Bridging the Cultural Divide :
Working Successfully with Indigenous Communities Seminars

Coming to Nhulunbuy

Nhulunbuy, on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land, is a mining town. The town lies upon a mining lease operated by Alcan Gove Pty. Ltd.. All areas off the mining lease are Aboriginal land held in trust for the Aboriginal owners by the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Land Trust. A permit is not needed to enter the town of Nhulunbuy, but permits are needed to move off the town lease, other than to drive to the airport.

Permits for recreational visits to designated locations are available from:

Dhimurru Land Management
08 89873992.

Permits for all other areas including driving to Nhulunbuy via the Central Arnhem Road are available from :

Northern Land Council regional office in Nhulunbuy by calling 08 89872602.

Flying to Gove

The Gove Airport services Nhulunbuy. Both Qantas (Qantaslink) and Airnorth Regional (a Darwin based airline) fly to Gove regularly.

Bookings can be made by contacting Qantas on their national number for any of their DAILY flights. Their flights leave Darwin early in the morning and arrive in Gove at approximately 8am. These flights then continue on to Cairns for southern connections. The service returns from Cairns in the early evening and then after a brief stopover in Gove it terminates its journey in Darwin. This means you can arrive via Cairns the night before your workshop or alternatively arrive from Darwin on the day the workshop commences. This does mean a very early start. Airnorth services operate four times a week, leaving Darwin just after 6pm and arriving in Gove at about 8pm. The Gove to Darwin flights leave Gove at about 8.30am the following morning.

A shuttle bus runs airport transfers to and from the airport for all Qantas and Airnorth services, 7 days a week.

Anything Else ?
If there is anything that we have not covered then please do not hesitate to contact the Nhulunbuy Office on
(08) 89873910 or by email at seminars@ards.com.au

For more information on Nhulunbuy in general, you can also check out the following links:

www.ealta.org
The East Arnhemland Tourist Association gives some good advice on things to see and do in and around Nhulunbuy

Accommodation in Nhulunbuy

There are basically only two accommodation options in Nhulunbuy.

Walkabout Lodge
Situated in the centre of town adjacent to the business district and all facilities (only 300 metres from the workshop venue) is the Walkabout Lodge. This is a hotel/motel complex. Ring them on (08) 8987 1777 to make a booking.

Gove Peninsula Motel
Approximately two kilometres from the centre of town is the Gove Peninsula Motel. Offering true motel-style accommodation, all rooms offer double and single beds with ensuite facilities. Contact hosts Peter, Jo, Jim or Sandy by email at govemotel@bigpond.com or by phone on (08) 8987 0700.

There are no camping facilities in Nhulunbuy.

Getting around in Gove
An airport shuttle bus service operates between the airport and Nhulunbuy for all Qantaslink flights. Bookings are not required from the airport in to Nhulunbuy – just see the driver upon arrival at Gove Airport. However, if you would like to make a booking please phone (08) 8987 2872.

Nhulunbuy Radio Taxis (13 10 08) and also Gove Bus Service (0417 371 450) provide Taxi/mini-bus services in and around Nhulunbuy.

There are a number of hire-car options. All have two-wheel drive vehicles, which can not be taken off road. If you require a four-wheel drive you will need to ask an operator if they have vehicles for hire and also you will need an appropriate permit for where you intend to go (see earlier).

Contacts are:

Gove Rentals (08) 89871700

Manny’s Car Rentals (08) 89872300

Nhulunbuy Ute Hire (08) 89872872