Top End Local’s Tips

Did someone say 'winter'? Give the cold the flick this year and escape to the tropics... 🌴💦 Perfectly captured here by @renee_giesemann, the Upper Cascades in #LitchfieldNationalPark are the perfect spot to enjoy a dip in the shallow rock pools - aka your own natural spa! Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @renee_giesemann. #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #holidayherethisyear

Take a balmy evening stroll through the magical parklands at @Darwin.Waterfront 🌴✨ Here you'll enter a world of lush lawns, safe-swimming lagoons and waterside dining. The waterfront's cafes and restaurants offer plenty of opportunities to linger over a luxurious lunch, stop for a sundowner or sample some Asian cuisine. Choose from high-end Mediterranean and Mexican restaurants, to more casual cafes and bars – you’ll never be too far from an ice cream or barra burger! Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @darwin.waterfront and @savvy_social. #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #Darwin #holidayherethisyear

Can we teleport here, please? 🖐 The 7.5 kilometre return hike to #MotorCarFalls (via the Yurmikmik walks) might require a bit of effort, but we promise it's well worth it! This seasonal waterfall is one of #KakaduNationalPark's hidden gems. Take some time to cool off in the emerald plunge pool or relax in the shaded area surrounded by lush monsoon forest 💚 Photo: @spadeelliot #NTaustralia #SeeAustralia #SeeKakadu #DoKakadu #holidayherethisyear

#Mataranka’s crystal-clear thermal pool, surrounded by paperbark and palm forest, can be found in Elsey National Park, an hour south of @VisitKatherine 💙 The warm turquoise water, dappled by light filtered through overhanging pandanus, is said to be the ultimate remedy for aches and pains. Float your worries away and spend a few days in the @VisitKatherine region, where you'll also find the spectacular Nitmiluk National Park. Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @welcometothisplace_! #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #VisitKatherine #holidayherethisyear

Dreaming of balmy weather and somewhere to enjoy a dip? ☀ @tourismtopend has you covered 100 times over, with hot springs, waterfalls, rock pools and waterholes almost everywhere you turn. The drive from #Darwin to @visitkatherine is filled with swimming opportunities, including the turquoise waters of #KatherineHotSprings. Take the long way for maximum adventure, road tripping along the Nature's Way, which also includes Litchfield National Park and Kakadu National Park 👌 Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @adventureaus_! #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #VisitKatherine #holidayherethisyear

#BerrySprings is BACK for the dry season 🌴 Pack a picnic and head to this little slice of paradise, less than an hour from #Darwin 🚗 Swim from one pool to the next through a pretty pandanus-lined creek and take your goggles to spot the small fish that live in the clear pools.​ Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @storyofsolita! #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #holidayherethisyear

Home to some of the Territory's best swimming spots, #LitchfieldNationalPark is the ultimate nature playground 🌱@adventureaus_ described their recent visit to #FlorenceFalls as "hands down one of our trip highlights so far!" Follow the stairway leading down through tropical rainforest to a massive pool where you can swim under the breathtaking double waterfall 💧 Only 1.5 hours south of #Darwin, a drive through Litchfield is full of contrasts and some of the most enormous termite mounds in the Top End. Take advantage of the cabins, camping and caravan sites just a short drive from the national park and spend a couple of days exploring the surrounding area. Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, Morgan and Lani! #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #holidayherethisyear

Join the Yolngu clans of northeast #ArnhemLand for a 4-day celebration of art (miny'tji), dance (bunggul), ceremony and song (manikay) at @GarmaFestival from 29 July - 1 August. Like nothing you’ve ever experienced before, Garma is a place where the freshwater and saltwater meet, and an opportunity for cross-cultural exchange. Lit up under the stars, the stunning Gapan art gallery is a sight to behold, while the daily bunggul (ceremonial dancing) is not to be missed. The festival is held at Gulkula, a Gumatj ceremonial site about 40km from #Nhulunbuy on the Gove peninsula. Tickets are on sale now! Photos: Peter Eve (1&3) and Melanie Faith Dove (2) #NTaustralia #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #EastArnhemLand #GarmaFestival

