The Top End: Six sensory experiences

DARWIN Taste and smell the markets

The Mindil Beach Sunset Market is Darwin's cultural melting pot. More than 200 specialty stalls offer an incredible array of art and crafts. Taste local delicacies such as barramundi, kangaroo & crocodile.

(Mindil Beach Sunset Market is open Thursday 4pm-9pm and Sunday 4pm-9pm - end of April October.)

Or indulge in local and exotic tropical flavours of the Parap Village Markets for tantalising tastes of multicultural dishes, fruit salads and smoothies and the smell of freshly roasted coffee.

(Parap Village Markets are open every Saturday from 8am-2pm.)

Hear about history at a museum

At East Point, the Defence of

Darwin Experience and Darwin Military Museum are great history experiences for the senses. Listen to first-hand accounts and gripping re-enactments of the bombing of Darwin in WWII through multimedia presentations.

The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory houses the Cyclone Tracy exhibit, where you can listen to the sounds and accounts of the cyclone that devastated the city in 1974 and the Darwin that was.

Feel the bite of a crocodile

Crocosaurus Cove has the world's largest display of Australian reptiles, including the iconic saltwater crocodile! Hear the sound of the jaws when a colossal saltwater crocodile dines on his lunch during the Big Croc Feed Show, hold a snake or lizard, and feel the pull of a feisty juvenile croc as you offer him lunch from the Fishing for Crocs platform.

ADELAIDE RIVER Learn from the locals

Embark on an ecological experience with Pudakul Aboriginal Cultural Tours. Listen and learn clap stick and didgeridoo playing, try throwing a spear, and feel the unique fibres used to create dilly bags and basket weaving. There is also time to listen to stories and lessons on bush tucker and bush medicine.

LITCHFIELD Touch a waterfall

Visit Litchfield National Park to touch and hear the cascading plunge pools of Florence Falls. Feel the cool water lap against your skin in the shallow pristine pools of Buley Rockhole and feel the surface of the giant century-old Termite Mounds.

KAKADU Listen to the birds

Cruise the Yellow Water Billabong and experience the sounds of Kakadu's most famous wetland. These wetlands are connected to Kakadu's most extensive river system and are home to around one-third of Australia's bird species.

Cocky Guides seasonally led tours in the Top End between April and August each year. To learn more or book in 2024, visit cockyguides.com.au