Darwin Show

The past couple of weeks, Jenni's dad has been here for a visit. For his last day we went to the Darwin Show. Probably the equivalent to the Denver Stock show, perhaps on a smaller scale. There were, however, huge crowds as everyone had Friday off. Typically we would leave town, because it meant Litchfield or Kakadu were empty. Since this was our last chance, we thought we shouldn't miss it.

We got Cyrus outfitted in his best Darwin reg.

Safe for the whole family...

The infamous Australian Headless and Footless Table Pigeon.

French Chickens

Jenni's dad loved Cyrus's food

Cyrus was not happy about that.

Alternate sequence for Australians:

Cyrus is a big Doggies fan.

Then he heard about the bulldogs sacking Aker.

Cyrus was not happy about this decision.

Things to do in Darwin

We've noticed this blog popping up in a few travel related forums (linked to it) and thought maybe we should include some information for people traveling to Darwin and the Top End.

Things to do in Darwin:

There are a number of places to visit in the city itself, but it really has oriented itself mostly to people just passing through on there way to Litchfield and Kakadu national parks. The Museum and Art Gallery of the NT is really pretty well done and covers a range of topics from local flora and fauna to Indigenous artwork and history. The Cyclone Tracy exhibit is perhaps the must-see of the entire museum. Might even be worth going to the museum last, so you can see all the places you've visited and how they've changed. The botanical gardens are not far from the museum and offer some nice walks, but it is pretty small.

Aquascene is a place to go feed some fish near the CBD, but we've only walked past it (closed when we there). There is an old fuel storage container near there that has been converted to a rock climbing gym.

We're all for seeing movies while on vacation, and the Deckchair Cinema has a great venue to do this. It's located just below the CBD, and is open during the Dry Season, and part of the build-up.Not far from the Deckchair are the old fuel tunnels from WWII, but we haven't visited them. We've heard the hours are a bit odd, so you might check when you get here if you're interested. There is a pearling exhibition down by the wharf, David has tried to get Jenni to go, but she doesn't seem interested.

East point is located outside the CBD, and is a nice nature reserve. There is a military history museum there, but we have never been.

You can catch a ferry across the bay to Mandorah from Cullen Bay (or ride your bikes like we've done). There really isn't much there besides the pub. We've heard there is a WWII plane wreckage, but not sure where it is.


Eating in the Darwin:
There are loads of restaurants on Mitchell street in the CBD. Beware, service can be terrible on some evenings, and fantastic at other times. Check out the Noodle House for Asian food, or Shenanigans for pub food. The Moorish cafe on Knuckey street offers pretty good tapas. A walk down to the wharf is worth the view, and the food is surprisingly good (most of the time at least :)). The Cornucopia restaurant is located in the Museum, open for lunch and breakfast, but you might need to make a booking if you're there during peak hours. There are a number of good (and more expensive) restaurants down in Cullen bay; which is also a nice place to get a coffee (and catch the ferry to Mandorah). On East Point there is a restaurant called PeeWees and that is supposed to be good but very expensive. Along the road to East Point there are three clubs: Jet Ski, Sailing, and Trailor Boat club. They allow visitors, and all offer a great view of the sunset. Last time we went the Sailing club had the best food of the lot, but it all depends on who's cooking.

There are several markets. Mindil Beach market is probably the most popular, and runs from the dry through the build-up Thursday and Sunday nights. Another good spot for sunset watching. There are plenty of food stalls (woodfire pizza is quite nice), and shopping. If you are looking to get some gifts for people, then probably do it there. The Parap market runs all year (closest to the CBD) on Saturday morning. There are some food stalls, and fresh food stalls. Nightcliff market is all year round on Sunday morning. It's sort of a hodgepodge of things, food, gifts, fresh fruit. Not far is the Rapid Creek market, same Sunday morning. There is more fresh vegetables and fruit here. If you are looking to make your own food, go there for the fresh stuff.