Welcome to Umbrawarra Gorge Nature Park, a beautiful isolated gorge with steep red cliffs and meandering creek on Wagiman country 🧡 Visit in the early to mid dry season (May-August) when you can be sure the creek is flowing and you can swim in the rocky pools and enjoy the sandy beach 🏖 The park is located about 115 kilometres from #Katherine, with a small campground only a short distance from the gorge entrance. Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @linda.ventures. #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #holidayherethisyear

A trip to #KakaduNationalPark wouldn't be complete without a Yellow Water Cruise with @kakadutourism 💛 Are you visiting the Top End next week? @SeeKakadu is preparing to showcase its famed wild produce and bush foods at #TasteOfKakadu - a cultural food festival 65,000 years in the making! 🍽 As much a celebration of the heritage and culture of the local Bininj people, the festival will serve up a menu of ancient cuisine with modern twists. Over the 10 days, visitors can embark on guided foraging walks where super foods and delicacies such as Kakadu plums can be tasted. Experience region staples such as crocodile, barramundi and buffalo cooked in traditional style inground ovens. Visit the Taste of Kakadu website for the full list of activities. Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @beis_photography! #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #DoKakadu #SeeKakadu

When it comes to extraordinary sunsets, #Darwin definitely delivers, particularly in the dry season (May-September)! @nath_lew captured this winning shot at Nightcliff, a popular locals hangout spot with food vans, bike paths and green spaces. Enjoy the free evening show from a picnic rug with your favourite local takeaway 👌🌅 Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @nath_lew! #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #holidayherethisyear

A true blue outback stop 🤠 The @DalyWatersPub is a colourful pub, clad in corrugated iron, draped with bougainvillea and crammed with decades of memorabilia. Located nearly three hours south of #Katherine, just off the Stuart Highway, stop in at the pub for a local wild caught Territory barramundi or stay the night and enjoy the live entertainment over the dry season (May-September). Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @onaadventures_. #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #holidayherethisyear

The @mindilmarket is back in #Darwin 🎉 These iconic markets are held every Thursday and Sunday evening over the dry season...starting tonight! Come and soak up the atmosphere and flavours of @tourismtopend's biggest street market 🌴 Photos: @nearfarproductions (1) and @australias_outback (2) ​#NTaustralia #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd

​#KakaduNationalPark is famous for it's Aboriginal art sites, sweeping escarpments and dazzling views over Arnhem Land, and Ubirr offers all three! Make sure you take in the world renowned rock art along the 1 kilometre circuit walk, before wandering up to the lookout to watch the sun slip into slumber over the Nadab floodplains 🎴 Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @thejourneyuncovered! #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #SeeKakadu #DoKakadu #holidayherethisyear

Turquoise paradise awaits at #BitterSprings in Elsey National Park, just an hour south of @visitkatherine 💙 Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @outandaboutaustralia. #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #holidayherethisyear #visitkatherine

Find yourself in paradise – @eastarnhemland is beautiful and diverse with rugged colourful coastlines 🌈 When you connect with the region’s vast untouched wilderness and ancient Yolngu culture, you’ll uncover a part of @Australia you probably didn’t know existed. Cultural experiences, exotic island retreats, historic sites, chartered fishing trips and 4WD tracks, there’s something for everyone in this special part of @tourismtopend. Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @anyabananyaa! #seeaustralia #eastarnhemland #tourismtopend #holidayherethisyear

PSA: #KatherineHotSprings has reopened for the dry season... 🥳 Surrounded by pandanus trees, it’s a beautiful little oasis to refresh and relax, just minutes outside the @visitkatherine town centre. Where the outback meets the tropics, Katherine is located 3 hours south of Darwin, right on the doorstep of the magnificent Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park. Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @kyle_hunter! #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #VisitKatherine #holidayherethisyear

A land before time 🌿 This magnificent display of mist and colour might look like something straight out of Jurassic Park, but in fact, it's #JimJimFalls in #KakaduNationalPark. Fly over ancient escarpments and waterfalls inaccessible by car during the tropical summer with @KakaduAir, including Jim Jim and Twin Falls 🚁 Cheers for tagging #NTaustralia, @sharnaa_louise! #SeeAustralia #TourismTopEnd #SeeKakadu #DoKakadu