DEADLY DANGEROUS DARWIN
Hi everyone, I trust you are all well and enjoying the blessings in your lives! I know we certainly are. I’m sure you will be pleased to know that TBBITW is still The Best Bloke In The World and he still tolerates my nonsense.
We are enjoying Darwin and so far have extended our stay until the 31st July – not bad considering we were originally only staying until the 17th. There are several reasons for our extension, not the least of which is that this is an idyllic place and a very layback lifestyle and that suits us just fine. The only negative, if you can call it that, is the weather. Now I know that this will P you all off, but it is really too warm! The consistency of the weather since we arrived has been amazing to say the least. Days are 33, nights are 22 and humidity sits between 50 & 60%. It sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Well it is, but it does just sap your energy – probably due to the fact that there is no let up at night. Never mind tho’ we will battle on and make do I am sure. Sorry!
As beautiful as it is here, there are a few little teeny weenie things that you have to worry about, getting eaten by a crocogator not being the least. One doesn’t really swim in the sea here either, due once again to the prehistoric predators lurking there, plus the well known frequency of visiting Noahs and nasty stingers. Don’t forget too, the particularly horrid parasite/bacterial critter that lives in the sand and soil around here – making it very unwise to go around bare foot.
Darwin is such an interesting place and has such a dramatic history. I guess we all know about the bombing of Darwin, and of course, anyone in my generation knows about Cyclone Tracy, but being here and seeing the places first hand makes it all so much more significant. Darwin has really been obliterated 3 times, twice by severe cyclones and of course by Japanese Bombers. It’s hard to say which of these was the most devastating. As a result of these catastrophes, there is very little here in the way of ‘old’. Almost everything was rebuilt after Tracy in ’74. We went to the museum and saw the Cyclone Tracy display and it was chilling indeed. Most of us have memories of that Christmas Day, personally my sister-in-law and her family were in Darwin – she had two toddlers, and we sat glued to the radio and TV together with my in-laws, dreading the news and imagining the two little ones wandering the streets of devastation, separated from their parents. As it turned out, they were all OK – although I still don’t really understand how my brother- in- law survived as he saw the cyclone out in a caravan!!!
The war memorials and attached memorabilia are also chilling reminders of just how close we came to enemy invasion and or occupation. The fatalities of both the bombings and the cyclones were horrendous by Australian standards. It is interesting to note that we still have a substantial Defence Force stationed in the Territory, I think I am glad about that. As things military are very much on your mind up here, it has been even more poignant and sad considering our current losses on enemy ground.
On a happier note, we are very impressed with the Territory in general – there is very little ‘yuppyism’ up here. Cullen Bay, a very upmarket suburb with Mandurah-like canals and mansions is of that ilk, but truly, most of Darwin and surrounds is like a big friendly country town - well set out for a Port town and generally neat and tidy. I am particularly impressed with the people of the Territory. I have seen much less racist behaviour up here and much more integration. This refreshing situation appears to incorporate everyone including indigenous and immigrants. Certainly John Lennon’s song about ‘coffee coloured people’ almost seems to come true up here – wonderful to see. Of course, we do still hear the odd racist comment, but generally they come from fellow travellers and not locals. People watching is wonderful here too, especially in the city of Darwin, the mixture of cultures lends itself to some colourful characters and sights. Just great!
There are an abundance of things to do in Darwin and surrounds. We have taken in the Museum, Fanny Bay Gaol, Stokes Bay Wharf, Fisherman’s Wharf, Cullen Bay Marina and the Charles Darwin National Park, just to name a few. We have not done any of the crocodile parks as neither of us are really that enamoured of crocs. We will probably go to Crocodylus Park tho’ as they have a whole range of different animals there included my beloved tigers. There are numerous day trips to Kakadu and surrounds but we will most likely do those from Jabiru when we finally get there. In fact, we have just about decided that I will do a scenic flight over Kakadu and Arnhem Land – Douglas Darling is not too keen having in his opinion been in enough small-craft and seen enough water-falls to last a life-time. He is keen for me to go tho’, hmmmmm! I wonder?? How many of these little planes have fallen out of the sky??
