Week 8 : 13 Apr to 19 Apr 2012 -- Darwin

Since moving to the Darwin Free Spirit Resort last week we’ve settled in quite well and set ourselves up for a long stay. We’re tucked in under a nice shady tree (that’s dropping leaves all over my car… but you can’t have everything!), we’ve got the annexe on and we’re making use of the appliances we carried with us from home. In May the rest of the park will be open for the season and we’ve put our name on another site which is a bit larger than our current one, so we’re looking forward to that move.

On Friday morning we had a very long sleep in before Vic headed over to Palmerston to visit the hairdresser while I stayed behind and did some housework. Vic had received a phone call from a recruitment agency in Darwin asking her to come for an appointment and so I dropped her in the city for a 4pm meeting before spending time exploring the Darwin Esplanade.

There is a fabulous park that runs the full length of the Esplanade and some great views from the cliffs out over Darwin Harbour and Port Darwin. By the time Vic was finished it was that time of the week…Drinks!

Stokes Hill Wharf

About 3 minutes from the centre of the city is the Wharf Precinct where Stokes Hill Wharf houses a number of eateries and bars where you can make your choice before taking a table harbourside to enjoy the outdoors. When I say harbourside… I mean harbourside! The only barrier between you and the 5 metre drop to the very deep water is a low iron beam which sits about 150cms above the ground. If you can handle looking over the edge (I struggle with it), you will see an odd looking fish with an equally odd name. It’s difficult to describe the Humphead Batfish but a dinner plate with fins and a tail about covers it. They hang around the wharf in numbers waiting for handouts.

The air was much cooler down here by the water and as we sat watching the sunset, it was very easy to see why so many people come to this part of Australia to spend their Winters. Vic and I both agreed that we will spend quite a few evenings down here while we are in Darwin. That is, of course, providing the Broncos aren’t playing! Speaking of the Broncos, we were home in time to watch them beat the Raiders 30 – 6.

Casuarina Beach

Tropical flowers at Parap
 Village Markets

Saturday morning we were up early and off to the Parap Village Markets. These weekly markets are well worth visiting. There are plenty of food stalls (like the United Nations actually!), fruit & veg, coffee, lots of art and crafts, clothing, jewellery, and the tropical flowers are amazing. I imagine many of the stall holders here are Mindil Beach Market stallholders as well, judging by the quality of their equipment. Many of them are quite elaborate and very professional.

 

Darwin from East Point

After leaving here we drove out to East Point where the Military Museum is situated. While the museum is an enclosed area, spread across East Point are over 40 buildings and bunkers left over from WWII. The area is so large we decided to come back at a later date to spend a day exploring the place.

One of the many WWII bunkers at East Point

We drove back, via Fannie Bay, toward the city and found Cullen Bay. This is a very nice development by a marina with lots of restaurants, bars and strip shopping to keep you occupied. The rest of our weekend was spent back at the park doing chores that always need to be done and lots of time by and in the pool.

Cullen Bay foreshore

On Tuesday we visited the Museum and Art Gallery of The Northern Territory at Bullocky Point. It’s interesting to note that many of the tourism brochures and NT visitor info advises drinking plenty of water to prevent dehydration, however, you are not permitted to carry water bottles into the museum. Go figure! The museum is an easy way to pass a few hours and has all the normal exhibits you would expect to find. There are all forms of flora and fauna unique to the NT, including “Sweetheart”. His details at capture were:

Sweetheart - we don't think so!

• Total Weight         780Kg
• Total Length         5.1 Metre
• Snout/Vent Length 2.45 Metre
• Maximum Girth 2.3 Metre
• Sex                   Male
• Age                         Approximately 50 years old

The Stomach Contained:

• Pig bones and bristles
• Two long-necked turtles
• Parts of large Barramundi

There is a very moving exhibit dealing with Cyclone Tracy which struck Darwin in 1974. The photo gallery and displays give a real indication of what it was like at the time but when you step into the dark room, a recording of the actual cyclone sends chills through you. The sounds of metal and debris crashing and the howling wind is very unnerving.

Destruction post Cyclone Tracy which hit
Darwin early Christmas Day in 1974

Later in the day we met with a couple who have offered us an opportunity to housesit for them while they spend 8 weeks overseas in England. Their home is situated very close to Casuarina Beach and is handy to the shopping centre as well as a short commute to the city. We’ll move there at the end of May and stay until just before we fly back to Brissie in August.

On the way home we sat on top of the cliffs above the beach near Brinkin and watched a beautiful sun set over the water.

Sunset shots from the cliffs at Brinkin

Darwin's Parliament House

At about midday Wednesday we visited Darwin’s Parliament House. This is a beautiful building opened in 1994 and is designed to harmonise with the tropical climate. The parasol roof and façade provide climate control by diffusing 80% of direct sunlight and it has big shaded verandahs, is cyclone proof and has lovely tropical gardens. When we arrived, the first port of call was the café where we sat out on the Speaker’s Green and enjoyed the view over Darwin Harbour. There is a fountain on the terrace here dedicated to the memory of two workers who were killed when a crane collapsed during the construction of the building.

Coffee on the Speaker's Green

Dedicated fountain on the Speaker's Green

There are many unique items displayed around Parliament House such as the NT flag, a mosaic of Sturt’s Desert Rose, the NT’s floral emblem, a time capsule, a gallery featuring portraits of all former Chief Ministers and Speakers and many Indigenous artworks.

The building sits on the site of Darwin’s original Post Office which scored a direct hit from the first bomb dropped on Darwin on 19^th February 1942, killing 10 post office workers. There is a plaque embedded in the floor at the exact spot where the bomb fell. There is also a tattered Australian Flag which was found lying in the streets on the day of the Japanese attacks.

Words from the Prime Minister
of the time, Rt Hon John Curtin

The State Library is also housed here and has some great photos from the war era.

 On Thursday Vic and I were feeling a bit lost or off (read:homesick) so in an effort to fix these feelings we went shopping. After visiting BCF (for me) we hit Casuarina Shopping Centre (for Vic) where we had brekky. While walking around here we bumped into 2 ladies, Julie and Rhonda, (their husbands were off elsewhere), who we first met at Mataranka and then at Katherine and they were on the same tour as we were, of Katherine Gorge.

The waterfall in the main pool at the resort -
 our sanctuary from the humidity

Later back at the park, while Vic and I were having a swim, a phone call came asking Vic if she would accept a 4 week contract with the NT Dept of Justice. She starts Monday and while Vic isn’t really keen on going back to work yet, I’m sure she is looking forward to some stimulating conversation with others… not my greatest feature.

So that was week 8. We’ve taken it a bit easy this week and continued to familiarize ourselves with our new surroundings. Darwin is a truly unique city with it’s tropical weather and a feeling of isolation which comes from the vast distance from here to other major cities. The people are very relaxed and things move at “Darwin Time”. To visitors this can be a little frustrating at times but it truly is the way things happen here.

Ruins of the original Darwin Town Hall
that was bombed on the 19th Feb 1942

Over the next 4 weeks at least, our activities will have to fit in with Vic’s work hours, so what affect this will have on the blog content remains to be seen. I will do my best to keep it interesting, however, the purpose of this blog is to convey our feelings and emotions as much as what our touring destinations have in store and hopefully to give anybody considering a similar adventure a true idea of what they can expect… warts and all.

The famous Mindil Beach Markets commence next Thursday and will run for the winter season. We’ve heard so much about them that we are really looking forward to visiting them so, until next week… happy travelling!