Darwin

With 9 days in Darwin to kill we set about doing our long list of jobs. These included hair cuts, a doctors appointment, car service and general odds and ends shopping. We enjoyed the many attractions Darwin had on offer starting with a dinner at Stokes Hill Pier for Barra & Chips for the adults, fresh prawns for Ella and Thai Honey Chicken for Maddi. Kai just grazed a little from everyone else’s plates and washed it down with a few more chips. Stokes Hill Pier is a lovely place to sit, eat and take in the Darwin atmosphere. It is a little nerve racking for parents if you sit in the main eating area as it is completely unfenced and the drop into the croc infested ocean can vary greatly depending on the tide. For us it was rather relaxing as we spied a lovely upper level where we had plenty of room and no scary drop issues. Maddi did manage to lose her thong over the edge at one point which thankfully landed on noone's head or in a meal. It was also retrievable which was a great relief to Maddi. After our meal we purchased a couple of ice creams and jelly cups and discovered that Darwin City Council isn’t so silly and have set up on the other side of the wharf a ‘child safe’ area which is a fenced area with a few picnic tables and chairs overlooking the newly developed Harbour Precinct. We had a great night out and even got to walk past Captain James Cook’s Endeavour on the way back to the car.




Other places we visited in Darwin were the Leanyer Recreation Park or otherwise known to the kids as the Water Park. This place is great and a must for anyone with kids travelling to Darwin. It is a free park that has a shallow lagoon, play equipment with a massive water bucket that dumps a huge amount of water roughly every 3 minutes. It also has little water sprayers, buckets, jets all over the play equipment and some of those regular mushroom things like Hornsby Pool used to have. It also has (I think) 3 giant slides (still all free). You have to be 120cm tall to ride on them. Maddi reaches the mark but Ella falls short by only a couple of centimetres. As yet we haven’t tried out the slides but Maddi is dead keen to do so. As well as this water fun equipment there is also lots of tables and chairs, large grassy area, huge dry play equipment and convenient free parking. We are definitely going back for another go at this place.


We also visited Darwin International Airport to drop off and pick up a few passengers. Tig had to unfortunately return to work for a few weeks, much to his disappointment, but it was prearranged so we both knew it was coming and I am still explaining to Maddi that he had to and that he wishes he was with us instead. We also welcomed the arrival of my dad (Grandad) and stepmum (Sue) to our little adventure. Since the van doesn’t sleep 6 they have opted to stay at the lovely Novotel in Darwin rather then cram in with us and I don’t blame them. I am wondering if I could swap places with them for just one night to have a break from the kids bedtime routine.

Since picking up the grandparents we have taken a ferry ride to Mandorah (the other side of the harbour), fed the fish by hand at Aquascene and visited the Territory Wildlife Park at Berry Springs which is about 45 minutes south of Darwin.

Mandorah was a typical nothing there type of place but we did enjoy seeing the hundreds of fish at the jetty and admire the patience of the lady trying to catch some with her three different fishing lines. We also enjoyed our refreshing drinks and the gold fish living in the blender on the bar counter. The blender was plugged in and everything but apparently didn’t work. I wasn’t game enough to test it however.

Aquascene is a cornered off part of Darwin Harbour where they give presentations and provide bread to feed the hundreds of fish by hand. The kids and I all got our feet wet trying to get just a little closer to the fish and even got to pat a few if you where game enough. The girls did well but Kai wasn’t so brave and the closest he got to the fish was his hand on top of mine while I patted it. The poor boy being so small meant he was almost swimming in the water to be deep enough for the fish to come up to his legs. We saw some huge barramundi, sting rays and crabs as well.



Territory Wildlife Park was surprisingly better then I had expected. All the exhibits where quite spaced out and therefore lots of walking was done in the hot weather. Thankfully they do have a shuttle train, which is more like an open-air bus to help you get around if you desired. The aquarium was excellent with spotless viewing glass on masses of tanks and an underwater tunnel complete with scuba diver feeding the fish and turtles. It put Sydney Aquarium to shame big time and certainly would be worth another visit. The aquarium's resident Salt Water Crocodile is named Graham and he certainly smiled for the camera with his multiple position changes and staring eyes. The bird show was very well done and they had a few different birds out for viewing at the end of the show, which you could go up to and either hold or just have your taken photo with. One was the Barking Owl, which was fantastic to hear once we got him going. The Eagle was a big sook that even snuggled up to the keeper at one stage when she scratched under its wing. Maddi and Sue got a little shock when they visited the first enclosure of the Monsoon Forest Walk on our way to the Bird Aviary. They walked into the half building and suddenly water started spraying down in the display, thunder clapped and growled. The display was showing what it is like in the Monsoon period and it certainly was a heart starter for them since they weren’t expecting it. The Bird Aviary had masses of turtles in the stream below. It was just amazing to see so many in one place.








After our long weekend with the grandparents in Darwin we packed up camp and have moved onto our loop around the top end but more about that next time.

Till then…
Thea