Darwin.

Apologies all for the lack of updates, we have had quite a lot going on and finding the time to sit down just to type up a few words is hard to find.
So to our stay in Darwin, we booked into the Oasis Caravan Park just out of town, a mate was staying there so was good to catch with Andrew, his wife and their fluffy dog. During our stay we checked out a lot of the Darwin surrounds including the waterfront precinct, Mindell markets, free water parks for the kids and even had time for a fishing trip with some guys we met on the road.

 

Darwin has a lot of history relating to WW2 and in later years cyclone Tracy which devastated the city in 1970's, the city needed rebuilding after that and still hosts a large contingent of RAAF families who work on the airbase close to the city.

One of the nice things to see was Burnett House which was designed back in the 1930's to maximise the benefits of tropical living, big louvred windows and walls which do not reach the ceiling to allow cross flow of the breezes.

Another highlight was the museum which along with free entry had some great displays of animals, plants and birds along with a large section devoted to the cyclone Tracy story, it was Christmas Morning when the cyclone hit so one can only imagine the turmoil for all those involved with some of the stories being quite touching. They have a 5m crocodile called Sweetheart which was trapped but in the process of moving it the sedative used caused the croc to sink and tangle in some tree roots underwater and die, so Sweetheart (named after the waterway it inhabited) was stuffed for all to see in years to come.

I (Liam) went on a fishing charter for a day, the guide was cranky when he had to pick me up from a different van park to the others but off we went, setting crab pots first then heading up river on a falling tide only to purposely beach us and spend the next 7hrs watching out live bait swim in circles chasing the elusive to us Barramundi. Once the tide came back in, at great speed, we got back in the boat and retrieved the crab pots which thankfully contained enough to share around making the lack of fish feel not so bad on those attending.

We ended up spending about 10 days in Darwin and in that time really got to like the vibe of the place, so much so I (Liam) got offered a job so we will be returning so I can start work in mid October.
With around 8 weeks to go before work started we had only one think to do, drive to the tip of Cape York, some time soon I will give you the story, until then, safe travels.