My favourite since arriving here has been a cruise on the Mary River. We drove out to Coroboree Park and there boarded a tour bus to the river. The cruise lasted 3 glorious hours. Our tour guide, Tony was a truly ocker bloke, but super enthusiastic about the birds and wild-life. He really made the whole thing work. We slowly cruised up and down the allotted area and in our 3 hours saw 25 different bird varieties. As the boat backed out into the river, a huge barra surged out of the water just next to the boat, that certainly had everyone in the mood! The whole surface of the river was alive with the movement of fish. So many different types there, including the archer fish. The abundance of fish and insects meant a similar abundance of birds. All the water birds you would expect, including the magnificent Jabirus, a plethora of little birds, including the Azure Kingfisher (just stunning) and the wonderfully colourful little Bee Catchers. We mustn’t forget to the magnificent sea-eagles that nest along the river. We were lucky enough to see one come down right next to the boat and scoop a fish up out of the water and carry it back to her chicks nesting in a tree right on the river. So many beautiful sights, ducks, herons, ibis, geese, fowl – incredible. OK, I know you want to know about the ‘crocogators’ as TBBITW calls them – there were mobs! Mainly we saw saltwater crocs that day, although there were a couple of freshwater ones as well. These crocs, let me tell you, are sooo well fed. Fat and lazy pretty much describes them. The abundance of fish and fowl keeps them pretty happy. Fresh and Saltwater crocs don’t always co-habit as the saltys tend to eat the freshys! In this environment tho’, they seem to be living reasonably happily together. I imagine tho’ that the freshys keep a pretty sharp look out. If you click on the photo of the big croc you will see a family of ducks stood quite close by – a fair indicator that they don’t feel too threatened. Did you know that a saltwater crocodile can stay submerged for a very long period of time – so the fact that you cannot see one, certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t one lurking close by. The wildlife was only part of the enjoyment, the surrounding waterways and bush were so beautiful, they are indelibly etched on my mind. The waters had receded a couple of feet from their peak during the wet, but the abundant lilies had retained their height, so towered a couple of feet about the water level. Glorious cerise blossoms adorned the waterways which glistened in the mid-day sun. The enormous lily leaves were used by the indigenous people for water-bottles and hats. Bright blue dragon-flies drifted over the smooth waters. Trees and brush reflected perfectly in the still waters. Songbirds trilled in the trees and the overwhelming peace of the place seeped blissfully into your soul. The day and the cruise went all too quickly. We were given lunch during the 3 hours and while the meal was nothing to write home about, the whole experience will be one I will remember affectionately for the rest of my life.
Well, due to our latest extension, we still have almost 2 weeks left here in Darwin, time to catch up on a few things and maybe to get a little painting done – joy! My clever bloke has pretty much completed all our maintenance and we are all but ready to hit the road again. The broken hatch has been replaced ($675 later thanks so much) and all systems are go. He is still monitoring the slow leak in one of the van tyres, but it seems to have stopped now. From here we will move on to Jabiru and Cooinda (Yellow Waters) and then back down to Katherine. The big news is that we will then head West – yes, West! We have decided to travel down the west coast, exploring the Kimberly and surrounds as we go, and to reach Perth by around mid-November. We will be home for Christmas, and God willing, the birth of our new grandchild. All being well, we will leave Perth immediately after Christmas and head back across the Nullarbor. A quick skip across SA and then down to Tassie for a month or two is the current plan. Sounds wonderful.
The first 7 months of our odyssey has passed in a flash (or in my case ‘flush’) and we have seen some astonishingly beautiful places. We have so much more to see, and after our little break here in Darwin, we will be refreshed and raring to go. We just can’t wait to see the other side of this wonderful country. Incidentally, while here, we have been lucky enough to meet yet more fantastic people, our next door neighbours here, Rob and Judy also ‘blog’ – I will try to link their blog to this one, but just in case I screw it up (how unlikely!) the blog address is http://juderobswandering.blogspot.com/ - as they have come up from the other side (so to speak) I can highly recommend reading their super interesting blog if you are interested in the east coast or for that matter, just an interesting read.
PLEASE enjoy what you have, and be gentle with yourselves – until next time – Stephanie.
Hi everyone, I trust you are all well and enjoying the blessings in your lives! I know we certainly are. I’m sure you will be pleased to know that TBBITW is still The Best Bloke In The World and he still tolerates my nonsense.
We are enjoying Darwin and so far have extended our stay until the 31st July – not bad considering we were originally only staying until the 17th. There are several reasons for our extension, not the least of which is that this is an idyllic place and a very layback lifestyle and that suits us just fine. The only negative, if you can call it that, is the weather. Now I know that this will P you all off, but it is really too warm! The consistency of the weather since we arrived has been amazing to say the least. Days are 33, nights are 22 and humidity sits between 50 & 60%. It sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Well it is, but it does just sap your energy – probably due to the fact that there is no let up at night. Never mind tho’ we will battle on and make do I am sure. Sorry!
