The stretch of northern Australia known colloquially as the Top End covers more than a half-million square miles within the neighboring states of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, between the pearl-farming town of Broome on the Indian Ocean and the subtropical Cape York Peninsula. It encompasses some of the world’s least populated but most climatically diverse regions—saltwater estuaries, arid savanna, hidden thermal springs, and impassable peaks. Film director Baz Luhrmann, who was raised in rural New South Wales, recently spent more than a month in the Top End (as well as time in Sydney) shooting Australia, a pre–World War II epic set on the cattle ranches of the outback, starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman.
Read the articleDestinations: Australia · Western Australia
Themes: Adventure · Arts + Culture
Inspired by: Investigating Australia’s Top End Outback — by Shane Mitchell, Published Sep. 2008
