Darwin 2016 Week 2

Another week gone by? Now how did that happen? Must be the laid-back no-rush lifestyle one enjoys here in Darwin.

But it's not all lounging about the pool or coffee-shopping. No, we've had a busy week.

So far we've had to go and spend some time at the Art Gallery and Museum, which included lunch, of course. It's interesting to look at the Aboriginal artworks here and compare them to those we had seen  in the art galleries out in Arnhemland. These are bigger and seem more vibrant and more complex. Judy suggested that they were commission pieces rather than ones created for the travelling tourist market.

On one of my morning walks, out the back of Free Spirit CP, I found a burnt out car, probably a Commodore, and then I found another, and another; eight in total in a radius of about 500m. I took some snaps, trying to capture the mood of decay in the mist and smoke as the early morning light broke through the trees.

Old car. Holtze NT

Old car. Holtze NT

Old car. Holtze NT

We treated ourselves out to dinner at Crustaceans, the restaurant on the end of Stokes Wharf, where one sits next to the water and feasts on seafood. We had Scallops Mornay, a big plate each, to start with. I had the barramundi as a main, of course, and Judy went with the prawns. Quite delicious. Toward the end of the night the cruise boats start coming back and we noticed that there were a few more than there had been in past years. We might have to make a choice between our favourite, Cape Adieu, and one of these new upstarts!

Stokes Wharf is getting a bit of a facelift, or so the advertisements of television kept telling us. There is and has been for the last 5 years, an empty building at the start of the wharf, that looked like it should have been a restaurant or showroom, but never was. 'They' kept telling us how it was being remodelled to become a museum and info centre for the RFDS and was due to be open this week. Sure, it was obvious some work was going on, but it looked a long way from finished. They are also fiddling about with the car parking arrangements on the wharf, so that's a bit of a mess as well.

With the demise of the Mandorah pub a few years ago, there's little point, apart from a short boat ride, in taking the ferry from Cullen Bay to Mandorah, so we drove the 110km around instead. One reason was that we wanted to go was to find the wreck of the WW2 B24 Liberator bomber that I had heard about.

Finding it was easy: just follow the huge brown and white signs!

B24 Liberator bomber. Mandorah NT

B24 Liberator bomber. Mandorah NT

B24 Liberator bomber. Mandorah NT

B24 Liberator bomber. Mandorah NT

B24 Liberator bomber. Mandorah NT 

B24 Liberator bomber. Mandorah NT

B24 Liberator bomber. Mandorah NT

After this, we went the short distance to the end of the road, to the Mandorah wharf. Took a few snaps the area including, the site of the ex-hotel and Wagait Beach.

Ferry Wharf. Mandorah NT

A level for all tides! Mandorah NT

The pub was right behind those white posts. Mandorah NT

Wagait Beach. Mandorah NT

Red-tailed black cockatoo. Mandorah NT

Berry springs is on that same road out to Mandorah, so we were prepared with our swimmers, towels and noodles. The carpark was almost full, but the pools didn't seem crowded particularly. We had a lovely swim and float about before returning home.

Top pool and falls. Berry Springs NT

Middle pool. Berry Springs NT

Archer fish. Berry Springs NT

Lower pool. Berry Springs NT

What would a trip to Darwin be without a visit to the Mindil Beach markets, and of course the obligatory sunset photos. I am always surprised at just how many people get onto the beach to watch the sun go down; and then hit the now dark markets, looking for a feed from one of the heaps of mostly asian inspired sideshows.

Judy checking out the supply of necklaces. Mindil Beach NT

Didge anyone? Mindil Beach NT

Ah, the crowds. Mindil Beach NT

Sampling the 'latest' in bio-cosmetically degradable skin cream. Mindil Beach NT

The didgeredoo man. Mindil Beach NT

Yet another 'must have'. Mindil Beach NT

One man and his paella. Mindil Beach NT

Ohhh these look nice. Mindil Beach NT

Waiting on the sun. Mindil Beach NT

Ahhh there it goes. Mindil Beach NT

On come the lights and up goes the crowd. Mindil Beach NT

I love this, the ultimate in recycled ratified rubbish. Mindil Beach NT

Another Saturday and another go at the Darwin park run. Managed to get a more respectable time, but it's still quite warm and humid despite being 7am.

So, is it any wonder that we need to lie about half the day?