The Ghan TrainDarwin is served by one of the most unique railways in the world - the Adelaide-Darwin Transcontinental Line called The Ghan Train. It’s an experience to travel on the Ghan, a train with the look of the Oriental Express, a historic line by Great Southern Railway, with trains running twice a week from Adelaide in South Australia, stopping midway in Alice Springs, which is 1,500 km from Darwin, and then onto the northernmost regions and terminating in the city of Darwin. The entire trip on the Ghan, from Adelaide to Darwin, traverses about 3,000 km, and takes 54 hours. Darwin AirportIt’s a fun adventure to take the Ghan train across Australia if you have the time, but if not, Darwin Airport is an international gateway with flights from Australian major cities and direct connections with Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Manila and Kuala Lumpur. Other Airports
Darwin Shuttle BusesThere are Darwin Shuttle Buses that service the Darwin airport and have pick-up and drop-off points at the Ghan Train Station, Darwin Transit Bus Centre (which is also the Greyhound Bus Depot) and the Darwin Central Business District (CBD). Australian Greyhound BusesThere are Australian Greyhound Buses from Adelaide in South Australia to the midway point, Alice Springs, and to Darwin. It’s a very long trip – about two days if everything goes smoothly!
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Prices in the table are quoted in AUD
Mindil Beach Beer Can Regatta Spectators
Participation - Beer Can Boat Race Darwin Registration
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Beer Can Regatta
Darwin, AustraliaMindil Beach
-12.444369,130.831294
type of festival
sports
boating & sailing, silly fun, competitions
other events
music: world, acoustic & instrumental; culture: beach party, boat party; food: beer
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ADVERTISING
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Beer Can Regatta: Boats Might FloatLions Club Beer Can Regatta is a day of hilarious beach fun and wacky boat races where strict rules apply: all craft must be made of beer or soda cans and remain afloat solely by can power. Boats may include weapons, like water sprayers & flour bombs, but to win the Battle of Mindil, vessels must be seaworthy and crews must find a submerged object along the pre-set course. Non-floating crafts may be carried in the Henley on Mindil beach race, students can join the Junior Soft Drink Can Boat Race, guys & gals may vie to be the “Iron Person”, kids compete in sand castle contests, and anyone can join a tug-of-war, enter the Novelty Hat competition or participate in a Thong Throwing match at Mindil Beach in Darwin, Northern Territory Australia. |
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Darwin Beer Can Regatta is madcap fun with empty beer cans, not the pleasure of emptying them, but the excitement of building and racing beer can boats, which may (or may not) float. It’s a wacky water sport event, held since 1974, featuring elaborately engineered sailboats with over 1,500 beer cans (up to 12m long) as well as funky rafts built from soda cans. In the early years, when cans were stronger, boats could have outboard motors, but with lightweight aluminium cans, only manual power is allowed. There are other serious rules like, “thou shalt enter the event in the right spirit”, which goes with “thou shalt not protest too much”, and watercraft building instructions such as, “thou shalt build the craft of cans,” and “the craft shall float by cans alone,” plus important safety regulations like “thou shalt not drown”!
The main beer can boat race is Battle of Mindil where boats can water-blast & flour-bomb competitors while remaining afloat searching for ‘something’ hidden underwater. And if a boat doesn’t float, it’s off to the Henley on Mindil race where participants carry un-seaworthy crafts, running like Fred Flintstone, along the beach. There’s also a Tug-of-War, a Hole-In-One event where players must land a golf ball in a bucket in a dinghy 70m off-shore, and a Thong Throwing Competition (not those thongs… the ones you wear on your feet, silly!)
Beer Can Regatta is a madcap beer can boat race at Mindil Beach in Darwin Australia!
The most unique feature of the Beer Can Regatta in Darwin is obvious – the boats are made from empty beer or soda cans. Since the vessels are handcrafted (often in elaborate shapes like dragons, sea-creatures, pirate ships, royal Egyptian barges or highly decorated rafts) yet always engineered to float without breaking the regatta commandment: “the craft shall float by cans alone”, it’s not surprising that race objectives are also unconventional.
