Thomas Family Road Trip: Darwin (26/4/12

From Kakadu we drove 240 kilometers north west to Darwin. We were all keen to get to Darwin, having never been there before. We were not disappointed - we loved it. There was so much to see and do, it was so easy to get around, it had the bluest water and the most amazing sunsets. The weather was beautiful - low to mid 30's each day, with only a couple of days of high humidity.

Darwin has a lot of history - being the site of Australia's worst recorded natural disaster - Cyclone Tracy in 1974. It was also obviously bombed by the Japanese in World War 2. Darwin then became a strategic military base with 64,000 military personnel in the region at its peak. It's hard to imagine, given NT's total population now is only around 223,000.

On our second day in Darwin, Grandma and Grandpa arrived and spent a week with us, which was lovely. We had not seen them since September. The kids loved having Grandma and Grandpa around and they got spoilt rotten!

We did a fair few "tourist" things in Darwin. Here's some of what we did.

We went to the well known Mindil Beach Markets twice. The first time was our first night in Darwin and the first market for the year, so it was packed. There was 20,000 people there apparently, no wonder we couldn't move! Despite this we enjoyed the beautiful sunset and yummy food. The choice of food was amazing - you name it they had it. Donna had the yummiest laksa. On our second visit, Joan and Rex were with us and we met our friends Peter and Marg there. We had a great night - another amazing sunset and more delicious food. Another yummy laksa for Donna!

Aquascene was a huge hit with the kids. For the past fifty years, fish have been coming into shore at Doctor's Gully in Darwin Harbour at high tide to be fed. This started after a man started feeding them bread from the shore fifty years ago. It is now a big tourist attraction. The kids were able to stand in the water and feed the fish - there were milkfish, barramundi, mullet, catfish, stingrays and many more.

We walked through one of five world war two tunnels, that were built to store oil during the war. Tunnel five is open to the public. It is 171 meters long and has a number of photos from the war along the walls. It was very interesting, although Ben preferred to jump in the puddles than appreciate it!

The Darwin Museum was great, although we didn't get through it all. The kids loved the Kids Discovery Centre and drew some very impressive pictures, especially of crocodiles. The section on Cyclone Tracey was very interesting. The destruction it caused is difficult to fathom. You can't imagine how frightening it would have been. The cyclone sound room provided some insight into what it would have sounded like. This was bad enough.

On Tuesday we drove 60 kilometers east to Adelaide River and went on the Spectacular Crocodile Jumping boat trip, which we all really enjoyed. Before the boat trip, we had the opportunity to hold a python. Chloe had been really looking forward to this (where she got her enthusiasm to get up close and personal to snakes we don't know as we can't stand them!) and was very keen to have a hold. She held an eight year old water python named Madoosa, that was over a meter in length, black in colour, with a yellow stomach. She loved it and Madoosa loved Chloe's hair. Ben also happily had a hold, although probably wasn't quite as enthusiastic as Chloe. Despite Donna's absolute fear of snakes, she faced her fears and also had a hold. It was amazing how soft the snake's skin was. Chloe loved it so much she had a second hold.

We boarded the boat and went exploring the Adelaide River in search of saltwater croc's. We saw quite a few, one even before we left the mooring. As a crocodile got close to the boat, some meat was hung over the side of the boat and once it became interested it was brought up higher until the crocodile would literally jump out of the water to get it. It was amazing how far out of the water they jumped, using their tail to propel themselves. It was frightening to see how fast they moved and appeared out of nowhere. Very scary creatures! Thank goodness we had glass windows between us and them.

Adelaide River is full of saltwater crocodiles, so is very dangerous and you definitely do not swim there. Our skipper told us how recently they saw a group of European girls drifting down the river on an inflatable bed, oblivious to the danger. CRAZY!!

From here we drove a short distance to Window of the Wetlands, an interpretative centre which the kids enjoyed.

Back in Darwin, we drove around Cullen Bay and Fannie Bay, both beautiful spots with crystal clear blue water (& croc's!). At Cullen Bay we had an afternoon drink at Buzz Cafe. Buzz Cafe overlooks the marina and the many beautiful boats, but is also home to some unique toilets. Sounds bizarre I know, but this is why we went there. The male toilets have a one sided window, so when you are using the toilet you can look out over the marina and cafe. Simon, Rex and Ben checked it out. Simon said it was somewhat uncomfortable using the toilet while watching people eating their meals!

Not only does Darwin have beautiful blue water, which unfortunately you can not safely swim in because of the crocodiles, it also has some beautiful parks. We enjoyed a few nice picnics at Lake Alexander and a park in the CBD, both with views of the water.

As mentioned in previous posts, Simon and Chloe both celebrated their birthdays in Darwin. What a lovely spot to turn 40 and 8!

We all enjoyed spending time with our Victorian neighbours, the Wise family. It is always nice for the kids to have other kids to play with. We are heading in the same direction, so we hope to meet up again along the way.

We had a nice catch up with some friends of Joan and Rex's, Tony and Julie Sage, who live in Darwin. It was lovely to meet you Tony and Julie.

Joan and Rex headed home on Friday and we stayed on until Sunday. We spent some time on Saturday at a water park. It had three water slides, a water playground, massive pool and a playground. It was so quiet, which meant we did not have to line up for the water slides, which meant more rides! We all enjoyed the water slides, even though they weren't as big, fast or scary as those at Wet n Wild! The added bonus was it was free.

On Friday afternoon/night, we caught up with The Muntz's for a few drinks. Thanks Emma and Muntzy for your hospitality and a great catch up. We can see why you love living in Darwin.

On our last day in Darwin, we visited the Parap Markets, which predominantly sell fresh fruit and vegies, Asian food and smoothies etc. Plus the best laksa in Darwin (as claimed by Emma). So of course we had to sample some...and it was delicious as were the chicken satay sticks.

The only thing we didn't enjoy about Darwin was the very annoying sand flies.

After ten great days in Darwin, it was time to move on to our next stop - Litchfield National Park. We can't wait!