Tuesday 12th July – Monday 18th July - Darwin week 2
Well to misquote Herman's Hermits: Second week, same as the first
Note: Herman said: “Second verse, same as the first”
A lot of relaxing, a bit of touristing and a few chores. Will this Hell never end?
SUMMARY:
Chores:
1 x TED (including the actual replacement of the seal bought last week)
3 x Loads of washing
2 x trips to supermarket
1 x Shopping Centres
1x Giving MM a bath at the car wash
Lots of Hours getting the blog up to date. (Not really a chore, I love the adulation)
Numerous phone calls, emails to sort out accommodation for Elke
Including Elke actually moving in (thanks V & H & Marita)
Numerous phone calls, emails for connecting utilities to Elke's “pad”
Numerous phone calls to Elke. Sheeeeee's baaack.
Numerous phone calls to V & H, they are back too. That's a relief, we are going to need our travel guides on the same time zone once we start moving again next week.
PS it's not a chore talking to V&H. The chore was organising moving into the new apartment and getting the car out of storage
1x Planning meeting for next phase of the trip. (Don't want to overthink this thing).
Socialising:
7 x Wine o'clocks
Multiple Chats with two couples next door who are members of the Ulysses motorcycle club.
The four of them have travelled all the way round Australia (not in one go) on Honda Goldwing motorcycles. Towing trailers with their camping gear.
Relaxing
Many Swims in pool(s) at van park
Lots of reading
Note: Di has finished the Cobra now
(not so relaxing) Watched the last episode of NCIS LA (Series 1). That's it we have no more.
Started Watching the movie collection we bought along
Salt with Angelina Jolie (sorry El). Great movie. Judging by the ending they are planning a sequel.
Knight & Day (Tom Cruise & Cameron Diaz) – very entertaining, very over the top
Touristing
Picnic at Alexander Lake
It looked so good the other day we went back in MM and sat in the park for lunch.
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| Di's idea of a touristy day |
Museum & Art Gallery
Bit of culture, but it came highly recommended. Plus it is free. Ka ching.
Lot of indigenous art including Albert (and other) Namatjira(s).
Cyclone Tracy exhibition, fascinating and disturbing. Maybe we will skip coming here to check out the wet season, it seems to include the cyclone season too. If Santa didn't make it into Darwin (according to the Bill & Boyd song anyway) probably not the place for us either.
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| I think this is an Ibis. We've stayed at a couple of their hotels |
Darwin Casino
OK, I am going to have to be honest here, this really was “pensioner day”.
- We caught the free bus from the park (at 9:35 am) and arrived at the Casino before 10:30.
- We signed up for the “casino club”. Free and it gave us $10 of free pokie play
- We signed up for a “$25 action pack” each
- Another $5 of free pokie play
- Free proper cappuccinno (with stunning view over the bay from the balcony)
- Buffet lunch (RRP $19.95) including free soft drinks & tea & coffee
- Free standard drink from the bar (we went for white wine)
- Double your bet Keno (pay $5 and the casino doubled it to $10)
Come on guys, seriously we would have been mad not to partake. Wouldn't we?
- The coffee was great, the view from the balcony to die for.
- We arrived for the buffet lunch at 11:45 (ok that may have been a little bit pensioner like) but we didn't leave until 2:30 (that's more like a standard lunch, for Steve).
- We may have overdone the “grazing” to be honest. But then again we only managed a peanut butter sandwich for dinner
- We both got real white wine. Again that might have been a stretch, I think it might have been casked wine
- We got door to door service on the bus
- if we hadn't taken the bus we wouldn't now know that Darwin airport runway is the only runway in the Southern Hemisphere capable of landing the Space Shuttle
- On the other hand that information is somewhat less useful as the Space Shuttle program finished last week. There will be no more shuttles.
Cancelled, due to Steve not getting back from ablution block in time. No, not a stomach upset, chatting to people along the way. Again.
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| This is what the Lake would have looked like if we got there today It's what it looked like the first time |
SPECIAL EVENTS
1x Near death experience.
OK, maybe a slight exaggeration, but seriously this is as close as I want to get to a bush fire.
Here's the scene: Steve sitting inside MM with back doors open to get the breeze through. Di pottering around.
Steve: “Gee, you can really smell the smoke today. Must be a fire somewhere.”
Di: “Yeah, it's really strong isn't it.”
Steve: “Gosh, there's ash blowing through the back door”
Di: “Maybe you should close the door.”
Steve: “Good idea”
Steve moves to back door.
Steve: “Golly” (or words to that effect). “There's flames in the paddock next door”
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| FIRE !!!! |
Next bit of the conversation is a bit blurred but suffice it to say:
- that Di went up to the office and asked if anyone had noticed that we were all about to be incinerated
- the maintenance guys came and stood at the fence for 10 minutes
- the maintenance guys called the fire brigade
- the fire brigade came and put the fire out.
1x Medical emergency
Again, probably an exaggeration but Steve did get absolutely mauled by some bitey insect thingies. It was quite uncomfortable. Could have been midgies. Everybody gets bitten by midgies in Darwin.
Reader quiz: What are midgies?
Editors note: That has just reminded me, that I was reminded some time ago, that I may have neglected to publish the results of the reader quiz "can anyone identify the plant in this picture?" from about 3 months ago. The response was underwhelming, so by default the winner was Mrs. V. Hertaeg of Jan Juc, in Australia, with "I don't know the name but they are just a weed. The fruit is not edible."
Thank you Mrs. Hertaeg.
Conclusion
Darwin, is an ideal winter getaway.
By all accounts our weather experience here is standard for this time of the year: clear blue skies; temperatures in the low 30's and a cooling breeze.
The city, though small, offers all the mod con's. Including casino and there is plenty of touristy things to do and see.
Double bonus, QANTAS flies here so you could even get Marita looking after you on the trip up and back.
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| What the ? |
Well that's it. Up to date for probably only the second or third time for the whole trip.
Next stop Kakadu. Leaving Darwin on Tuesday, stay tuned.
Next stop Kakadu. Leaving Darwin on Tuesday, stay tuned.
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