Quick Day Trips:
If you are willing to make a few hours drive there are a couple of places not far out of town to visit. If you read this blog, you know that we like to visit Fogg Dam. It's free and there are usually plenty of wildlife, albeit mostly birds. Not far is the Jumping Croc tour. Admittedly, this was fun. Look for the one next to the bridge with the tall croc statue. You can also go to the Territory Wildlife Park if you want to see more wildlife up close. It is well done, but expensive. The nocturnal exhibit is particularly good. Before getting to the Wildlife Park there is Berry Springs, if you want to cool off in some croc free springs (at least during the dry). It's easy enough to do Litchfield park in a day, but will require a lot of driving. Here's our entry.

Long Excursions:
Obviously Kakadu is a must. It is HUGE though, so expect to do some driving between places. It would take at least 3 hours to get to Jabiru at the northern end of the park from Darwin along the Arnhem Highway. If you are going to camp at the southern end, drive to pine creek and use that entrance along the Stuart Highway. Check out our entry on this for things to see and places to camp. Litchfield is great too, and some really nice camping spots.

You can keep going past Pine Creek and get to Katherine. Skip the town and go straight to the gorge. From here there are a multitude of options, from simple river cruises to longer excursions. You can canoe up the river, and camp along it, but they only rent canoes for a day, so you will need to find another means if you don't have your own. You can also start a 5-6 day backpacking trip along the Jatbula trail. You need to make advanced bookings to do it though. It's a moderate to difficult hike depending on your physical standing. David was able to do it, so you know it was too difficult.

Hopefully that provides some helpful advice for people coming up to the Top End...or down to the Top End.

First Visitor

We've gotten our first visitor to Darwin - Jenni's dad Hiram. It's good to have an excuse to go do touristy things with him. Today we went and walked around the Darwin CBD and then to the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery. No visit to the gallery is complete without a stop at Sweetheart the 5.1 meter 700 kilo (almost 1 tonne) salty, and the Cyclone Tracy Exhibit.

They also have a neat maritime exhibit. Filled with a high with boats (ships?) from throughout Indonesia that have been confiscated because illegal fishing.

Here on the left side of the photo we encounter the migratory species extrarius salutor - more commonly called the "tourist." Distinctive plumage around the legs are typically khaki coloured with numerous pockets footwear include the labels Merrel or Nike, and plumage around the head typically is a large brimmed hat, sometimes made of a tough leatherous material called leather and rimmed with teeth from a crocodile made of plastic.

This is contrasted with the permanent resident - locus northern tractus or commonly known as "Territorian." Plumage around the chest is usually a white singlet, sometimes bare breasted, with short shorts, and typically carrying a stubby holder with a can of XXXX Gold Beer in it. The locus northern tractus has a carefree jovial personality and is usually harmless.

Humidity must be good for something...

The build-up is in full swing as we transition from the dry to the wet. The days are about 30 degrees Celsius with 70% humidity, and nights are about the same. Our new k-mart brand weather station hasn't changed positions since we got it...but it is a "k-mart brand weather station."

We picked up an Irwin mango from the Nightcliff market this morning. As the shopkeeper said, "You have to eat it in a bath." Because it is so juicy, not because we needed tp romance it before eating it. It was a good excuse for David to try food photography. You never know when you'll be walking down the street and someone will run up to you in a panic shouting "Do you know how to take pictures of Mangoes?!?!!??!?!?!?!?" To which you calmly reply - "Yes, yes I do."


Typically, we ride our bikes to work every day along the beach. We won't really be able to do this during the wet, although by the time we roll up to work we are drenched. There are a number of birds that reside along the bike path, and they are really used to humans so are easy to take snapshots of. Don't worry, Jenni won't let David turn this into a blog of entirely bird photographs, but here are a few.

Magpie Lark building a nest.

Galahs feeding.
Masked Lapwing. These are very protective of their nests and if you get within 20 feet of it they take off into the air and divebomb you.
Little Corella. These are noisy birds, but beautiful bright colors.
Rainbow Bee-eater. These shimmer blue in the sun.
Hopefully we got the species right...

