🇦🇺 Travel Diary: Darwin, Australia ❄️

❗️Perfect escape from summer heat – flew to Australia for winter! ✨ Darwin is at the top of Australia. During the dry season, mornings and evenings are cool. ✨ Direct flight from Ireland took just over 5 hours. As a niche destination, flights are cheap – I paid only around $150 for a direct ticket! 🪐 Darwin is slow-paced, not touristy, but super relaxed. Litchfield National Park: Florence Falls, natural swimming pools, giant termite mounds, and bats as big as roosters hanging from trees! 🦇 Drove 100+ km from downtown – roads are great, everyone speeds (I hit 150 km/h and still got overtaken!). Natural pool under the waterfall: Change in wooden huts near the parking lot, then a 100m walk down. Saw youngsters cliff diving – thrilling but too scary for me! 💦 Mindil Beach: Gorgeous sunset! 🌅 Nearby night market (open Thu & Sun) has food, crafts, and crowds. Taxis queue up late. Darwin Military Museum: On the western tip, documents WWII bombing history. Also a small horse farm – horses trot over to greet visitors! 🐎 Coastal walk from museum to Mindil Beach (~7 km): Scenic with parks along the way. Bring water/snacks – few stores en route. ⚠️ Most Darwin beaches aren’t swimmable due to stingers (jellyfish)! 🚶♀️ Great for city walks: coastline, churches, street art, architecture, parks. 🌍 Some worry about Indigenous communities, but we felt safe and welcomed. 👎 Only downside: Food is mediocre. After 2 days, I cooked at my Airbnb! 🥘 #SummerTrip #Australia #Darwin #OffTheBeatenPath #TravelDiary #BudgetTravel