section from Born into Blue by Darryl Dempster
below – section from Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) by Sabrina Nangala Robertson; Gay’wu (string bag) by Rena Ngalinggama Guyula, made from kurrajong bark
bottom – Taking Back Taken (dilly bags) by Jenna Mayilema Lee – this was my favourite piece and you can read about it here; Nganndu Ngurra (My Country) by Allery Sandy.
There were also some excellent permanent exhibitions, including an in-depth Cyclone Tracy display and a large maritime collection.
We spent a few hours wandering the Darwin Botanical Gardens, which has had a rough history because of being bombed during WW2 and then leveled during Cyclone Tracy (that’s a little rainbow bee-eater in the pics).
The Darwin Waterfront – an afternoon spent sitting in shade and dipping in the sea (safe in the knowledge that the crocs are kept out).
On the first night, we enjoyed a cocktail at the Hanky Panky Lounge (that’s a croissant cocktail – whey vodka, almond croissant champagne reduction, lemon) before a delicious and memorable dinner at Ella. Everything was great but the curried pumpkin, lamb ribs, and chicken curry were the standouts.
On the second night, we grazed on all sorts of things at the famous Mindil Beach Sunset Market (if you’re going, I highly recommend reserving a table, which means you can roam around and not lose your view of the beach). Of course, everyone is there for the sunset and when the sun disappears, the crowd breaks into applause (the pic at the very top of this post was taken after the sun set).
Tiwi Islands:
The Tiwi Islands are remote. We flew there on a very small plane (just four seats and old enough that it still had ash-trays in the arm rests!) and landed on a dirt runway. Flying over the estuaries was incredible.
From the plane, we boarded a boat to get to our accommodation. Stunning, right?!
Someone said to me that if they hadn’t known I’d taken the pic of a shark and a crocodile in one shot, they would have thought it was AI. Not AI, just peak Northern Territory! 😬
We saw heaps of crocs and sharks, so swimming was strictly in the pool only.
We spent some time fishing and going mud-crabbing (Mr Books, the fisherman, caught his first barra). I was thrilled by boating through the mangroves (I’ve always been fascinated by mangrove ecology).
The curry that the chef made that night using the crab was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten (but every night was a seafood feast).
I spent a lot of time beach-combing. I will never get tired of this…
But my favourite Tiwi activity was watching the sun set. The colours were so intense, it didn’t feel real (and one night, there was a pod of dolphins playing in the dying light – stunning).
And in the other direction, the moonrise…
Other bits:
In Darwin we stayed at the modest but excellent Nightcap at the Cavenagh hotel. It had the essentials for Darwin – a pool and a full-size fridge in every room 🙂 – plus a mid-century vibe.
On the Tiwi Islands we stayed at the Tiwi Island Retreat. The islands are remote and access is restricted to a very small number of visitors. I’m fully aware that my stay there was a privlidged thing to be able to do. Everything about our visit was outstanding – I loved being off-grid; that the amazing chef prepared whatever the guests had caught that day; and that the activities were low-key.
Farewell Northern Territory (and I do hope I visit again).
