Day 11: 14/9/2014 Darwin, NT
Day of leisure
Today we had a relaxing day in
Darwin. After a couple days of early
starts, it was great to sleep in a bit and not worry about packing bags in the
morning. We spent the morning
sightseeing, driving around Darwin, checking out a beach area (Fannie Bay!) and
then went to the Darwin Military Museum. Along with military memorabilia from many
eras, there is an extensive exhibit on the Defense of Darwin – related to defending Darwin
from the Japanese bombing during WWII. The
exhibit was a fantastic mix of historical photos and film and computer
generated graphics with personal accounts both from journals and records from
that time, and transcripts of interviews done more recently with local
residents who lived through it. Outside
the museum there were lots of large guns and military vehicles. We both were really glad we went.
After this, it was back to
Mitchell Street for some lunch, then back to the hotel to check out the
pool. Since the temperature had been in
the upper 30s for the past few days the pool felt great, especially knowing
that it will be a while before we can enjoy it back in Sydney.
This evening, we went to the
Mindil Beach Sunset Market. The markets
are held every Thursday and Sunday in the dry season, and have a great
collection of crafts and food, with a variety of entertainment – including the
main act: the sunset over the ocean. We
got dinner, watched an acrobat/juggling team (Jacob & Sophie?) and Pat bought
2 new bags (her ongoing quest during this trip has been finding or making the
perfect tote bag.)
Now, back the hotel to relax,
and start packing up for an early start. We will say goodbye to Darwin, and to the
Northern Territory and head to Western Australia. We have decided not to stop in Katherine,
but head right to Kununurra, WA. We had
planned to take a cruise up Katherine Gorge – which is actually a series of
gorges and waterfalls along the Katherine river. But since it is the end of the dry season, we
have heard that several of the gorges are dried up, and the waterfalls are not
as spectacular as usual. So, we have
decided to save that for another trip, when we will try to get here a bit
earlier in the season. Instead, it’s
off to WA.
Typical jeep that was supplied by the US Army. Just some trivia, by the end of 2014 a new USA military base will be completed in Darwin to house over 2000 troops.
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