DARWIN
BIG 4 HOWARD SPRINGS
TUESDAY 17TH JUNE
We've been in Darwin for over a week now but it seems like much more. We are staying about 20 minutes drive out of Darwin at a place called Howard Springs. Up here this place is considered rural and I've since discovered that the bus service here consists of one bus to the nearest town of Palmerston in the morning and 1 bus back in the afternoon. That's about it so it's walk or there's a bike track into town which takes about 25 minutes but then you have to cross the major highway- the Stuart Highway- which can be a bit like playing chicken with the traffic depending on what time of day it is.Keith started working the day after we got here and so that leaves me without a car in a remote area which can be difficult depending on what you need to do. I could drive him but it would be a 25 minute drive in peak hour traffic and then a 25 minute drive back so I have adapted to keeping busy. I am really lucky as I've heard the weather in Melbourne is raining and about 16deg. It's always about 30deg here, beautiful and sunny. Well it is the dry season I'm sure it would be vastly different in the wet. The locals are all complaining how cold it is!!
Whilst we have been here we have explored a bit of Darwin including the waterfront and the wavepool. The waterfront has been developed rather like the Docklands in Melbourne including a lot of restaurants and bars. We paid a visit to the Information Centre to get a feel for the place and had lunch in town. Another day I tried out the bike track into Palmerston and found the bus interchange. I intended to use the new bikelockup area but when I was told it cost $25 opted for just putting my own lock on. I found the Casuarina bus. The ticket there cost me $3 for 3 hours of travel. Casuarina Shopping Centre offers a large amount of shops including Big W, Kmart and a lot of specialty shops and is the largest shopping centre in Darwin.
On Saturday afternoon we took a drive out the Adelaide River which took us around 45 minutes. We stopped off at the Fogg Dam conservation area to look around. You can normally walk along the dam wall but as crocs had been sighted in the area you could only drive across. Fogg Dam is teeming with bird life and is very pretty with lotus flowers in bloom. We sighted quite a few egrets and a few falcons as well riding on the currents searching for pray. From Fogg Dam is was a short trip to the Jumping Crocs. The place was jumping literally as people turned up all at once to do the tour much to the delight of the two brothers who run it. It is only a small business but they are a great tour to do as they like to give you a personalised tour and keep the groups small so everyone can ask questions and get great photos. They are called Adelaide River Cruises and are situated in Anzac Parade just past the Fogg Dam. They had a booking of 26 people when we got there. They all were drinking beer and one girl was swearing her head off in front of the kids that were there. They also wanted to take their esky on the boat for a one hour tour but one of the brothers told them definitely 'no'. Consequently no-one wanted to get on the boat with them but other than that the tour was very interesting and I'm really pleased with the photos I got.
On Sunday we went into Darwin and had a look at Crocosaurus Cove which is right in the heart of everything. It cost $32 each to get in. There are some really large crocs in pools and if you pay an exhorbitant amount of money over the normal entrance fee you can get in a cage and be lowered into their tank with them. Whatever floats your boat so to speak but it's not really my cup of tea. Also we felt it was difficult to see crocs in those cages when we had seen them in the wild.
There is also quite a good reptile display, a display of young crocs and turtles, a cafeteria and different talks throughout the day. We saw a snake talk. The girl had a black headed python which she fed a rat to and then you could hold it afterwards. (Hopefully the rat wasn't visible then) We opted not to hold it.
After lunch we went to the Darwin museum and Art Gallery in Bullocky Point. It's free entry so very reasonable. There's a lot to see here including a display on Cyclone Tracy and the devastation it wrought on Darwin and surrounds in 1974 with photos of before and after. You can see 'Sweetheart' a very large croc that was stuffed and put on display and lots of Aboriginal artwork including some of Albert Namatjira's paintings and also a large boat display.
We finished the museum tour and leaving our car there we walked around the point on the cliff top admiring the coastal view to Mindil Beach and the market. The market is huge with lots of different handicrafts including paintings, photos, clothes and jewellery. There is also a large assortment of different foods from all over the world. Most people bring their families, their chairs and sit on the grass and listen to the entertainers (of which there are a few) have a meal and watch the sunset which is a tradition here. The market is on every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and one not to be missed.
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