The Beauty of Being Alone

The Territory is full of places to be alone; places isolated by distance and landscape. They have been known to humans for generations, but they are not easily accessible. These places vary from desert mountain ranges to Top End waterfalls and swimming holes, and all lie beneath the uncaptured sky.

Swathes of the Territory are accessible to many only by four-wheel-drive. The tracks are rough, and often unsealed, but they reveal sights that are unique. In Kakadu National Park in the Top End, roads become flooded during the wet season when the sky cracks with lightning and the rain comes down in sheets. Many tours do not run during the Wet Season due to the logistical challenges of traveling in such conditions.

In the desert of the Red Centre, sunsets and the breaking of dawn come silently to the sky. Watching them emerge over the ochre earth casts new light on the landscape. The colours of the MacDonnell Ranges take your breath away. It is hard to imagine you are standing in the centre of Australia viewing something that most people will never see because they are trapped in cities. They are poorer for it.

Edith Falls in the Northern Territory, Australia

Some places in the Territory are a hotspot for tourists at certain times of the year. However, it is still possible to take a step back and look with awe at the formations before you. Edith Falls is a popular swimming spot that requires a day trip from Darwin. It offers cool water shimmering against the rocks. If you measure yourself against what you see, you come away with a sense of your own smallness against the backdrop of nature.

Even with tourists, there are not the unsettling crowds and constant rush of more urbanized locations in Australia. The numbers of people are thinner and include those looking for something a bit different, to expand their knowledge of Australia and the outback. In these locations, you may be alone; but you are never lonely. Their beauty touches you and you leave changed.