Top End Ressurection

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Well Darwin deserves a bit of a mention since it ressurected our faith in Australia..... cause there were times along the way coming through the outback that we wondered about this cool Australia that everyone had been talking about.

Every place has been memorable for some reason & not surprizingly food has had a big part to play in most of our stories. As you know the trip from Broome to Darwin is a bit of a voyage so accounting for this.....we did a massive shop......once again I got a "little" extra for the "just in case", "desparate" times. So on top of the volumes of canned food, we stocked up on the good stuff.......no not ice-cream (no freezer)....but fresh fruit & veg. Well imagine the devastation we felt when some fellow camper informed us that we couldn't take our fresh food through quarantine into the Northern Territoryv the night before we left. So that's when the eating started...uninterrupted for a good 1000km or so. So when we weren't driving, we were eating. Belly hurt but couldn't waste a morsel.

I had obviously considered other less law-abiding options....such as attaching a kilo of sultanas around my waist to mimic a lard belly, enhancing my cleavage with 2 oranges....claiming I'd a medical condition that required regular feeding....all of which I'm sure would be believed......anyway after our first day on the road we didn't have to resort to any of that!! Apparently quarantine aren't even interested in those travelling in the northerly direction, only those going south cause the idea of it is to protect the Kimberly region from fruit flies etc....so all our eating was in vain. You wouldn't believe how often that happens to us. I'm usually the worst culprit cause I'm usually carrying a stash of food of some kind!! So emergency averted....it's amazing how much food was consumed that day.

Anyway back to Darwin. If any of you have been to the west coast you can't help but notice the large elderly or more mature population. It's so different from home in that a lot of older people are in employment which is great. But Darwin was our introduction to the backpacker seen in Oz......such a party atmosphere there. We stayed in this massive hostel with 2 small pools....Melaleuca...bar...& all mod cons. We were sharing with two 20 year old German girls....& every time I went into the room one of them would look up with these expectant eyes cause she knew that she could practise her English with me.....great to feel appreciated even if she thought I was 26....yeah felt a bit old in Darwin & haven't even hit the quater of a century mark yet. Oh dear!!

Bicentenial park is lovely & was so impressed by the 50 meter pool a little bit out of the city in Parap. It was great being able to sleep again at night....humidity wasn't an issue anymore with air-con....that was Buddy's near-fatal flaw....just couldn't provide the vital air-con......but I won't speak bad of Buddy apart from that!!

There's also a lovely museum near Fanny Bay...loads of Aboriginal art & stuff relating to the historyof Darwin....afraid it was only a whistle-blow stop though...30 minutes only cause we spent the morning washing Buddy inside & out....glad I kept the stanley knife & the pillow donated along the way....came in handy as a sponge.

Oh nearly forgot to mention my moment of salvation. Well it came in the form of a hairdresser. You may remember me getting my hair butchered by some manic Thai woman with a scissors back in Thailand....well anyway I thought of her everyday & cursed her in the nicest possible way every time I looked in the mirror.....so number one on my agenda was a visit to a hairdresser. I know men don't appreciate these things...but it's so nice to run your hands through your hair without the rat's ends.....so I'm happy out now & no more moaning from my corner anymore.

Think that just about sums up our few days in Darwin. Of course a bit of socializing was done since we had found civilization again...but we wilted early & were ready for our beds come 1am cause we hadn't been sleeping in nights because of the humidity in Buddy. That said it's one of the nicer places along the Top End as they call it there.

Must go. Love Alison

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