Northern Territory

There are two principal parts to the Territory – Alice Springs and Darwin and it would be hard to find two more diffent cities. Alice Springs in the dry centre of Australia is, with nearby (only 500 kms away) Ayers Rock, a major tourist destination and its many (for its size) cafes reflect that – outdoors, casual and low priced.

Tropical Darwin on the other hand (pop 86,500) - all lush greenery and ‘the wet’ in summer seems more part of Asia than Australia. In spite of Darwin’s small percentage of migrants born in non English speaking countries (7.4%) one is surrounded by Asian tastes and abundant tropical fruits in the markets which are such an important part of the Darwin experience. And, the climate enforces a dress code closer to Indonesia or Thailand than Australia’s more southerly cities.