Delightful Darwin

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As we leave Katherine behind us and head towards Darwin the first thing that we notice is the amount of ‘normal’ cars that are now on the road - very few 4wd’s, campervans, trucks or yutes now, just plain 4 door cars which we have not seen for absolutely ages. It seems that we are heading back into city life of sorts having left it for what seems like an age. We make good time but are still not going to make it before sundown so stop at a rest stop about 30km outside of Darwin - the Noonamah Roadhouse. One of the problems of hitting a big town is that all of the caravan parks are right on the outskirts of town...in Darwin the nearest one to the city centre is roughly 15km outside. Noonamah is a bit of a truckers stop so I send John in to suss it out. He returns with the good news that for $10 we can park up round the back and use the truckers facilities...at least its a hot shower (I make sure John comes over with me and stands guard as its unisex bathrooms!!) By stopping here we are rewarded with the most amazing sunset, all pinks and bright orange with the most vivid colours I have ever seen.

After briefly stopping off at Coolalinga market (not worth it) and Parap Village market (full of overpriced artsy, touristy things) we eventually arrive in Darwin. Realising that there are no parking restrictions at the weekend, we are able to park right in the centre of town and then head out for a wander, stopping at the Old Town Hall before visiting the Northern Territories Parliament House (which weirdly also houses the public library) With the temperatures soaring we head over to the waterfront developments which have a manmade beach area and crash out here for a while. After a quick change in the van we stroll along the Esplanade area and pass Government House which is having an open day. Government House is the official residence of the NT administrator (bit like the mayor) so its all a bit posh. We have a good nose around the house before heading out to watch the sunset along the Esplanade.
The following day we head over to Cullen Bay marina and spend a lazy day strolling around before heading over for the Mindil Beach market. Its really buzzing with loads of stalls and people milling around. After listening to a band at one of the stalls we stroll down to the beach to join the many people who have congregated there for the sunset. Its a lovely atmosphere and the sunset seems to go on for absolutely ages. We eventually head back into the market and continue strolling around, grabbing something to eat from one of the stalls before heading back to the campervan.

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