On the other hand, Darwin is a long way from anywhere in Australia - the bus journey from Cairns takes a gruelling day and a half, including changes, and coming direct from Sydney, Melbourne or Perth, you'd do much better to fly. Interstate buses arrive behind the Transit Centre, where you can make reservations for onward journeys. After years of political chitchat and endless red tape, work finally began in early 2000 on the Alice to Darwin rail link. The implications of this are not yet clear but it is hoped that the line will open up the centre and provide a viable alternative to road or air transport.

Five-minutes' walk up Mitchell Street, the Darwin Regional Tourism Association (daily 9am-5pm; tel 08/8981 4300, info@drta.com.au ) is the official tourist information outlet and has a Parks and Wildlife Commission (P&WC) desk with plenty of material on national parks throughout NT. It's also worth noting that local rental cars booked through the DRTA come with unlimited kilometres. All around town you'll find several other independent tourist information offices, all competing for their slice of the cake; shop around before you shell out a couple of hundred dollars on a tour. The free booklets This Week In Darwin and Darwin and the Top End Today , which can be picked up all around town, are mostly rose-tinted advertorials, but are handy for maps , including bus routes. A five-hundred-metre radius around Smith Street Mall encompasses Darwin's city centre, catering for most of your needs; there are few attractions in the sea of suburbs spreading towards the north and the east. Also worth checking out is the Northern Territory Holiday Centre website at www.ntholidays.com.au .