Daly Waters Pub, NT: Location, accommodation & BBQ
The Daly Waters Pub in Daly Waters, Northern Territory, is covered in donated items from all over the world.
The Daly Waters Pub in the Northern Territory is one of the most famous Australian outback pubs. Many a hangover has been generated there over the years, and there will be many more to come.
Where is the Daly Waters Pub?
Part of the appeal of the Daly Waters Pub is in its location. The pub is in the tiny townlet of Daly Waters, near the junction of the Stuart Highway and Carpentaria Highway.
For many on a long road trip through the Northern Territory, the Daly Waters Pub makes a logical overnight stop.
Daly Waters Pub decoration
Another reason the Daly Waters Pub is so famous is the, ahem, eclectic décor. This Northern Territory pub is covered in what can only be described as tat from across the world. Business cards, photos, postcards, foreign currency, passport photographs and driving licences are all slapped up over the walls. Tourist come to most places to take souvenirs. At Daly Waters, they come to leave them.
By the looks of it, most that have visited have left something behind. And it has been put up on the walls, crammed between bus tickets, train passes and rather unpleasant-looking underwear. Well, you wouldn’t leave your best pair behind, would you? Even so, it’s so dusty, shapeless and discoloured that you’d struggle to believe anyone would wear in the first place.
Donations from around the world
That so much from around the world has come together in such a remote place is staggering. Student cards from Chile mix with Berlin underground tickets. Scenic photos of Galway countryside sit alongside rather less scenic pictures of maple leaf tattoos on a Canadian bottom. You could spend hours strolling around, reading everything, and notching up the nationalities. If you ever fancy a quick round-the-world trip, or a spot of identity fraud, then this is the place to come.
Daly Waters Pub beef and barramundi barbecue nights
The Daly Waters Pub is also an excellent spot for an outback meal. Between April and October, there is a nightly beef and barramundi barbecue, with scotch fillet steak served alongside wild-caught barramundi from the Gulf of Carpentaria. Bookings are required, and live musicians play (usually country or rock covers) while the feast continues.
Daly Waters accommodation prices
This is the danger zone, of course. Everyone tends to be having so much fun that another beer or six seems tempting. In that case, staying the night in the Daly Waters pub accommodation might be necessary…
Accommodation at the Daly Waters pub costs from $129 for an en-suite motel room.
For more information, visit the pub website.
More Northern Territory travel
Go birdwatching at Fogg Dam.
What to see on the Tennant Creek to Darwin drive.
Take a day trip from Darwin to Crab Claw Island.
Where can I get a Kakadu Park Pass?
Get booze before entering Kakadu at the Corroboree Park Tavern or Bark Hut Inn.