Taking the family (wife 2 boys 7 & 9) to darwin for 5 days any ideas for an itinery?

i think darwin should be warming up by now... definitely go to kakadu, litchfield, and katherine gorge, and get a guided tour there. bring your swim suits. expect some hikes to see some aboriginal sites with historical paintings on rocks and a lot of traditional history. either go out camping, or stay in a budget bunk dorm with that group of the guided tour--after a day of seeing spectacular northern territory stuff you'll be treated to an outback dinner with fellow tourists from all over the world, exchanging the most amazing stories over the bonfire. don't forget to have a generous supply of bug spray in the night.

in darwin city i recommend staying at this apartment hotel thing in the botanical gardens (i forget its name but i know there is one there that i stayed at 5 yrs ago, it is fabulous). you can go to the botanical gardens and spend a pleasant afternoon there. another pleasant idea is to go to the coast (i can't remember the place's name) to get your feet wet and feed a school of milkfish--sounds weird but is a lot of fun. there should also be museums in the city centre about darwin's history--it is simply fascinating. if you have contacts maybe you can also take your boys for a trip to the charles darwin university and explore the amazing faculties and departments. for dining, try hog's breath cafe or tim's surf 'n turf (highly recommended).

shopping: go to casuarina square or palmerston.

attire in darwin is very casual--nobody really pays attention to fashion, most people just wear T-shirts & tank tops, board shorts, and flip flops.

by the way, darwin is known to have a very dehydrating climate--be sure to drink 4 litres of pure, undiluted water per day (i am not kidding, don't drink less than this). soda, tea, coffee, and sport drinks don't count--drink water. water fountains should be ubiquitous, but always have a bottle with you at hand.