"Exotic Life of Danger and Mystery"

We arrived safely in Darwin after 20 some hours on the plane. The booking for the plane was done through an agency, and whoever set it it up didn't give much time in between flights. For international you need a minimum of 2 hours. It was partially our fault because we didn't catch it when we reviewed the itinerary. It didn't help that our flight from Denver to Los Angeles was delayed. We were left with 20 minutes to catch our flight to Sydney, and miraculously we made it by running. The actual destination of our flight was to Melbourne, so we had to go through customs there, and didn't find out till then if our bags had made it. Luckily they did. Then it was off to Darwin with a four hour flight. After waiting at the taxi stand for an hour, we finally made it home. The cats were very excited to see as evident with the photo.


The next day we went to the Nightcliff market, where David's brother's theory that there is a Peruvian pan flute player in every city received more empirical evidence.


From there we headed to the Darwin Cat show. We're not sure what this guy is doing. There were a lot of beautiful cats there.


Then Jenni took over the camera, where she documented our domestic lives in Darwin. This will probably shatter your visions of us as international spies living an exoctic life of danger and mystery....then again that's probably just David's imagination.

Grocery Shopping at Woolies (Woolworths).

Our Book Exchange.

Newsstand.

Our bakery.

Brand awareness.

And the coup de grace - we finally have a photo of the little man shorts. All attempts have been made to protect this person's identity. As have been stated, they clearly go above mid-thigh. It is possible that this person was a CEO with shorts like that.

Why'd It Have to be Boats?

Jenni is away and I've been left to my own devices this Darwin Cup weekend. Yep, we get a day off for the major yearly horse race. Pretty much every major city in Australia gets the day off for that city's major horse race. I think the Melbourne Cup is the biggest and probably a national holiday...

Since, I've exhausted most of my ideas (sitting around and doing nothing) I've decided to do a blog entry. We were invited to go on a canoe trip up the Katherine Gorge; which sounds like a beautiful trip. Unfortunately, I don't do so well on boats of any size. I got sea sick while learning to kayak in a swimming pool...it was a big pool. I do say that with a twinge of pride though. Anyway, smart woman that Jenni is, she went without me. I did go for the first night (Thursday 31-7-08) and camp at the base camp. There were lots of wallabies around. While driving to the campground, I actually hit one and most likely killed it. I tried to move out of the way but I just wasn't quick enough. Left me feeling pretty blue as they are such neat creatures, but I'm still not as bad as this guy.

The most exciting day was yesterday (3-8-08) when I got to be the 12th man for the Uni cricket club. The so called 12th man, 12th because there are only 11 players, was also known as the whipping boy, and consisted mostly on running and getting cartons of beers. I think Cricket (at least at this level) is the only sport where you actually consume more calories than you burn. Actually, I got to spend quite a bit of time on the field so that the bowlers could have a rest when their turn was done. Stopped a few, missed a few, but definitely improved since the last time I was on the field. There might still be a chance to turn pro...Unfortunately, after a good round of batting by the Uni team, the other team turned it around and won the game.

Last weekend (27,28-07-08) was another busy one. We went with a small group of people on a two-day bike ride from Darwin to Mandorah, 130km total. Any ride like that is of course difficult on some level (mostly at the level of your bum), but it was a lot of fun. We even had a support vehicle bring camping equipment to the campground for the end of the first day, so we didn't have to carry it.

We left at 6am on Sat morning. The hardest part of the first day was riding along the Stuart Highway, but it was early enough that traffic was pretty light. We stopped at some of the service stations where people were able to refeul on Coke and cheese sausages. Our first "real" stop was at Berry Springs where some people went swimming in the natural pools. The water was pretty warm, although it was disturbed by some of the local wildlife and their eskie (cooler) full of beer. This was about 10am, and they had turned up drunk, so either they were out all night or started about the same time we did. The trick to avoiding these types of people is to find a spot that is a mile or so up the trail, because they don't want to carry their beer that far...

We camped at a place called Tumbling Waters, and is a nice little campsite complete with an outdoor movie theatre and a crocodile pool. They were supposed to have a BBQ that night, but the cooks unexpectedly and inexplicably left, so we decided to head over to the Litchfield Pub. On the outside the Litchfield Pub looks like a mix of Tourist Bar and Local Bar, and for the most part that is what it is. Surprisingly the food they served was something more than pub food, and verged on gourmet. How many times have you encountered melted feta on toasted pita bread with fresh vegetables in a Pub?

