The ACE-FX Australia Travel Guide P.1: The North
With this 5 part travel series, ACE-FX will be taking you on a spectacular tour of that land down under: Australia!
A wild and wonderful place, Australia is iconic for its dusky red colour palette, splattered with the technicolour bursts of the tropical reef world, and the twinkling lights of its big cities.
If you are planning on travelling Australia, the best way to see the country is to hit the road. Car hire is relatively affordable and provides the opportunity to explore the farthest and obscurest reaches of the land. Adventure at its finest.
First stop: The North.
The Wild and Wonderful North
Australia’s Northern Territory equates to about half of the total area of Australia, but only houses about ¼ of the population. This is mainly due to its arid, unforgiving landscapes and the great stretches of dusty, scorching desert.
Nonetheless, the Northern Territory is an area of outstanding natural beauty and home to an extensive variety of natural wonders: thundering waterfalls, pristine beaches, rare wildlife and expansive, rugged ranges.
Australian Culture
It’s not just remote beauty and adventure tourism though. Northern Australia provides a heady mix of ancient spiritual culture, paired with a Western way of life.
There are countless cultural highlights to this part of Australia, including a myriad of local festivals, art galleries, museums, heritage trails and insights into indigenous culture.
The ACE-FX North Australia highlights
The Simpson Desert
The Simpson Desert is the arid, mostly uninhabited red plain in the southeastern part of the Northern Territory, that seems to stretch on and on for miles (and pretty much does). Hidden in its depths are ephemeral lakes, sand dunes 100 miles-wide and seasonal rivers like Todd and Hale.
Kakadu National Park
The renowned Kakadu National Park is an enormous, biodiverse nature reserve. Encompassing wetlands, sandstone formations and winding rivers, it is home to over 2,000 different types of plant and animal species; from saltwater crocodiles to flatback turtles. Discover the prehistoric Aboriginal rock paintings at Nourlangie and Ubirr and the mesmerising infinity falls at Gunlom.
Darwin’s Mindil Beach Sunset Market
At sunset, half of the entire population of Darwin come together at Mindil Market, to chat, feast and watch the sun make its glorious descent across the sky. As well as countless delicious food stalls - from sweet crepes to braised beef - there are arts and crafts stalls, Indigenous artefacts, trinkets from Asia, boho clothes, massages and live music.
Uluru
One of the most iconic Australian landmarks, Uluru (Ayers Rock) is simultaneously imposing and impressive. A gigantic sandstone formation that abruptly juts out from the scalding earth, Uluru is 3.6km long and rises a towering 348m tall. Activities here include world-class bird watching, intense bush walks and extended explorations of Uluru cultural park - learning about the Anangu people and their sacred sites across Uluru.
