Blogs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 12

Thursday, 24th July 2014 I wasn't expecting too much out of this visit to the Northern Territory but it turned out to be a relatively good experience. There were some sights that I was really keen to explore and it helped that H was very accommodating throughout this trip. As the days went by, I managed to check off those places from my wish list one by one. As soon as we cleared off the Australian Customs, we hailed a blue taxi which would bring us to the url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g255066-d498785-r218190569-Mediterranean_All_Suite_Hotel-Darwin_Top_End_Northern_Territor.htmlMediterranean All Suite Hotel located within the mini CBD District. The time was 7.34am as we entered the near-empty Stuart Highway. About 15 minutes into the journey, we had arrived at our accommodation where we were warmly greeted by one of the nice ladies at th... read more

Well last time I wrote was a long time ago and a long way away - a different state and time zone in fact. We waited an extra day in Seisia for lighter winds but did not get them. Where one British boat left another, that knew them, took their place so we introduced ourselves. I managed to hitch a ride to and from Bamaga, for something to do, both times with aboriginals. I asked the guy driving the first car what sights I should see and his only suggestion was buying a cray-fish pie. Bamaga is truly a one-street town, with a few dusty shops, one pub with drive through bottle shop, a collection of shonky looking houses and a sparkling new library and centrelink office. I got a coupe of pies and left. 5th ... read more

Leaving Eighty Mile Beach we head in the direction of Broome, we have been there before but we are hopeful of getting some warranty work completed there on the caravan by a mobile repairer. Broome is a town built on pearls and has a rich history involving the Japanese pearl divers.Today pearls are still cultured and farmed here with one of the pearl farms offering sightseeing tours.Having been here before we have no real inclination to undertake any of the tours,our first blog on our visit to Broome contains information on that visit.We check in to a caravan park close to the famous Cable beach with its miles of golden sand.Here we also meet up with two sets of friends we have seen on previous camps and catch up on each others stories.Although not wanting to ... read more

Darwin 10-12 May 2014 We left Brisbane at 9.30am and arrived at 1.00pm in Darwin. We travelled to the Hilton Darwin by shuttle bus when the bus driver gave a quick explanation of what we were seeing on the way to some of the hotels. We noticed many changes since we had been in Darwin 9 years before, mainly 6 story high rises of units. But we were later going to see much more that has changed. We settled into our hotel and went for a walk down to the waterfront. When going past Parliament House we popped in to see the inside with its wood-panelled walls and the green coloured Legislative Assembly. There was also a memorial for the old Post Office which used to be on the site before the Parliament House was built. ... read more

We spent 5 days barely scratching the surface of Kakadu National Park, this vast reserve extends over 20,000 square km and encompasses huge dramatic landscapes from sandstone escarpments to vast wetlands. Kakadu is also known as a living cultural landscape, filled with fascinating rock art sites and dreaming places representing one of the longest historical records of any group of people in the world. Although managed by the government as a National Park, the land itself still belongs to the Bininj/Mungguy aboriginals who have adapted and used the land for food and general survival over tens of thousands of years, and thus access to the park is strictly limited to designated trails and camping grounds. Nevertheless, whether it was the time of the year (the hottest !) or the sheer size of the park, we rarely ... read more