As beautiful as it is here, there are a few little teeny weenie things that you have to worry about, getting eaten by a crocogator not being the least. One doesn’t really swim in the sea here either, due once again to the prehistoric predators lurking there, plus the well known frequency of visiting Noahs and nasty stingers. Don’t forget too, the particularly horrid parasite/bacterial critter that lives in the sand and soil around here – making it very unwise to go around bare foot.
Darwin is such an interesting place and has such a dramatic history. I guess we all know about the bombing of Darwin, and of course, anyone in my generation knows about Cyclone Tracy, but being here and seeing the places first hand makes it all so much more significant. Darwin has really been obliterated 3 times, twice by severe cyclones and of course by Japanese Bombers. It’s hard to say which of these was the most devastating. As a result of these catastrophes, there is very little here in the way of ‘old’. Almost everything was rebuilt after Tracy in ’74. We went to the museum and saw the Cyclone Tracy display and it was chilling indeed. Most of us have memories of that Christmas Day, personally my sister-in-law and her family were in Darwin – she had two toddlers, and we sat glued to the radio and TV together with my in-laws, dreading the news and imagining the two little ones wandering the streets of devastation, separated from their parents. As it turned out, they were all OK – although I still don’t really understand how my brother- in- law survived as he saw the cyclone out in a caravan!!!
The war memorials and attached memorabilia are also chilling reminders of just how close we came to enemy invasion and or occupation. The fatalities of both the bombings and the cyclones were horrendous by Australian standards. It is interesting to note that we still have a substantial Defence Force stationed in the Territory, I think I am glad about that. As things military are very much on your mind up here, it has been even more poignant and sad considering our current losses on enemy ground.
On a happier note, we are very impressed with the Territory in general – there is very little ‘yuppyism’ up here. Cullen Bay, a very upmarket suburb with Mandurah-like canals and mansions is of that ilk, but truly, most of Darwin and surrounds is like a big friendly country town - well set out for a Port town and generally neat and tidy. I am particularly impressed with the people of the Territory. I have seen much less racist behaviour up here and much more integration. This refreshing situation appears to incorporate everyone including indigenous and immigrants. Certainly John Lennon’s song about ‘coffee coloured people’ almost seems to come true up here – wonderful to see. Of course, we do still hear the odd racist comment, but generally they come from fellow travellers and not locals. People watching is wonderful here too, especially in the city of Darwin, the mixture of cultures lends itself to some colourful characters and sights. Just great!
There are an abundance of things to do in Darwin and surrounds. We have taken in the Museum, Fanny Bay Gaol, Stokes Bay Wharf, Fisherman’s Wharf, Cullen Bay Marina and the Charles Darwin National Park, just to name a few. We have not done any of the crocodile parks as neither of us are really that enamoured of crocs. We will probably go to Crocodylus Park tho’ as they have a whole range of different animals there included my beloved tigers. There are numerous day trips to Kakadu and surrounds but we will most likely do those from Jabiru when we finally get there. In fact, we have just about decided that I will do a scenic flight over Kakadu and Arnhem Land – Douglas Darling is not too keen having in his opinion been in enough small-craft and seen enough water-falls to last a life-time. He is keen for me to go tho’, hmmmmm! I wonder?? How many of these little planes have fallen out of the sky??
My favourite since arriving here has been a cruise on the Mary River. We drove out to Coroboree Park and there boarded a tour bus to the river. The cruise lasted 3 glorious hours. Our tour guide, Tony was a truly ocker bloke, but super enthusiastic about the birds and wild-life. He really made the whole thing work. We slowly cruised up and down the allotted area and in our 3 hours saw 25 different bird varieties. As the boat backed out into the river, a huge barra surged out of the water just next to the boat, that certainly had everyone in the mood! The whole surface of the river was alive with the movement of fish. So many different types there, including the archer fish. The abundance of fish and insects meant a similar abundance of birds. All the water birds you would expect, including the magnificent Jabirus, a plethora of little birds, including the Azure Kingfisher (just stunning) and the wonderfully colourful little Bee Catchers. We mustn’t forget to the magnificent sea-eagles that nest along the river. We were lucky enough to see one come down right next to the boat and scoop a fish up out of the water and carry it back to her chicks nesting in a tree right on the river. So many beautiful sights, ducks, herons, ibis, geese, fowl – incredible. OK, I know you want to know about the ‘crocogators’ as TBBITW calls them – there were mobs! Mainly we saw saltwater crocs that day, although there were a couple of freshwater ones as well. These crocs, let me tell you, are sooo well fed. Fat and lazy pretty much describes them. The abundance of fish and fowl keeps them pretty happy. Fresh and Saltwater crocs don’t always co-habit as the saltys tend to eat the freshys! In this environment tho’, they seem to be living reasonably happily together. I imagine tho’ that the freshys keep a pretty sharp look out. If you click on the photo of the big croc you will see a family of ducks stood quite close by – a fair indicator that they don’t feel too threatened. Did you know that a saltwater crocodile can stay submerged for a very long period of time – so the fact that you cannot see one, certainly doesn’t mean there isn’t one lurking close by. The wildlife was only part of the enjoyment, the surrounding waterways and bush were so beautiful, they are indelibly etched on my mind. The waters had receded a couple of feet from their peak during the wet, but the abundant lilies had retained their height, so towered a couple of feet about the water level. Glorious cerise blossoms adorned the waterways which glistened in the mid-day sun. The enormous lily leaves were used by the indigenous people for water-bottles and hats. Bright blue dragon-flies drifted over the smooth waters. Trees and brush reflected perfectly in the still waters. Songbirds trilled in the trees and the overwhelming peace of the place seeped blissfully into your soul. The day and the cruise went all too quickly. We were given lunch during the 3 hours and while the meal was nothing to write home about, the whole experience will be one I will remember affectionately for the rest of my life.
