2 Best Sights in Darwin, The Outback

This research facility has an excellent air-conditioned crocodile museum and education center. There are more than 1,200 crocodiles here, from babies to giants up to 16 feet long. The saurian section of the zoo includes the croc-infested Bellairs Lagoon and pens for breeding and raising. The park also has enclosures with lions, tigers, American alligators, cassowaries, primates, turtles, an emu, and a dingo, among other animals, and holds one of the biggest snakes in Australia: a Burmese python weighing 308 pounds. Tours and feedings are at 10 am, noon, and 2 pm, while a croc boat cruise gets you a little closer to these magnificent creatures twice a day at 11 am and 1 pm.

Right in the heart of Darwin City, this is the place to go swimming with saltwater crocodiles and live to tell the tale. Feeding times for the big crocs (daily at 11:30 am, 2:30 pm, and 4:30 pm) and the Cage of Death, a not-for-the-faint-of-heart attraction where visitors are lowered into croc-infested pools in a clear perspex container (A$175), are not to be missed. Bring your swimsuit along and take a photo of you swimming alongside these impressive creatures (again, you're in a completely separate pool). Feedings and presentations happen at different times throughout the day in the four main sections—fish, big crocs, turtles, and nocturnal reptiles—during which you can take your turn feeding young crocs and holding a variety of reptiles.