21 July, 2012 - Sight-seeing in Darwin

We're very impressed with Darwin - it is a relaxed, easy-going tropical city with an enviable outdoor life-style.  Following its war-time bombing & the ravages of Cyclone Tracy, in 1974, it has been re-built in a very attractive manner.  The staff at the Information Centre were very helpful with leaflets, suggestions & ideas.

We particularly enjoyed our visit to Parliament House, which has been designed to harmonise with the tropical climate.  The white colour of the building contrasts beautifully with the lush green of lawns & foliage around it.  The Main Hall is very grand & has a lovely garden, with fountain outside its doors, which overlooks the beach & the sea.



Shopping Mall





 

I was especially delighted to see the Darwin Commemorative Wall Quilt, which is housed in the Library of Parliament House.  It contains approximately 1600 patches recording almost 2000 names of people who lived & worked in the Northern Territory during the 2nd World War.  There are also 20 pictures of sites that would have been familiar to the people of Darwin at the time.

We also visited the Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, which features the region's art, natural history & culture from ancient times to the modern day.  There is a Cyclone Tracy exhibition, which shows the devastation that occurred in 1974 & also attempts to re-create the noise that resulted from the highest winds ever recorded on the Australian mainland.

Finally, we drove around the coast, enjoying beautiful views of the scenery.

Back at the campsite, Judy & Charlie were waiting for us to have a meal with them at the local pub.  Barramundi - delicious!

Wed., 18th July 2012 - recuperating in Darwin

Well, here we are in Darwin, or the "Top End" as this part of the country tends to be known.  Haven't written the blog up for a few days now, as the horrible "bug" has had me feeling too unwell.  However,things are looking up now, so I should be able to recommence writing.  Poor Bob is unwell, though - I just hope he'll fight off the germs better than I did.

We've been relaxing at Howard Springs, our current campsite, which is very pleasant & well-equipped.  I've managed to catch up with a few chores, Bob has cleaned the car & had it serviced & we've both spent time sitting in the sun.

Yesterday evening, Charlie drove us to Darwin's famous Mindil Market, where stalls were set out parallel to the beach.  Huge crowds were gathering & there was every kind of food on sale, plus clothes, jewellery, art work, knick-knacks, etc., etc.  It was all very interesting & colourful and well worth a visit.  I couldn't resist a pretty red floral bag, which complemented the top that I was wearing!

We bought containers of food & found places to sit down & eat.  Afterwards, we joined the crowds on the beach, & sat down on the sand to watch the incredible sunset.  This is the "in thing" to do at Mindil Beach & I can truly understand why - a spectacular sight greets the eye as the sun sinks lower & lower on the horizon.  The colours change from yellow to gold, orange, pink, red & purple and, as with sunsets the world over, people are mesmerized & enthralled.  Our young friends from Uluru were on the beach, so we are keeping pace with them (or, they with us).  A lovely evening - let's hope we'll soon be absolutely fit again, so that we can do more sight-seeing around Darwin before leaving for Kakadu.  Must have some more barramundi before we leave!

Sun., 15 July 2012 - Bundy Station to Darwin (approx 100km.)

At last, I started to recover from my mystery "bug" & began to eat very small amounts of food.

The journey to Darwin was a relatively short one & we arrived at our destination just after lunch time.

We had been spoiled at the cattle station & were thoroughly disenchanted with our latest campsite.  Judy has managed to book us in elsewhere from Tuesday & so we only have two nights at the current venue.

We're looking forward to exploring Darwin, as it sounds an interesting place.  Even though it's winter, the temperature is around 30C.  Had to smile this morning, when a local woman told us that it had been very cold - she'd been forced to don gloves & a "beanie" because the temperature had never risen above 27C!  Would that it had stayed as comfortable as that.  It is also somewhat humid, despite the fact that we were assured it wouldn't be.  However, I'm sure we'll enjoy our stay here once we begin to have a good look around.

Sat., 14 July 2012 - Rest day at the cattle station

Very little to report, as we decided to have a day of total relaxation.  Our surroundings, at the Station, were idyllic & we took advantage of this - Bob did some sketching, Charlie swam, Judy read her book & I rested in an effort to speed up my recovery.

Fri., 13 July 2012 - Katherine to Mount Bundy Cattle Station

I was still in the grip of "the bug", but it was time to move on.  We decided to omit a couple of our planned stops & take a more direct route towards Darwin, in case I might need to see a doctor.

Poor Bob, all preparations for leaving fell to him, but he soldiered on & soon had us back on the road.

We did make one detour to visit Edith Falls, a renowned beauty spot, where water still gushed forth despite it being the dry season.  Charlie had a swim there, which he said was most refreshing.  Only wish I'd been well enough to join him - it looked very inviting.

Back on the road, we began to look for campsites for the next two nights.  Judy suddenly remembered a chap whom we had met at the Caravan Show in Melbourne & decided to contact him.  Our luck was in & we were able to enjoy a peaceful stay on his enormous cattle station, where we saw a variety of animal life, including water buffalo, horses, cows, kangaroos, peacocks & ibises.  The owner's wife took people riding, there were 4WD tours of the property, a swimming pool & a "Sausage Sizzle" around a campfire in the evening.  I still couldn't attempt to eat any food, but encouraged Bob to attend the "Sizzle" with Judy & Charlie.  They reported that a wealth of animals & birds came out after dark, unfortunately including cane toads, which are particularly repulsive & very poisonous to any other creature that touches them - consequently, they have thrived & become a real problem.