Darwin Take 2

So after dropping off the grandparents at Darwin Airport bound for Sydney it was time to fill in our 11 days with general housekeeping jobs, kids entertainment and preparations for the next leg ahead. After doing the usual clothes washing, stock up on food, swim and relax by the pool we tackled the big job. New tyres for the Landcruiser. This job required an early start for the kids and I as we were told we would be best off to be at the Service Centre at opening time of 7am so to ensure the least amount of waiting around time. Thankfully I was there with kids, breakfast cereals, clothes for Ella and a few cars for Kai before the gates even opened on the yard. While we waited in the reception area having our picnic breakfast the car had four new tyres fitted and looks even more aggressive then before.


We spent the week entertaining ourselves by visiting the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery, the local cinema where we saw Mr Poppin’s Penguins, Leayner Water Park for another mornings fun, the caravan park swimming pool and the Bloomfield Outdoor Kitchen for decorated arrowroot biscuits and experimental afternoon teas.



At the Museum/Art Gallery we spent most of our time in the Kids Discovery Room, which was just a small section of the gallery that had some hands on activities for kids. There were foam blocks to build with, dress up clothes, a microscope to view dishes of butterflies, lava and seeds. There were also jars of snakes, lizards and even a spider. There was also colouring in pencils with paper, clipboards and animal rubbing templates. The kids thought it was great and although it hadn’t impressed me much at first, I did get to have a lie down on the cushions on the floor while they were kept busy. I did manage to convenience the kids to enter the rest of the Art Gallery and steered them towards the Cyclone Tracey display. I would have loved to have a good look around this area but unfortunately the kids weren’t as interested as I was so we quickly departed. I did manage to catch a glimpse of some footage of devastated Darwin on the Christmas morning after Cyclone Tracey had hit. There were aerial photos of different suburbs around Darwin with three photos for each. July before the Cyclone, January after the Cyclone and then July in about 2008 or 2009. It was a great comparison showing Tracey’s destruction and how Darwin has rebuilt itself. We also managed to walk through a pitch black sound booth which had a recording of the noise of the storm that fearful night. It was very scary indeed standing in the pitch black with this thunderous sound of wind and things creaking around you. I tried hard to explain to the girls as much as I could about Cyclone Tracey and told Maddi she should ask my cousins back in Sydney what they remember of that night as they lived through it. The whole display is definitely worth a visit if you get a chance.


We had some resident frogs in our caravan park ensuite, which kept us entertained in the evenings. It was always interesting to see if you could spot the frog when you went out there after dark. One night I got quite a surprise when I found this little fellow on the door handle. Ella almost stepped on a big green/brown one on the bath mat one night. After that a torch was always used so one could check the ground for the few steps that were needed before you reached the light switch. The girls thought it was great fun trying to spot and pat them. I think Kai was always in bed asleep when we found them. He did see them during the day when we would discover them tucked up behind a bucket on the wall trying to hide for the day.


The kids had fun making up different food creations too. One day they were very quiet inside organizing a special afternoon tea for me. Finally they produced skewers with a strawberry or two, a selection of jelly lollies and a marshmellow. The girls were desperate to cook something but it was so hot I wasn’t going to put the oven on so decorated arrowroot biscuits were made a few times. The kids had so much fun doing this that they insisted we make some on the morning of Tig’s return and take them to the airport for him. Kai didn’t care much about giving a biscuit to daddy he was more interested in eating the lollies off the top himself.


Thankfully Saturday rolled around quite quickly and it was again time to head out to the airport to pick up Tig. We had been busy making signs for his arrival and I even managed to convince the girls to do their hair in honour of daddy’s return. Hair is not top of the priority list for Ella and Maddi so I have been using any excuse I can think up in order to have them sit down and let me do it.

Until next time …
Thea

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

Alice to Darwin

We have made it to Darwin and I have been too relaxed and lazy to update this blog but after 9 days just hanging out in this hot and sunny capital city it is time to type out another adventure. So here we go.

Our last post had us at Trephina Gorge, so from there we travelled back into Alice for another top up on fuel for the car and fuel for our bodies and we set out on the Stuart Highway north towards Darwin.

We had exactly one week to get to Darwin for our booked accommodation. We were lucky enough to travel most of the way with our new friends the Chapmans, so we had great company for most nights. Our kids are missing the Chapman children, Ellie and Dane greatly and are continually mentioning their names and singing new songs they have been taught.



Our first night travelling north was spent at Taylor’s Creek Rest Area where more marshmallows were cooked on another campfire. Thankfully the Chapmans have been carrying some firewood around as we haven’t worked out were we can store some yet and therefore we haven’t had many campfires. We also spent a night at Banka Banka Station, which had beautiful green grass underfoot, rather then red dirt and saw the next day being our earliest departure time so far (8.15am). We were pretty pleased with ourselves considering Ella usually sleeps till after 8am but not this morning. Having some friends that were leaving camp early was motivation enough for the children to get dressed and eat breakfast quickly. Our next night was at the famous Daly Waters Pub where Tig and I enjoyed the popular Beef and Barra meal from the BBQ and we were all entertained by the evening show. Our final night with the Chapmans was at Bitter Springs where we finally got out our camp oven and I made a lovely crusty damper which was only a touch burnt on the bottom. I have to confess I did quickly read a few tips from the Viv Moon Camp Cooking Cookbook I borrowed from my mum before attempting my first camp oven damper.



We didn’t travel huge distances on any of these days and often had lunch at our destination. We did enjoy a few lunch stops at places like The Pebbles just north of Tennant Creek and Bitter Springs (near Mataranka) before an afternoon dip and float down the crystal clear creek.



At Bitter Springs we camped only about 500m up from the springs in a relaxed unstructured camping ground. It was simply find a power pole and camp near it, once you paid your camp fees. Finding the power poles was a little challenging however. Being so close to the springs did provide us with the opportunity to walk down first thing in the morning and have another dip. It was lovely seeing all the mist rising off the warm (34 degrees) water on our arrival. After our morning dip and breakfast we said farewell to the Chapmans as they were stopping at Katherine next and we were continuing on to Edith Falls.



Edith Falls was beautiful but the campground was a little hot therefore a dip below the falls in the late afternoon was in order. We all braved the open if not slightly chilly water with the knowledge that fresh water crocodiles would most likely be present and even swam far enough out to reach some sunshine on the water. This was a fair way out from the bank and only achieved as the kids and I all swam out together to meet Tig who had swam the whole way over to the bottom of the falls.



The next day we continued onto Adelaide River where we spotted a familiar looking train. Kai was most excited as the train looked distinctly like Wilson from Chugginton. For those of you who don’t know, Kai is a huge train fan and Chugginton is like the modern day Thomas the Tank Engine. At Adelaide River we enjoyed a lovely pub lunch before stopping for the night at nearby Mt Bundy Station. Tig found us a fabulous green grassy site under the trees with the best view. It was however the tightest reversing job he could have found for me but with him being my eyes at the rear and on the sides we managed with ease. Let’s just say it involved big trees, a power pole and a permanent tent structure just to make it a little bit interesting.




Our final day into Darwin was quite short with us therefore arriving early at the caravan park. Thankfully our site was available for check in on our arrival and after a long reversing job we finally got our van into the site with only a foot to spare to the road. Thankfully the site had great facilities and the caravan park was well laid out with a refreshing pool. Our afternoon jobs included emptying out almost everything stored below beds and a mass reorganisation of bedding and clothes. We had finally reached the warm weather we had been so looking forward to and winter blankets were no longer required.

Till next time…
Thea