www.darwinholidayapartments.com.au |cityside317@darwinholidayapartments.com | +61 8 8985 6706 | +61 4 37243579
Proudly brought to you by Darwin Holiday Apartments, specialist providers of unique independent holiday accommodation in Darwin, Australia’s tropical north.
Darwin Holiday Apartments provide a range of self-catering holiday houses and holiday apartments in Darwin, Australia. To find out more about our short-stay and holiday rentals and accommodation, visit our website, www.darwinholidayapartments.com.au, or www.darwinholidayapartments.com.
Description
Located on the edge of Darwin’s CBD, this delightfully appointed 2 bedroom apartment is perfect for a holiday base or short-term executive stay.
The apartment is fully airconditioned and equipped with everything you’ll need to enjoy your stay in Darwin. It includes all bedding and linen, TV, DVDs, tennis raquets, picnic basket, and loads more. It also comes with full-sized fridge and large washing machine and dryer.
Cityside 317 is surrounded by palms, tropical flowers and fragrant shrubs, and features a large swimming pool and BBQ. There is a Garden Café that provides for indoors dining, or outdoors in a courtyard setting, and also a fully-licensed traditional Chinese restaurant on site.
So conveniently located!
Finniss317 in a quiet spot on the edge of the CBD, and just minutes walking distance to numerous nearby attractions. Across the road you’ll find a 24-hour mini-mart and service station, as well as a pub, bottleshop, garden bar, and other restaurants. A minute or two’s stroll away you’ll find a Golf Course, Tennis Courts, SkyCity Casino, the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets (a *must* on Thursday evenings), the Botanical Gardens and, if you’re into that kind of thing, one of Dawin’s oldest cemetries.
Other attractions close by include the gorgeous Esplanade looking out over Darwin Harbour towards Mandorah, Doctors Gully fish feeding and a several interesting heritage and World War II Sites.
From here you can take a day trip to the magnificent waterfalls, rock pools and rainforests of Litchfield National Park (1 hr by car); experience a spectacular jumping crocodile cruise (1 hr); or discover why Kakadu National Park has been declared a World Heritage Area (2 hrs).
Closer to home, you might take in a day’s fishing on Darwin harbour (bigger than Sydney harbour, and with more fish!); go for a sunset sail; or just relax with a book by the pool.
Facilities
During your time at Cityside 317 we’ll do everything we can to ensure your stay is everything you want it to be. As part of our service, these are the things you’ll find in the apartment for your use:
- All linen including bedding and towels, freshly laundered and prepared for use
- Basic bathroom supplies
- Fully equipped kitchen
- Stocked fridge including champagne & beer on arrival, and breakfast foods
- TV, DVD player, CD and radio in the room
- Shaded outdoor poolside area and barbeque
- Pool and pool toys
- A portacot and highchair is available on request (advance notice required)
- Undercover parking for two cars
- Telephone enabled for local telephone calls
- Dialup internet access laptop available at no cost
- All appliances including iron and ironing board, washing machine and dryer, hair dryer
- Selection of DVDs, books, and CDs
- Fishing gear and tennis racquets for your use
- Fully equipped picnic pack
- Local tourist information
If you have any specific requirements for your stay, just ask and if we can help, we will. The only thing you’ll need to bring is your clothes, and the desire to relax into the unique Darwin lifestyle.
Getting there
Cityside 317 is located on the third level of the Alatai Apartment complex, on the corner of McMinn and Finniss Streets, Darwin city. It’s about 10 minutes by car from the airport, and the Darwin Airport Shuttle bus will drop you directly at the door for around $11. Taxi fare is around $25. If coming by car, the easiest route by car is to leave the airport, turn left onto McMillan’s Road, left onto Bagot Road and follow it all the way to the city, then right at the McMinn Street lights, and right again into the Alatai complex.
Getting in
Advance notice of your arrival is preferred so we can meet you on site. **Please be aware that Cityside 317 is privately owned and managed – it is not managed by the Alatai Holiday Apartments reservations desk** If arriving in the middle of the night please call the day before and we will give you instructions to let yourself in.
Getting cool
The apartment is well shaded and equipped with split system airconditioning and overhead fans in every room. Please consider the environment and only use the airconditioning when necessary, and always turn it off before you go out: it only takes a few minutes to cool down. Please ensure all doors and windows are closed when you have the aircond on. You can also cool down by taking a dip in the lovely pool and making the most of the outdoor facilities.
Getting around
Cityside 317 is located close to all facilities, and there’s absolutely heaps to within walking distance.
The following information is from http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/darwin-city.html
Darwin city is not exactly the hard-bitten Outback frontier town that many new arrivals expect to find. Despite its small size it has all the amenities of much larger Australian cities:
International standard restaurants, trendy cafes, shopping malls, marinas, a beach-side casino… So if you belong to what a friend of mine calls “the chardonnay-sipping cafe latte crowd” you’ll be surprised at what there is on offer…
On the other hand Darwin isn’t really a city, even by Australian standards. Too laid back, too small, too friendly. Which is great because it makes it very easy to get around. Everything in Darwin is only 20 minutes away.
