The tropical northern region of Australia’s Northern Territory, known as the Top End, includes the city of Darwin, the town of Katherine, Kakadu National Park and Arnhem Land. The Top End is one of the last great secrets of adventure travel, although word is spreading fast about the magnificent, unspoilt natural beauty found there.
Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, is serviced by international airlines and also by the newly completed Ghan railway which connects southern Australia to Darwin via Alice Springs in Central Australia. Darwin is closer to Asian cities such as Jakarta and Singapore than it is to southern Australian cities such as Melbourne and Sydney. Temperatures in Darwin and the Top End hover around a comfortable 30 degrees C (85 degrees F) all year round. Like most tropical areas, the Top End year is not defined by ‘summer’ and ‘winter’ weather events but by what Top-Enders call ‘the wet’ and ‘the dry’. These terms refer to the wet and dry seasons respectively, which should be taken into consideration when planning an itinerary for exploring the Top End as road conditions and access vary...