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Friday, 19 August 2011

The Darwin Experience (outside of the troubles)

In all that we were trying to resolve a range of issues while in Darwin, we also had plenty of time to take in some of the sights and experiences as well.
The waterfront area, around the harbour, has been very well set up with things to do for all walks of life. While there the Endeavour was in port which added to the colour and diversity.
The Museum and Art Gallery was also an interesting visit, with Max being very interested in the Cyclone Tracy display.
IMG_0355IMG_0354IMG_0353IMG_0360IMG_0361The most popular place however (which ended up necessitating a couple of visits) was the Leander Recreation Park. This is basically a large playground, however a significant amount of it is water-based. This includes a water play feature, three large water slides and a fairly shallow pool. Unlike nearly every other similar facility I have come across, this one was completely free, which is a great way of ensuring that kids don’t miss out on some of these types of activities.
DSCF1334DSCF1342DSCF1338DSCF1363The major excursion while we based ourselves in Darwin was a trip to the Litchfield National Park.DSCF1374 The kids had a ball swimming in one of the pools there, DSCF1353while the maintenance of the old Blythe Homestead and the interpretive information provided with it was a major highlight.DSCF1370 The fact that one of the original inhabitants had been a boy of nine named Max gave it pertinence tot he kids – especially finding that at nine part of his working day included cooking for his seven brothers and sisters. Needless to say I am feeling a little soft as a parent after that! Max especially was also intrigued by the magnetic termite mounds and the difference between the magnetic and cathedral termites.DSCF1328
DSCF1388Last night before packing Liz and Harry on the plane was spent at Darwin’s major markets. The number of people drawn to these is truly amazing and far exceeds what is probably warranted purely by the quality, diversity and number of stall. This I think is due to the fact that these markets have moved on over time to become part meeting place and part weekly family event with the markets themselves providing a venue and excuse. It was obvious that the majority of people simply went to buy dinner from one of the food .
Friday morning then rose much sooner than really desired, as we had to be up at 4.30am to get Liz and Harry on the plane. Harry almost didn’t sleep at all that night as he was so worried about missing the plane, so was very happy to find it was still there when we arrived at the airport.
After seeing loved ones off Max and I repaired to that bastion of Australian-ness – McDonalds, for breakfast. This was largely due to it being next door to Bunnings. I still needed to purchase a couple of items to allow me to mount the jerry cans on the roof racks (I had rescued them off the van as I felt that they would be of more use to me if they were actually with me),  to bolts and screws repair our camp chairs (several had worked their way out over the past weeks as well as a tarp so that I could rig up an awning off the car if/when we needed it. Due to our early start we were there significantly before Bunnings opened however – hence McDonalds.
The rest of the morning was dedicated to mounting jerry cans (a fine job if I do say so Smile) and packing the car. This was a much different packing exercise to most – normally  pack to fit as much as I can in the smallest possible space – this time was all about packing it to make the car itself as easy to live from as possible. In the end we didn’t leave Dee and Tam’s until just after lunch, with stops still needed to stock up on food and fuel resulting in not getting out of Darwin until after 3pm. This was a little later than we really would have wanted to set for Kakadu but Max and I both agreed that it was time to get the show back on the road even if the first night included setting up in the dark.
Many thanks go to Dee and Tam for their hospitality and support and Riley for sharing toys etc. with the kids with very good grace. It was lovely to spend time with Dee and her parents, who were there for most of our stay who were obviously a very large part of Liz’s child and early adulthood. Hopefully this is another of those relationships that this trip has grown and will contribute to growing further in the future.

1 comment:

  1. McDonalds without Harry and me, HJs without Harry and me a little while ago... What's going on??

    ReplyDelete