Northern Territory - Outback Australia

The Northern Territory can usually be found on the itinerary of most international visitors, especially those staying longer than a week or so. As a tourist there are lots of things to keep you busy, but as a student is it the kind of place you want to live and study?

‘Territorians’, as the locals are known, live primarily in Darwin and a string of cities and towns that line the highway leading from the southern states to Darwin. Apart from the cities there are lots of really small towns and communities and a whole lot of nothing, except for the Outback. And there is lots of that!

Weather
If you love the heat and humidity of the tropics, then the Northern Territory, along with Far North Queensland, are going to be at the top of the list for places for you to visit. Darwin receives the maximum number of lightning strikes in the world !

With maximum daytime temperatures of over 30 and the minimums still being in the low 20’s, it’s hot and muggy and great if you love to sweat.

Rain is also a big factor in what you can do when and where you can go at certain times of the year. With over 400mm difference between the wet and dry seasons (basically in the dry season it doesn’t rain at all and in the wet season – or monsoon season – it just rains all the time.

Facts about Northern Territory
Fewer than 200,000 people call the territory home, and with such a big area of land for them to live in the density is down around 0.15 persons per square kilometre.

Darwin is actually closer to Jakarta than it is Sydney, and is also closer to Singapore than Melbourne – there are a wide variety of nationalities represented as a part of this smaller community.

The alcohol consumption in NT is one of the highest in the world. The average level of consumption is 1,120 standard drinks per person per year. That’s a lot of cans of beer. You will, however, meet the odd non-drinker. Sometimes. Maybe.

Major cities in Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city and just as elsewhere in Australia is the largest metropolitan centre. Other key towns include Alice Springs and Katherine.

Top 5 attractions in Darwin
With most of the things you need to see and do in Darwin being just a few blocks from each other, the usual attractions are on the list and there are lots of special attractions for the visitor.

Some of the more popular hangouts in Darwin are the beach (but don’t go in for a swim during the wet season due to the deadly box jellyfish). The Indo-Pacific Marine & Australian Pearling Exhibition is a good educational type attraction and Mindil Beach Market is also a cool place to just hang out and get something to eat.

Of course everyone has got to go and see the crocodiles while they are in Darwin and the best place to do that (other than out in the wild) is Darwin Crocodile Farm.

Most popular beer
Any beer is a popular beer in NT.

Major University
Charles Darwin University