The Battle of Mindil is the main beer can boat race event, and to win is a big deal - winning boats may end up in The Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. But first the vessels must float, and in order to win, will probably have to be armed with some kind of secret weapon like flour bombs and water pistols, plus a crew of navigators who can manoeuvre the preset race course while searching for an object submerged underwater.
Mindil Beach is a fun place to be even as a spectator, to cheer your favourite beer can boats, join tug-of-wars and compete in quirky events like the best hat contest – think: fruity Brazilian samba dancer hats only made from cans and kooky recycled materials, as well as games and sand-water activities for adults and kids including building sand castles and competing with expert flip-flop throwers.
Mindil Market, also known as Mindil Beach Sunset Market (which is usually open in the evenings), with over 200 stalls, is just a few steps away from the beach-side regatta area and is open all day during the can boat races and throughout the evening after the main events.
Mindil Market, open from April to October, is one of the favourite Darwin activities for locals and tourists alike, and is also a good place to book other post-regatta activities like Darwin Harbour cruises, crocodile cruises, northern territory of Australia adventure safaris by private companies and activities sponsored by the northern territory tourism centre.
The Darwin Beer Can Regatta isn’t new. The inaugural event was held in 1974, based on the ideas of Paul Rice-Chapman and Lutz Frankenfeld, members of the Darwin Regional Tourism Promotion Association, who sought fun ways to promote a local brewery. But the event became so popular that it’s now organized by 3 Darwin Lions Clubs, and is primarily used a means to raise funds for charity.
Over the years, a can boat building guide has been developed to help newbie’s design more seaworthy vessels, especially since soda and beer cans are now made from lightweight aluminium - not as strong as the cans back in the ‘70s. The first winner of the regatta in ’74 - Pistol Knight by Kevin Jaques - was made of such heavy-duty Swan Beer cans that it was powered by an outboard motor. But today, all entries, be they giant ships or tiny rafts, must be powered manually or with sails.
Darwin Australia is a destination all its own. Getting there from anywhere else, even within Australia, can be quite an adventure (unless you just cheat and… fly). Although we’re not suggesting a camel trek all the way from Alice Springs to Darwin, we do recommend 54 hours on the Ghan, from Adelaide to Alice Springs, then to Darwin traversing about three thousand kilometres.
The Ghan train (The Afghan Express) has been operating since 1929, named after Afghan camel drivers who were instrumental in exploring Australia in the 19th century, but the original train line only went as far as Alice Springs, so the thousand five-hundred kilometres that remained between Alice Springs and Darwin had to be traversed by camel! Believe it or not, it wasn’t until 2004 that The Ghan finally made it all the way to Darwin.
Today, the great Ghan journey begins at the Adelaide Parklands Terminal and continues to Coonamia, Port Augusta, Pimba, Kingoonya, Tarcoola, Coober Pedy (Manguri), Marla, Chandler, reaching the South Australia - Northern Territory border and continuing on to Kulgera and then Alice Springs (which marks the halfway point) then to Tennant Creek, Katherine and after two and a half days of travel, the train rolls into Darwin.
You can book passage on The Ghan Train via Great Southern Rail and experience 3 thousand km of Australia on route to one of the world’s least prestigious regattas.
What do you think?Thank you! |
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AccommodationBeer Can Regatta AccomodationThe Beer Can Regatta organisers do not provide camping or accommodation in Darwin. Campgrounds near DarwinIf you choose to camp near Darwin, you’ll need to pack gear, but it’s possible to avoid hauling equipment by renting a cabin or bungalow available at some of the campsites.
Private Holiday Rentals DarwinBrowse rooms, shared accommodation & holiday rentals in Darwin via airbnb. |
AmenitiesEats & Drinks:
Bars, Food Stalls, Water
Fresh & Clean:
no
Cash & Shops:
no
Zone In & Out:
Kids Zone
Accessibility:
no
Regatta Amenities
BYO Water Bottle & Sunscreen
Mindil Market
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Datesstart Sun, 17 July 2016end Sun, 17 July 2016 Beer Can Regatta Dates
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Season & WeatherSeason: Summer
Temperature: 19 to 30 °C
July may be summer in the northern hemisphere, but it’s winter in Australia. Despite this fact, Darwin weather is hot and sunny year-round, so it’s perfect for water sport activities! |
Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta Assoc.: Mindil Beach Reserve, Gilruth Ave., Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
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