Darwin city is also great because, well, I usually can’t stand cities… If you are like me and prefer to have a simple beer in a simple pub, where you can easily strike up a down-to-earth conversation with down-to-earth people, even though you’ve never met them before, then you’ll like Darwin, too.
Darwin is a great holiday destination in its own right, not just a gateway to the Australian Outback.
It has an interesting history, which is visible everywhere. Its location on a peninsula, surrounded by ocean on three sides, makes for a great tropical lifestyle. And it has many other attractions that will keep you busy for a while. So lets have a look at what there is to see and do for those who have a few days to spend in Darwin city.
Attractions in Darwin City
More Attractions Near Darwin City
Darwin City Markets
Here are some things to do and discover in the inner city. You don’t even need transport to visit most of these places if you don’t mind walking a bit. The best place to start is Top End Tourism, the Northern Territory tourism information place at the corner of Knuckey and Mitchell Street. If you don’t already have one you can grab a free Darwin city map of them, and also information for a self guided tour.
Darwin’s City Mall is just around the corner from the tourism information.
If you follow it to the bottom and turn left you get to the Chinese Temple (Woods St). The building has quite a history. It was destroyed in the 1897 cyclone, again by the 1942 Japanese bombing raids and once more by cyclone Tracy in 1974. What was left has been incorporated in the new temple, a place where local Buddhists, Taoists and Confucians still worship.It also suffered a severe fire in late 2007 and has subsequently been repaired.
If you continue straight on from the mall you get to the Esplanade. On the way you find more of Darwin’s historical buildings like The Old Ruins of the Town Hall and Brown’s Mart. Both buildings were victims of cyclone Tracy. Brown’s Mart had already been severely damaged in the 1897 cyclone, but has been restored both times. It’s the oldest commercial building still standing and a very impressive and beautiful reminder of the Darwin of the 19th century. The Old Courthouse and Police Station is in the same area, so are the modern Parliament House and The Government House.
A popular historical attraction in that area is the World War II Oil Storage Tunnels below the Esplanade on Kitchener Drive (look for a path and stairs down). Those are huge tunnels that have been hand dug during WWII to serve as safe oil storage tanks. Today they are nearly something like a museum with over hundred black and white photos from the area adorning the walls. Before you actually enter the caves you will be told the whole story of how they have been built. Very, very impressive!
At Stokes Hill Wharf you find the Australian Pearling Exhibition, and also, housed in the same building, Indo Pacific Marine. The aquarium with exhibits of brilliant living coral formations is the most awarded attraction in the Northern Territory. (At least that’s what they claim).
The Wharf Precinct is basically a tourist development on Darwin Harbour. Great place for seafood, sunset drinks and al fresco dining. The location is awesome (but the buffet style restaurant is a bit busy and noisy…)
The walk from the bottom of Darwin city along the Esplanade through Bicentennial Park is a nice stroll past several lookouts with many memorial plaques and historical information boards.
At the other end you find Doctor’s Gully where a lovely boardwalk through one of the last remaining patches of rainforest in Darwin will take you to Aquascene, one of Darwin’s most popular attractions.
Every day at high tide hundreds to thousands of wild fish (mullet, milkfish, bream, barramundi, and many others) come here to be hand fed by enthusiastic kids, and adults pretending they’re only here for the kid’s sake… It’s good fun.
The tides change everyday so the opening times change, too!
(I’d say this is the maximum walking distance from the city, anything after here you better hire a bicycle or grab a bus. If you are not sure which is the nearest bus stop to where you want to go just ask the driver to tell you when to get off. That’s what I do.)
If you continue in the same direction you get to the Marina at Cullen Bay, the Skycity Darwin Casino, and then to Mindil Beach (see Darwin markets below) and Fanny Bay.
The Botanic Gardens just opposite Mindil Beach are currently being planted and expanded (I think). But they feature some beautiful tropical walks already. The gardens were started in the late 1870s by the German botanist Dr. Maurice Holtze and contain over 400 species of tropical plants through those older lovely shady parts.
Not much further along the bay is the Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, another one of my favourites and definitely in the must see category. Impressive displays of natural history, both ancient and contemporary Aboriginal art, a maritime museum and more. Particularly popular are the unsettling cyclone Tracy exhibition and of course “Sweetheart” the crocodile. The museum also has a good restaurant, the “Cornucopia”.
If you don’t need a restaurant but just want to relax from your museum visit with a cold beer, overlooking the water, try the nearby Ski Club.
Continuing in the same direction you get to Parap with its village shops and markets. The Fannie Bay Goal Museum is also located here.
East Point, the headland at the far end of Fannie Bay, is a nature reserve (see Darwin nature walks below). But it also a historical area where WWII remnants are still very visible: bunkers, command posts, ammunition facilities, gun emplacements, and not to forget the excellent East Point Military Museum.
