Darwin NT July 10 - 14 2018

Oh, rats, another week, or two slipped by without me noticing!

Let me give a short precis of our second week here. We went to the Botanic Gardens, which always holds so much promise but always leaves you a bit short on satisfaction. The entry way and natural amphitheatre are lovely: lush green, shady trees, flowers, proper paths, water features and the like. But somehow we are always led up to the top of the hill where there is a glasshouse full of orchids and other exotics, which are nice enough, and then you come out and take the next obvious path, which disappears behind some old buildings. So you take a chance on another dirt path and a sign suggesting a Rainforest. So down we went and then we realised this path wasn't the path, nor was that one, or maybe it's the one over there? Anyhow we chose one, wandered past a scene of devastation, courtesy of the last cyclone, and ended up at the Waterfall. From there you could go back down the otherside and try that other path for the rainforest, but by now we had lost interest and headed toward the front entrance, and the coffee shop. Only we got tangled up behind these old building again and finally came out near another main gate we hadn't seen before. After a few false starts we came back out near the glasshouse again and decided that was it for us and headed down our original path and the front door. Near the carpark, and one of those shady tree I mention, is a small bridge over the creek from the lily pond. As we are crossing, Judy suddenly calls, 'Oi, there's a snake in the tree', and sure enough a huge big snake was sunning itself along the lower branch. My guess is that it was a diamond python and was snoozing off lunch!

Botanic Gardens. Darwin NT

Botanic Gardens. Darwin NT

Botanic Gardens. Darwin NT

Botanic Gardens. Darwin NT

Botanic Gardens. Darwin NT

Snake. Size Large.
Botanic Gardens. Darwin NT

We stopped an had a light lunch at the cafe, where you could have breakfast, breakfast, or, wait for it... breakfast! How peculiar.

What else did we do? Had lunch one day at Cullen Bay, which is always pleasant. Went on the obligatory dinner cruise aboard the Cape Adieu, Seafood Dinner Friday night on the wharf right next to the water, watching the Bat Fish and the dolphins, and another day, a ride on the ferry around Darwin Harbour just because we could.

Brand new Sealink ferry, doubling as tourist cruise boat. Darwin NT

Darwin Waterfront Precinct, Stokes wharf in front.

Darwin Harbour

Lighthouse and WW2 bunker (you'll have to look closely). Darwin NT

I managed another Parkrun at the other new Darwin venue at Nightcliff. Most of the rest of the time we lounged by the #2 pool doing crosswords and reading books.