Blogs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 8

Just realised I forgot to publish this one so apologies for being out of order! Wed 29 Apr Darwin Litchfield We flew into Darwin and made our way to our home for the next 5 nights, Zen Apartments. Our first evening was spent on the Cape Adieu Dinner Cruise around Darwin Harbour. It was a gloriously warm evening with a mountain of lovely seafood and an amazing sunset. On Thu 30 April we went to the first Mindil sunset market of the year. They take place on Sunday and Thursday evenings and are a Mecca for foodies and shoppers. There are food stalls of many different cultures and we opted for Cantonese which we ate on the beach as the sun went down. There was a fantastic choice of dishes from which you could choose 3 ... read more

I had always wanted to visit Darwin ever since my cousin, Anne, and her husband, Neil, had moved there 25 years ago. It seemed so exotic. This trip seemed the best opportunity to get there so it was a point on the map from the very beginning. There was a note of surprise in most people's voices, especially those who knew Australia, when we told them it was going to be our only stop on the continent. We reckoned it was where the 'real' Australia might be (if it exists at all) and, anyway, that is where Anne was! As English, I suppose we should first talk about the weather. However, in Darwin at this time of year, the start of the dry season, there is no point. It is 32C during the day and 20C ... read more

The boat powered down the surf in the middle of Darwin harbour. As it hit the wave in front a great sheet of water enveloped the boat and soaked Tommy, Jane and I from head to toe. Tommy held tight to the steering wheel with the two fingers and thumb left on his left hand and to keep us on course. He had lost the other two fingers to a crocodile twelve years ago. At this point Tommy decided we would not check the crocodile traps on the far side of Darwin Harbour. We were mid channel with Darwin city to our East. It was blowing a 'hoolie', at least a 5, Tommy headed for the West arm harbour branches where there was more shelter. Tommy is a real celebrity in these parts. As the leader ... read more

A relatively quiet day today. It was another very hot day and we were still a bit sapped from yesterday. I did start the day with a very beautiful swim again. It sets you up, love that warm water! Later Rob caught up on some reading and I popped into the local shopping centre and organised some bits and pieces. We won't get any real decent food options from here on so trying to stock up as best we can. Made a nice pot of chicken soup in the Thermo shuttle! Will be very handy in little frozen packs on the road. It was getting seriously hot so we both went for a swim. The water had heated up even more but was still very refreshing. The Bago is going in for it's service tomorrow and ... read more

Well if you can get through the Blog without yawning today, I'd be very grateful! It was a pretty ordinary day. Mind you it did start off with an early morning swim, managed to get the beautiful pool all to myself! Oh and the air temperature at 7.30 am was about 28 degrees and the water temp about 24. So not too shabby! Cooked up a canadian breaky and cappacino, as I'd worked up an appetite doing laps. (yeah I guess we are really glamping hey!). After a lazy read I got stuck into it! Time to do some house work! Changed the sheets, did all the washing, defrosted the fridge and freezer, washed down all the surfaces, even vacced the lounge seats! Phew! Bago looks as schmick as ever though! In the mean time Rob ... read more