Darwin Things to Do Tips by AlbuqRay Top 5 Page for this destination

Botanic Gardens - Tropical Savannah

The paths from the Rainforest Loop either go north to the Shade Garden and Tiwi Wet Forest, or to the west to the Tropical Savannah and back to the northwest entrance. I was running out of time, so I went to the Tropical Savannah. The Adansonia (baobab or boab) trees and the Moringa tree were really unique looking. I did not know about Moringa trees until writing this tip. They are an amazing food source and have medicinal properties too. From the signboard and knowing where I took the picture, I think the second picture here is of the Moringa drouhardii near the "Y" in the paths at the top of the signboard.

Botanic Gardens - Heritage Lawn

There seemed to be a mix of plants from several different habitats here. For example, in one place there were a hibiscus bush, palm tree, cycad, and adansonia (baobab) tree planted next to each other.

Northwest Entrance to Darwin Botanic Gardens

The northwest entrance to the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens is a secondary entrance on Gilruth Avenue. There is a nice path to the main part of the Gardens through the Woodland Habitat and across the bridge to the Heritage and Borassus Lawns. Just before the bridge you pass the first stop on the Aboriginal Plant Use Walk at a River Pandanus. It was my last day and I only had about an hour to visit the Gardens. I really only saw a small part of them. Generally my route passed through or by the Woodlands, Heritage Lawn, Borassus Lawn, Ramp to the Permaculture Terraces and Orientation Center, Orientation Center, Plant Display House, Rainforest Loop, Tropical Savannah, and back to the northwest entrance. Admission to the Botanic Gardens is free.

Botanic Gardens - Ramp to Orientation Center

This ramp and path run from the Borrasus Lawn up the hill past the Community Food Garden at the Permaculture Terraces. The path then meets the primary loop road for the Botanic Gardens, which passes the Orientation Center and Plant Display House. Unfortunately I arrived at the Orientation Center like two minutes before it was supposed to close (it is open Mon - Fri, 8 AM - 4 PM, and 8:30 AM - 4 PM on weekends and holidays); however, they had closed already and I was not able to get a map or brochure. I did not stop at the Plant Display House but it too may have been closed.

Botanic Gardens - Going Down Rainforest Loop

The path down from the Rainforest Loop upper pool winds down along the rocky streambed and would have views of the waterfall; however, at that time it had been dry and there was no water running over the pool's edge to make a waterfall. There was a Chime Tree (Albizia gauchapele) beside the trail going down Rainforest Loop. The signboard said that a Chime Tree is a giant tree from the equatorial regions of Mexico and South America (the one on the left in the picture with the kink in the trunk and no vine on it). It has a distinctive, flaky, brown bark. The seeds in its bean-like pods rattle with the slightest breeze, like a melodious chime.

Botanic Gardens - Going Up Rainforest Loop

Rainforest loop is one of the main things to do at the George Brown Botanic Gardens. The path is about a 0.5 km loop up to a pool with a small bridge across it and a waterfall over the edge of the pool. It had been dry so no water was running out of the pool to make a waterfall.

Botanic Gardens - Finding Your Way

Information and self-guided maps are available at the Orientation Center. Since it was closed, I had to rely on the signposts and signboards. The first picture is an example of the signboards. It says that the main features of the Botanic Gardens include the Rainforest Loop, Cycad Garden, Plant Display House, Wesleyan Church, Children's Playground, and the Tiwi Wet Forest.

Botanic Gardens - Borassus Lawn

Borassus (Palmyra Palm) is a genus of six species of fan palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and New Guinea. They are tall palms, capable of growing up to 30 meters high. The leaves are long, fan-shaped, 2 to 3 m in length. The flowers are small, in densely clustered spikes, followed by large, brown, roundish fruits. Another place that Asian Palmyra palms can be found is at Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Darwin Trailer Boat Club

The Darwin Trailer Boat Club is located on Fannie Bay off East Point Road about 400 meters north of the Capricornia Motel. The motel recommended the Blue Marlin Bistro there but I did not get a chance to try it, since it was my last day and I had my Kebab House leftovers. Their membership fee structure is complex; however, I was told that the bistro was open to anyone and that it had better food than the Darwin Ski Club.

Darwin - Discover Our City Kiosks

The Discover Our City kiosks are located in various places around Darwin. They welcome you to Darwin and help you discover the 8 precincts: City, Esplanade, Wharf, Gardens, Fannie Bay, East Point, Northern Suburbs and Outer Darwin. They include maps, history, and what is to be found in the precincts.

Directions: This kiosk was located near the northwest corner of the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens on the north end of Gilruth Avenue before it turns into East Point Road.