Northern Territory

For most Australians, the Northern Territory – abbreviated "the Territory" or "NT" – is the polar opposite of the country's comfortable suburban shore. To some extent, the term still conjures up images of a faraway frontier region. Even now, a little more than 1% of Australians live in a territory that covers one-fifth of the continent, which helps to explain why the Territory has never been granted full sovereignty.

Territorians prefer to exaggerate the extremes of temperature, distance, and isolation that shape their temperaments and underline their rugged, outlaw image as outsiders in a nation of "southerners." And underneath the aged clichés is a stunning, memorable tourist destination, delivering us raw landscapes, world-class national parks, and a seductively strong Aboriginal tradition.