Darwin

Northern Territory is a region of Australia. It's big. In fact, it's huge. If you put France, Spain and Italy together you'll have an area approximately the size of the Northern Territory. Much of the area is 'outback' - the famous Australian area with very little development and very few people. The capital city of this territory is Darwin, a coastal city of just 100,000 people. It got its name from the British naturalist Charles Darwin, who introduced the theory of evolution.

The city has a very mixed population. There's a large Asian community as well as many settlers from Europe, not forgetting the indigenous Australians who have lived here for more than 40,000 years. A visit to the Mindil Beach Sunset markets will show you how well these nationalities live together. It's a fascinating mix of sights, sounds, colours and smells.

It's an important port which exports live cattle from the numerous Northern Territory farms and also minerals from the mines. There is also a large Australian Army base here so the port is used for military purposes too.

If you come here, as many tourists do, plan in advance depending on whether you like rain or not. There are two very distinct seasons - wet and dry. From May to September it hardly ever rains, but the temperatures are cooler as this is the winter in the southern hemisphere. Instead, from December to April you can expect tropical cyclones and monsoon rains. The temperature averages over 30° centigrade but you do need to bring an umbrella! Oh, and if you decide to take a swim in the beautiful Darwin sea in this period, keep an eye open for the Box jellyfish. It can kill you.

Darwin has a reputation as a city which likes beer. And it's true. To celebrate their love of the 'amber nectar' they have the annual Beer Can Regatta. Since 1974 Mindil Beach has hosted the event where contestants build boats made exclusively from empty beer cans and then sail them on the sea. It's a wonderfully enjoyable event with lots of other things to do too. There's live music, market stalls and a general party atmosphere. That may be because of all the beer!