Keeping Cool in Darwin

There’s a special name for the periods between seasons in the Northern Territory. The build-up, and corresponding build-down, are the icky, sweaty, humid months signifying the shift between wet and dry seasons.

This time of year is the hardest time to escape the heat. So, we’ve got a few tips and tricks to help you survive the build-down this year.

• Take it easy

  It sounds pretty simple right, just take it easy, enjoy your holiday, don’t rush but so often we find holidays aren’t like that at all.

  When you’re only in a place for a small amount of time it is easy to fall into the trap of wanting to do absolutely everything. You’ve saved up for the trip, taken the time off work to get here, so now you don’t want to waste a minute. Well, there is one thing we can guarantee for you, if you try to do too much you will not enjoy yourself.

  Instead, you’ll end up hot, sweaty, and super cranky. So, take it easy, plan your days without too many activities, and be flexible to rearrange activities if need be.

• Eat the right foods

  Have you ever wondered why many cultures in tropical climates around the world eat a lot of spicy food? After all, why would you want to eat something hot when you’re already sweating?

  Spicy foods help you cool down even better than ice-creams or cold drinks. Spicy foods raise your internal body temperature which does two very useful things when in the tropics. Firstly, they help to reduce the difference in temperature between you and the hot air surrounding you. This reduces just how hot the air around you feels, making you overall more comfortable.

  Secondly, it makes you sweat more! And this is a good thing! Sweat is important in cooling you down. Sweat sits on the skin and evaporates in the warm air around you, which in turn cools you down. So, next time you’re tossing up between a burger or a laksa, maybe choose the laksa.

• Choose your clothes wisely

  One way to help reduce your overall discomfort is to wear appropriate clothes. Many synthetic materials hold in heat and do not allow your skin to breathe. Additionally, dark colours are likely to absorb heat, transmitting it to your skin.

  Meanwhile, cotton and linen are great clothing choices. They are lightweight and easily available, additionally, they allow your skin to breathe. Cottons are not super quick drying however and may leave moisture marks in the armpits and collar, while linen will dry quicker with less marking.

  Light colours are also important as they will reflect more heat than they absorb. The less heat you have directly sitting on your skin the cooler you will be overall.

• Hydrate

  And as always, we must remind you to HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE. If you’ve learnt anything from this article it’s that sweating will help you cool down, but it also removes moisture from your body, so you need to be sure to drink water constantly when in the tropics.

Hopefully, this has put some new ideas into your head for keeping cool! Combine them with your usually cooling methods to ensure you’re as comfortable as possible when travelling tropical climates.

Related article: What is Darwin Australia known for?

Cameron Ward

Managing Director at Sightseeing Tours Australia

Cameron Ward turned his travel passion into a thriving Australian tourism business. Before he co-founded his own business, Sightseeing Tours Australia, he was enjoying being a Melbourne tour guide. Even now, Cameron delights in helping visitors from all around the world get the most out of their incredible Australian trip. You’ll see Cameron leading tours or writing about his favourite Australian places where he shares his local insights.