"The Northern Territory" Northern Territory by bsfreeloader

The Northern Territory is place of wide-open spaces, covering nearly twenty percent of the Australian continent yet having a little more than one percent (200,000 or so people) of its population. Most of the population is centered in and around three cities – Darwin, Katherine, and Alice Springs – making the remainder of the Territory seem even more desolate and isolated. Highlights of travel here are the Top End’s three popular national parks (Kakadu, Litchfield, and Nitmiluk) and the Outback’s natural wonders (best seen at Uluru, Kata Tjuta, King’s Canyon, and the Devil’s Marbles). The Territory is a tough place. The Top End (as the tropical part of the Territory is called) has two distinct seasons, the Wet and the Dry. During the Wet, thunderstorms and occasional cyclones pound the area with torrential rains, causing mass flooding but turning the area into a natural wonderland of lush green bush, magical waterfalls, and plentiful wildlife. During the Dry, rain is virtually non-existent, and the bush is systematically burned off, the rivers and waterfalls run dry, and the wildlife retreats. But the harshness of the Dry is only a poor mimic of the harshness associated year round with the Outback, which covers much of the Territory. In the Outback rain is infrequent, daytime temperatures often soar into the danger zone, and nighttime temperatures can similarly drop dangerously low. Territorians seem to take on the personality of their surroundings and are generally tough, maverick types who relish the harsh environment as much as they do their isolation from Australian “society.” The Territory also is one of the few places where you are likely to encounter Aborigines, although unfortunately most of the ones you will meet are beggars with substance abuse or alcohol problems. Sadly, intimate and meaningful interaction with Aborigines living traditional lifestyles is almost impossible.