The gaming tables at the Skycity Darwin Casino, Gilruth Avenue, Mindil Beach (tel. 08/8943 8888), are in play from 10am until 4am Sunday to Thursday, until 6am Friday and Saturday. Slot machines operate 24 hours. The dress code allows neat jeans, shorts, and sneakers, but men's shirts must have a collar.
A good spot to catch Darwin's Technicolor sunsets is the supercasual Darwin Sailing Club, Atkins Drive on Fannie Bay (tel. 08/8981 1700). Ask a staff member to sign you in. Dine on affordable meals outdoors while a family of goannas (monitor lizards) swirls around your feet looking for meaty scraps. The bar is open from 10am until midnight Sunday through Thursday, and until 2am Friday and Saturday.
The cafes and restaurants of Cullen Bay Marina are a good place to be day or night, but especially for Dry season sunsets.
If it's Thursday, you are mad to be anywhere except the Mindil Beach Sunset Market.
Movie Stars Under the Stars -- Lie back in a canvas deck chair under the stars at the Deckchair Cinema (tel. 08/8981 0700; www.deckchaircinema.com) to watch Aussie hits, foreign films, and cult classics. Located on the edge of Darwin Harbour (opposite Parliament House on the Esplanade), this Darwin institution is run by the Darwin Film Society. Take a picnic dinner and get there early to soak up the scene: the twinkling lights from boats anchored in the Arafura Sea and the fabulous sunsets. A kiosk sells wine, beer, soft drinks, and snacks. There are 250 deck chairs as well as about 100 straight-backed seats, and staffers can supply cushions and even insect repellent if you need it. Entry is by a walkway from the Esplanade, or by car off Kitchener Drive (there's a parking lot). The box office and kiosk open at 6:30pm and movies start at 7:30pm daily in the Dry (Apr-Nov), with double features on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are A$13 (US$12/£5.85) adults, A$6 (US$5.40/£2.70) children, and A$30 (US$27/£14) for families of four, or A$20 (US$18/£9) adults, A$9 (US$8.10/£4.05) children, and A$45 (US$41/£20) families for double features. (In the Wet, the movies screen indoors, so call for details of the current venue.)
