DARWIN

 

WOW!!!! What a fantastic place Darwin is. We love it. Fantastic weather.......at the moment, heaps of history, easy to navigate, great food, music, art, Cyclone Tracy.......we can go on.

Tree of Knowledge

Cyclone Tracy ruins

                            Government House

 Parliament House

 Unique way of decorating a loo                   

A little bit of culture in the CBD

 

  "Desert Rose".......Botanical Gardens





                                             
Sunset over Mindil Beach

 ...............a little bit of music

 The Bombing of Darwin is a fascinating piece of history we were taught little about at school. So much to learn, so much to tell us about it all around Darwin.

                         

WW11 Oil Storage Tunnels

 Stokes Wharf copped plenty during the bombings

                                               

 Today a great place for fun and games

We took a boat ride over to the Tiwi Islands

.....and were greeted with a smoking ceremony and a dance

Bower Bird's nest

 

 

Mattias Ulungura created history when he became the first Australian to capture an enemy on Australian soil........a pilot shot down during the first bombing. He crept up behind the unsuspecting pilot, put a stick in his back and said "Stick em' Up", just like he had seen in a recent showing of a Hoppalong Cassidy film.

 They love their footy on the Tiwi Islands. Below  Shane Tippuamanteri's 2005 premiership guernsey and medal of the mighty South Fremantle Bulldogs.......... was there and remember that game well. Good onya "Tippa"

 

ROAD TO DARWIN cont.......

 

 Ventured north and had a stopover at Mt Bundy Station, a working cattle station just outside of Adelaide River. Wonderful place to stay, open air bar every evening, entertainment (bloke and his guitar), huge campfire and pizzas. They told us that there are 6000 crocodiles in the Adelaide River which passes through the station. Needless to say there were no early morning walks for us.

 view from the loo

View over the station at sunset from  ChampagneHill. Yes, we had a couple while up there.

Litchfield National Park was an easy drive away. Fantastic scenery, unfortunately some parts still closed due to a late wet season. It is May and very hot up here, to arrive and find swimming holes not open is sometimes disappointing but better safe than sorry.

Wangi Falls

 Tolmer Falls

Buley Rockhole, fantastic welcoming place for a swim

 

                               Florence Falls

 Another short drive away up a dirt road was Grove Hill Pub. What a beauty!! We ordered home made pies, to be washed down with a cleansing ale, for lunch and the 83 yr old publican made them for us while we waited.

 

 

The WW11 War Cemetery at Adelaide River was truly remarkable. So much history and so well kept

 

 

All along the Stuart Hwy there are reminders of WW11. Here is Strauss Airfield.

Dundee Beach about 100ks south of Darwin. Looks nice.......nah!!!!!!!!