A dreadlocked man spins a blazing firestick inches from my face. To my left, a woman twists hypnotically in time to mysterious eastern drums. Up the path, a modern didgeridoo band provides the beat for a spot of public dancing. This is Mindil Beach, Darwin.
 Tourism NT | The
markets held here from sunset between May and October are among the most unique
in the world. There are arts and crafts inspired by myriad cultures, and food
from all around the world The reason? Darwin is possibly the most multicultural place in Australia. It's closer to Indonesia than it is to Sydney, so visitors get an idea what it's like to be on Asia's doorstep. It's a melting pot of a range of people and cultures - Indigenous, Islander, Chinese, Thai, Indonesian and European. There are few other places where diversity lives in such harmony. |
Any notion that you may have that Darwin is a sleepy little town goes out the window instantly when you land in the top end's capital. The whole place bristles with electricity. The cultures blend to create a living, breathing, constantly changing personality.
And nowhere is that personality more evident than Mindil Beach. The place changes all the time. From week to week, from season to season, it's different, so there's always something new to see, eat, do or buy.
Mindil Beach is a destination in itself, but it's not a tourist trap. It's where the locals go to have fun. Under a velvet sky of a million stars, they shop, eat, watch bands, cabaret performers, solo musicians, and dance artists.
It's a Darwin institution. Not just a place to bargain hunt but a place to socialise and ease into the city’s tropical, multicultural style. As the sun sets, thousands of customers browse through more than 200 stalls then choose a meal from stalls dishing out cuisines from over thirty different countries.
They tussle for space with teams of noisy blenders producing the most delicious tropical fruit concoctions this side of Goa. A group of ladies laugh and chat in Thai as they pound curry paste and grate paw paw but ask in an unmistakable Aussie twang if you’d like your laksa, "mild, hot or really hot?"
Ken's Crepes (made straight on the hot plate, just like in Paris) are a perennial favourite with queues of sweet-toothed fans, but those feeling adventurous can sample sticky rice cakes or taro custard in makeshift bamboo plates. In an oasis-like corner cordoned off with hanging towels and bits of batik, a Thai masseuse deftly pummels the back of a blissed-out customer who drifts off, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding hurly burly. |
|
The market is also famed for the range and quality of its art and craftwork. This is the place to buy bush art, clothing, sculpture, pottery, puppets and soaps or find a quirky memento of your visit; didgeridoos, indigenous art, croc and barramundi products. You can also book a tour, have your tarot cards read, learn how to crack a whip, listen to bush poetry or just kick back and be entertained by buskers, and performing artists and bands.
While the markets at Mindil Beach shut up shop from November to April, sleepy suburban shopping plazas across Parap, Nightcliff, Rapid Creek and Palmerston continue to burst to life every weekend, as stall holders move in to peddle their wares and share a smorgasbord of home cooking from all over the world, Darwin style.
Click here to see Mindil Beach Market slideshow
There are plenty of fun activities and tours on offer in the Top End. So, book your tour now
| Home | FAQs | Fact Sheet | Stalls | Awards | Conventions | Community | Forums | About us | Links | Contact us |