Darwin

Up-n-atom!

I'm in need of some good advice from those in the know - as part of a RTW trip I'm gona b landing in Darwin sometime in January 2010 - first of all, am I mad going here at this time of year? This is the 'rainy and hot' season as far as I know, so will this mean that the possibility of going out and about, as well as a trip to places like Kakadu NP will be out of the question (I'm concerned that trips won't be happening as the dirt roads will be in a bad state).

Also, I really want to work my way down to Perth, stopping at a few places along the way (like Broome and the Ningaloo reef) - what would be the best way to do this? I've been reading up my trusty lonely planet, and I could take the bus (it seems kinda expensive) or perhaps fly some of the way (which I'm not opposed to) - but what is the possibility of getting a lift with other backpackers heading in the same direction, or something similiar? Are there message boards around the town or in the hostels for this type of thing? I've backpacked in Oz before, but only on the East Coast, so I'm looking for something a bit different this time.

Lao Lao

My advice would be to spend as little time as possible in Darwin. Seriously, it's a bit of a sh1t hole!

I arrived there in February and whilst it was still possible to do Kakadu and Litchfield NP's, some of the areas were no-go areas due to flooding.

You may also have problems going down the west coast at this time of the year by road. We had to fly due to the road being unpassable north of Broome.

Again, don't spend more than 1 week in Darwin with 3-4 days of that week doing the NPs

niborm

Hmmmm, I don't think January is really a good time to visit - although it may only rain an hour or two a day, it is ridiculously humid and a lot of roads unpassable.

If you can reconfigure your trip to arrive in Darwin at the end of April/start of May, you'd get so much more out of it, as you should be able to access the (amazing) NPs fully by then. You could then also do the Kimberley trek which would get you to Broome and from there I reckon it'd be easy enough to pick up a lift/car pool to Perth. There are message boards in the hostels.

Also, if you plan on visiting Ningaloo Reef, May would be perfect as there would be whale sharks arriving about that time of year.

Up-n-atom!

Yes, heard Darwin itself wasn't the nicest place in the world...would love to leave it all until a better time of year, but that's just the way the timeframe of the trip is falling - just another excuse to come back at a better time! Am half thinking of leaving Darwin out altogether, going to Perth instead and travelling up from there for a little while, and then spending any extra time in Tazmania maybe...will see how this factors out!