Julie:
Hi Nick. It’s Julie. Have you managed to find any information about accommodation in Darwin?
Nick:
Hi. I was just going to call you. I’ve found some on the Internet. There are quite a few hostels for backpackers there. The first possibility I found was a hostel called Top End Backpackers.
Nick:
It's pretty cheap, you can get a bed in a dormitory for nineteen dollars per person. Private rooms cost a bit more, but we'll be OK in dormitories, won't we?
Nick:
So that hostel has parking, though that doesn't really matter to us as we'll be using public transport.
Julie:
Yeah. Are there any reviews on the website from people who've been there?
Nick:
Well, yes. They aren't all that good though. Some people said they didn't like the staff, they had an unfriendly attitude.
Julie:
Mmm. That's quite unusual in a hostel, usually all the staff are really welcoming.
Nick:
That's what I thought. People said they liked the pool, and the fact that the rooms had air-conditioning, but the problem with that was that it was very noisy, so they were kept awake. But it was too hot if they turned it off, so they had to put up with it.
Julie:
Someone told me there's another hostel called Gum Tree something.
Nick:
Gum Tree Lodge. It costs a bit more, forty-five dollars a person.
Nick:
Oh, no, that's for private rooms, it's twenty-three fifty for the dorms.
Julie:
That's more like it.
Nick:
It looks to be in quite a good location, a bit out of town and quiet but with good transport, and quiet near a beach.
Julie:
Has it got a pool?
Nick:
Yes, and its own gardens. The reviews for that one are mostly OK except for one person who said they couldn't sleep because there were insects flying around in the dormitories.
Julie:
Not for me then. And I'd rather be somewhere central really.
Nick:
Right. There's a place called Kangaroo Lodge. They've got dorms at twenty-two dollars. And it's downtown, near all the restaurants and clubs and everything, so that should suit you. And it doesn't close at night.
Julie:
So there's always someone on reception. That sounds good.
Nick:
The only criticism I saw was that the rooms were a bit messy and untidy because people just left their clothes and stuff all over the beds and the floor.
Julie:
Don't hostels usually have lockers in the bedrooms where you can leave your stuff?
Nick:
Yeah, they do usually, but apparently they don't here.
Nick:
Still, hostels are never particularly tidy places, so that doesn't bother me. And the same person said that the standard of cleanliness was pretty good, and especially the bathrooms, they were excellent as far as that went.
Julie:
Right. Yeah, I reckon Kangaroo Lodge sounds the best.
Nick:
Me too. Quite a lot of people reviewing it said it was really fun there, like every night everyone staying there got together and ended up having a party. So it sounds like it's got a really good atmosphere.
Julie:
OK, let's go for that one.
Julie:
Did you get the address of Kangaroo Lodge?
Nick:
Yes ... it's on Shadforth Lane.
Julie:
Can you spell that?
Nick:
S-H-A-D-F-O-R-T-H. It's near the transit centre where the intercity buses and the airport buses drop you off.
Julie:
Cool. I'm really looking forward to this. I've never stayed in a hostel before. Do they provide bed linen-sheets and things?
Nick:
Yeah. And you can usually either bring your own towel. or hire one there, but they don't usually provide those for free.
Julie:
OK. And what happens about meals?
Nick:
Well, you don't have to pay extra for breakfast. It varies a lot in different places but generally it's OK. And there's usually a café where you can buy a snack or a hot meal for lunch. But actually if you're really travelling on the cheap, usually for every five or six rooms there's a kitchen where you can knock up a snack, and that saves a lot of money.
Julie:
Great. Right, well shall I go ahead and book that…
