The Northern Territory is a vast region in Outback Australia full of culture and history.
We travelled from the Savannah Way in Outback Queensland across into the Northern Territory and up to Darwin.
Read on to find out more...
Our favourite camps:
Tumbling Waters Holiday Park – We loved it here! It was an unpawgettable tropical getaway set amongst lush tropical gardens. There was a supaw cool cocktail bar + restaurant on site “Eat Troppo” that had an amazing chef and also welcomed doggos throughout the whole restaurant. We went there for breakfast and dinner quite a few times. I also watched a movie under the stars at the outdoor cinema, and explored lots of the little walking tracks where we found a nice swimming hole. But my favourite thing to do was visit the pet crocodiles at the caravan park each day – I think they had 7 crocodiles in total! This camp was also a short distance to Berry Springs and Litchfield National Park (although they are not dog friendly, my pawrents had a great time exploring).
Image: Watching a movie in the outdoor cinema
Daly Waters Pub – this iconic outback pub is a must see! The pawrents loved checking out all the treasures inside (including lots of interesting souvenirs from past visitors) while I enjoyed hanging out with the local farm animals roaming around including goats, donkeys, moo cows and they even had an enclosure with a pet saltwater crocodile named Kevin. Dogs are welcome in the camping area and out on the front dining tables but unfortunately not in the beer garden.
Katherine Farmstay – a super relaxed farm camp. Again, the farm animals are a hit here and there is a beautiful walk down to the river where you can do some zoomies on the bank and fish for barramundi. (It is close to Edith Falls and Katherine Gorge too for the pawrents to explore)
Bamboo Retreat- only 30 mins from the Darwin CBD this gorgeous little bush camp is set on a 24 acre private property. When we stayed here we had the entire camp to ourselves along with a few of our human friends, so I was welcome to be off lead the whole time (I was on my very best behaviour). Mummy also enjoyed the flotation spa here and daddy loved his thai massage. The owners were soo kind and lovely to me and my pawrents, we all had a great time.
Stingray Head (now closed)- This was our #1 camp in the NT but unfortunately it has now closed for camping ☹ however you can still enjoy this beautiful area as a day visit. Stunning red sandstone cliffs overlooking the ocean, palm trees, white sandy beaches and the best sunsets. Dundee beach is just around the corner too which is also stunning.
Bitter Springs Cabins & Camping - Only a short walk to the famous Bitter Springs swimming hole (unfortunately not dog friendly) but you are welcome to walk your fur baby on the many tracks along the river and check out the huge trees and termite mounds around the park.
My favourite dog friendly activities:
Picnic at the Katherine River- our local friends took us to a beautiful sandy beach area on the river known as “low level crossing” that was very shallow and safe for splashing around in. We were assured there are no crocodiles in this area and there was no signage to suggest otherwise but I would still exercise caution regardess and not wander too far up or down the river.
Fish Feeding at the Cullen Bay Marina – if you walk along the marina the fish follow you along the boardwalk right in front of the restaurants. You can bring your own bread or the Boatshed Coffee House often leaves a few buckets with bread near the stairs on the decking for visitors. We saw huge fish, little fish and all different kinds of fish come up to eat our bread. It was supaw fun and a huge hit for me as I LOVE fishies!
George Brown Botanic Gardens, Darwin – you can actually walk your dog off lead in the Botanical Gardens here, but they must be well behaved, under control and pawrents need to clean up after them at all times. The gardens are huge and very beautiful and include stunning rainforest walks, dinosaurs, a café and lots of beautiful flowers.
**All of the above activities are free too!
Best places to Eat:
Pop Rocket Café Katherine – they do amazing food (including mum’s fav bao buns), are dog friendly and are located right out the front of the Katherine Hot Springs so the pawrents could take it in turn to have a dip while I enjoyed my morning puppachino.
Lola’s Pergola Darwin – located in the Cullen Bay Marina. I have never felt soo welcome and was greeted by the biggest cuddle, walked personally to the best seat in the venue and promptly given some fresh water and extra kisses by the staff. The décor is a carnival theme too which is really fun and they have a few rides you can sit on.
Eat Troppo – situated in the Tumbling Waters holiday park this is a tropical dining experience with amazing food made from fresh local produce and mummy said they make great cocktails.
Best time to visit:
The most comfortable time to visit the NT is in the dry season between May – October. We visited in July and the weather was picture pawfect every single day and all seasonal attractions were open.
Some extra precautions:
There are a few dangers to be aware of when travelling to the NT with your dog including;
Cane toads. These are poisonous to dogs. Although we didn’t see any during our stay it’s best to keep your dog on a lead if you do and indoors at night when they are more active.
Saltwater crocodiles. Any body of water in the Top End may contain dangerous crocodiles so it is always important to be croc wise, obey warning signs and if unsure stay out of the water and away from the waters edge.
Ticks & Ehrlichiosis infection. This is a tick-borne disease that dogs can become infected with after being bitten by an infected tick, and it can be fatal. When travelling to high risk areas such as the NT in addition to my normal oral bravecto flea & tick treatment I also wear a Soresto tick repellant collar (it's the ugly grey one in all my pictures) and mummy carefully checks me all over twice a day to ensure I don't have any ticks on me - as recommended by my vet.
**You don't need to be afraid, but you do need to be aware of the above risks and keep your fur baby protected and safe at all times.
Final thoughts:
Although The Top End is full of amazing National Parks that your doggo can’t visit, we still found some great things to see and do during our stay, and some unexpected dog friendly ones! We were lucky enough to stay with family in Katherine so I had my very own backyard to run around in, a safe place to stay when the pawrents explored places I couldn’t go to and info on all the local hidden gems. I’m sure we will be back visiting the NT again soon, I plan on heading down towards Uluru and the Flinders Ranges also next visit.
C U in the NT 😉
xx Brittney
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