A fair way out of Darwin city is the Crocodylus Park (McMillans Rd, Berrimah) which has not only crocodiles but also big cats, monkeys and more. I’ve never been there myself so I can’t say much about it.
About the same distance from the city is the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre (Stuart Hwy) which has a massive B-52 Bomber, the remains of a Zero that was shot down during the Japanese bombings of Darwin, and around that are more aircraft and displays, both civil and military, covering everything from the early pioneers through WWII into the jet age.
Mindil Beach Sunset Markets:
ask anybody about Darwin, and Mindil Beach is one of the first things they’ll tell you about. Some locals think the popular sunset markets have somewhat become a victim of their own popularity, and that they have become too crowded to be enjoyable, which is a shame. But you still can’t afford to miss them…
The markets used to be held every Thursday night during the dry season, but because of their increasing popularity (they attract between 10,000 and 15,000 people a week!) they are now on twice a week, Thursday (5pm – 10pm) and Sunday (4pm – 9pm). The Sunday market is about half the size of the Thursday market.
This market used to be a great home grown art and crafts market, but today many of the over 200 stalls just sell the usual tourist rip off stuff. But there are still some gems to discover amongst them. You can also get a massage or a tarot reading, have your palm read or just watch the performing artists and buskers. If you can see them amongst the masses of people…
And you can watch the sunset across the ocean, naturally. But if you want to sit down for that on the nice grassy area you better get there early.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that you get fantastic and very affordable food here, mostly Asian. There are nearly 60 food stalls from over 30 different countries! If I was living in Darwin I’d go down here and buy my dinner for the whole week and freeze it. It would be cheaper, better and more variety than my own cooking I’m afraid…
As I said, these markets are awfully crowded, mainly during the peak of the tourist season (mid June to mid August). It’s not too bad early or late in the season. And during the wet season, November to April, they don’t operate at all.
The Mindil Beach Markets aren’t the only markets in Darwin city. There are a few more and they all operate during the wet, they all have great fresh food and a good selection of mostly Asian cuisine:
Parap Markets: Saturday 7.30 am – 1.30pm
Nightcliff Markets: Sunday 8am – 2pm
Rapid Creek Markets: Sunday 7am – 1pm
One of the (many) things that I love about Darwin is that the city hasn’t totally displaced nature yet, and there are quite a few areas that are surprisingly wild and natural.
Some shorter walks for people who love walking through greenery have already been mentioned: Doctor’s Gully and the Botanic Gardens. Another nice walk leads along the water at Fannie Bay, from the casino and museum to the sailing and the boat trailer club at the other end.
But there are also some longer “real” nature walks:
East Point Reserve: the whole headland at the far end of Fannie Bay is a nature reserve, and an area where you can totally forget that you are near a city. The main path, which is also popular with bike riders, starts near the car park and the playground and picnic area on the beach there. Great place for a barbecue and very popular with local families.
The walk just follows the coast. It has some beautiful beach views that later on make room for cliffs and mangroves. If the tide is right you can walk on the rocks. Alternatively you can look for the not so busy path through the bush that branches of near PeeWee’s restaurant (which is a nice and very popular place overlooking the water).
Another little known walk starts near Lake Alexander and takes you out into the mangrove estuaries.Normally you will see many wallabies grazing and hanging around the grassy areas here.
Casuarina Coastal Reserve: Casuarina beach is more of a local spot rather than a tourist spot. Which makes it a good place 
. The reserve protects the area between the Rapid Creek and Buffalo Creek estuaries. There is a several kilometre walk here, starting from the car park at Dripstone Park. (And again this is a great place for a barbecue after…)
The walk takes you through a range of habitats including tropical rainforest, along the beach and the foreshore, all the way to Lee Point Reserve. You can also simply follow the beach if you don’t want to take the same track back. Similar to East Point reserve you find not only nature but also remnants of WWII fortifications along the way.
Holmes Jungle Nature Park is another one of the remnant monsoon forest areas near Darwin city. The walk is lovely, cool and shady, and most of it is suspended above the ground. There is lots of wildlife, the clear water of Palm Creek, it’s hard to believe you’re near a sprawling city… Holmes Jungle is not far from the Crocodylus Park, so you could do the two together.
Charles Darwin National Park is a small and fairly new park that has been established to protect parts of the Port Darwin wetland and is located on Frances Bay (Winnellie). The park has a network of cycle paths and walking tracks, and from the picnic area you have great views of the harbour and the wetlands, and of the Darwin city panorama.
www.enjoy-darwin.com – detailed info you might not find on the regular tourism sites, has a useful search functionwww.about-darwin.com – as abovewww.tourismtopend.com.au – good for finding out about and booking tours and activities, the “official” tourism websitewww.topendarts.com.au – a current ‘what’s on around Darwin’ with a calendar of events
Checkout these sites for things to do a little further afield:
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darwinholidayapartments said
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