Darwin 4

Friday
Had the best day out value for money yesterday. We parked the car for free at Cullen Bay and took the ferry over to Mandorah, $14.50 return. Lunch at the pub including a drink, about $15 each. Swimming in their quite magnificent pool: free. Reading a book laying on the grass in the sun: free.

When I say the pool is good, I mean that its crystal clear, clean, and the water quite mild. Sure it could still do with a coat of paint on the bottom, but apart from that it's great. Mind you, the publcan thought we were quite mad as it was way too cold for anyone to swim in. The air temperature was 32, the pool must have been 26 or so. Cold? I don't think so.

Last year we made the crossing in the 'duck'. It took hours, cost a fortune and here we were, in exactly the same place for peanuts.

The wharf at Mandorah is a work of art. They have 8 metre tides, so rather than have a floating jetty, they have a series of metals stairs that descent into the water and get covered in algae, oysters and slime. Clever eh? As you walk along the wharf toward the beach, the water is crystal clear and teaming with fish: shoals of little silver shiny things and a heap of big, big fish cruising about. We stopped and watched as a few of the big fish had their lunch, blasting through the shoals the of LSSTs with their mouths open. Had to laugh though, on the grass outside the pub (there isn't anything else here, by the way, just the pub) were three helicopters. They may well fly in from stations or mine sites or whatever for lunch as they left soon after. Way to go.

Anyhow, when we got back to Cullen Bay, we had a coffee and cake at the cafe on the marina (sorry children, less inheritance i'm afraid). Compared to our day, how does $100 per time sound when you want to get your luxury yacht (or tinny, they don't discriminate) in or out through the marina's lock into the ocean sound? Mind you, if you could afford the catamaran Oscar Blue which came through the lock, or even afford to spin up the twin 700hp engines, then I don't suppose a mere trifling $100 here or there is a problem.

We ended the day by going down town to the wave pool at the Darwin Waterfront, which was every bit as good as last year. Outrage: it cost $3 per head for the afternoon session!

Saturday
Just to be sure, we went to the Parap Markets and they were every bit as crook as last year. Coffee and toast at the cafe around the corner and a light year away from the market was kinda nice though.

Filled in the rest of the day with a swim at the Nightcliff Aquatic Centre, which is a rather grand name for the local swimming hole, albeit a rather good one. Only a handfull of people in so I had a big swim (it's 50 metres!) and then a snooze on the grass in the last of the day's sunlight.

Wave Pool. Darwin, NT