Well, due to our latest extension, we still have almost 2 weeks left here in Darwin, time to catch up on a few things and maybe to get a little painting done – joy! My clever bloke has pretty much completed all our maintenance and we are all but ready to hit the road again. The broken hatch has been replaced ($675 later thanks so much) and all systems are go. He is still monitoring the slow leak in one of the van tyres, but it seems to have stopped now. From here we will move on to Jabiru and Cooinda (Yellow Waters) and then back down to Katherine. The big news is that we will then head West – yes, West! We have decided to travel down the west coast, exploring the Kimberly and surrounds as we go, and to reach Perth by around mid-November. We will be home for Christmas, and God willing, the birth of our new grandchild. All being well, we will leave Perth immediately after Christmas and head back across the Nullarbor. A quick skip across SA and then down to Tassie for a month or two is the current plan. Sounds wonderful.
The first 7 months of our odyssey has passed in a flash (or in my case ‘flush’) and we have seen some astonishingly beautiful places. We have so much more to see, and after our little break here in Darwin, we will be refreshed and raring to go. We just can’t wait to see the other side of this wonderful country. Incidentally, while here, we have been lucky enough to meet yet more fantastic people, our next door neighbours here, Rob and Judy also ‘blog’ – I will try to link their blog to this one, but just in case I screw it up (how unlikely!) the blog address is http://juderobswandering.blogspot.com/ - as they have come up from the other side (so to speak) I can highly recommend reading their super interesting blog if you are interested in the east coast or for that matter, just an interesting read.
PLEASE enjoy what you have, and be gentle with yourselves – until next time – Stephanie.
So Sorry, Please Forgive Silly Woman – forgot to do caravan park info!!
We are staying at the FreeSpirit Caravan Park in Darwin – this is a rather expensive exercise, costing $39 per night – however, we think it is probably the best around, albeit, not dog friendly. The park is large and well appointed. The bays are staggered in such a way as to not have an immediate neighbour (in our section anyway!) and we have lovely green lawns around us. The amenity blocks are very good and there are no less than 3 swimming pools. This place is very resort-like. We are quite close to the airport, but truly don’t really notice the noise much at all. There is a little bit of traffic noise too, as we are right on Stuart Highway, however it doesn’t really penetrate past the sound of our air-con.(a constant must here). The only real downside is the smell! They recycle the water here, and it appears to be pumped out in the evenings – this means that outside activities are affected by the pervasive smell of sewers. Not particularly nice, but we are told it is all under control and they they will be changing the system (by council edict) in the near future. All in all tho’, the park is good and we certainly wouldn’t be extending and extending if it wasn’t a nice place to be.
We are staying at the FreeSpirit Caravan Park in Darwin – this is a rather expensive exercise, costing $39 per night – however, we think it is probably the best around, albeit, not dog friendly. The park is large and well appointed. The bays are staggered in such a way as to not have an immediate neighbour (in our section anyway!) and we have lovely green lawns around us. The amenity blocks are very good and there are no less than 3 swimming pools. This place is very resort-like. We are quite close to the airport, but truly don’t really notice the noise much at all. There is a little bit of traffic noise too, as we are right on Stuart Highway, however it doesn’t really penetrate past the sound of our air-con.(a constant must here). The only real downside is the smell! They recycle the water here, and it appears to be pumped out in the evenings – this means that outside activities are affected by the pervasive smell of sewers. Not particularly nice, but we are told it is all under control and they they will be changing the system (by council edict) in the near future. All in all tho’, the park is good and we certainly wouldn’t be extending and extending if it wasn’t a nice place to be.