The next day was a little harder for me, having already ridden ~60km the first day (I'm using kilometers to make it sound more impressive and longer). But we made it to Mandorah and had a celebratory bag of crisps at the Mandorah Beach Hotel, and caught the ferry back across to Darwin. Yep another boat...Who would of thought there would be so many boats near the ocean? Anyhoo, it was a rather nice feeling when you rode down a hill that you knew you didn't need to ride back up it on the return ride. So catching the ferry back was worth it.

Berry Springs


Tumbling Waters' Crocodile

Night Herron


Darwin from Mandorah Beach


Mandorah Beach Hotel


This is where the Stolen Generation of Aboriginal Kids would go for their reeducation not that long ago.


Crossing the Finish Line






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Day at the Races

Tony: Hey, boss! C'mere! Sun-Up is the worst horse on the track!
Dr. Hackenbush: I notice he wins all the time.
Tony: Aw, just because he comes in first.
Dr. Hackenbush: Well, I don't want 'em any better than first.



Yep, on Saturday (19-7-08) we got our Marx Brothers on and went the Darwin Race course in Fannie Bay with Chris, Fiona, and Clare. It was amazing how similar it was to scenes of horse race tracks in some of those British movies. Women wore their frocks and hats.



Men dressed up too, but then again, it's still Darwin.



We ended up betting (punting) on 4 races, where each person picked their horse and we bet the pool on that one. David's initial strategy was to point at the racing form and see if Clare approved or disapproved, but she would simply respond by saying "Anana?" So this didn't work, as there was no horses by the name of Banana. Instead, Jenni and David adopted the strategy of betting on the favorites to win...and low and behold they one. So if you exclude the entrance fee, and drinks, we came out on top! Not bad.










[examining Stuffy with an auriscope]
Dr. Hackenbush: I haven't seen anything like this in years. The last time I saw a head like that was in a bottle of formaldehyde.
Tony: Told you he was sick.
Dr. Hackenbush: [pointing to Stuffy's neck] That's all pure desecration along there. He's got about a 15% metabolism, with an overactive thyroid and a glandular affectation of about 3%.
Tony: That's bad.
Dr. Hackenbush: With a 1% mentality.
Dr. Hackenbush: He's what we designate as the crummy moronic type. All in all, this is the most gruesome looking piece of blubber I've ever peered at.
Tony: Hey doc. Hey doc!
Dr. Hackenbush: Huh?
Tony: You gotta the looking glass turned around, you're looking at yourself.

Mostly we just went so that we could put Marx Bros quotes on our blog.

Terror Tree

David's Personal Narrative:

Did you know Territory is actually pronounced Terror-Tree? I now know why this is the case. It is because trees live in fear of being ignited into flames on Territory Day. Territory Day is the Northern Territory's anniversary of self-governance. "Hooray we're self-governing!!! What should we do to celebrate it?" Naturally, you "blow shit up." Pardon my language, but it is the only phrase in the English language to adequately describe Territory Day. The Fourth of July pales in comparison, but any coordinated attempt at a Fireworks display isn't comparable to chaos with a bottle of beer and a lighter. Never have I seen so many stupid people with lethal weapons, and never have I wanted to be one of them more than anything in the world. Territory Day was last night - July 1st. And for one day of the year, and only on that day, the citizens of the Northern Territory are allowed to purchase and use Fireworks (called "crackers"). Yes, the city puts on its own display, but I think most people had a larger budget. We're not talking about little fireworks that you might dash across the Wyoming border to purchase, we're talking about straight from China has to be illegal fireworks. Unfortunately, these photos do not do it justice. It is really quite spectacular.









Beach fire on the left. Someone probably using a flare gun in the distance (red light), might have actually needed help...





We walked along the bike path to get home. These are my "war correspondent" photos. It was handheld and dark out, so most are fairly blurry.





Terror-tree!





Apparently canons are allowed too.





Probably the most fun we've had since moving here.