Darwin

18th June - 2nd July 2016

Darwin...big city....traffic lights! A bit of a culture shock after three months. Really looking forward to re-visiting the parks, markets and waterfronts here. We loved it last visit almost three years ago. Plus we are excited to spend the time with our friend Margot and her soon to be hubby, Ben in their beautiful home. The cubby will be locked up for the duration. Spoilt!!!!

Also will be catching up with my old work buddy Carol and her hubby Michael. Fun times head!

We hope to get the central diff switch fixed here so we can get 4WD again, ready for the Gibb River Road adventure!

First set of lights and they are green. Looking good!

Day one and out to visit a couple of favourite spots. Cullen Bay Marina for fish and chips and absorb the beautiful ocean. You can't swim in it, but it is sooooo good to see the ocean again!

Cullen Bay lunch view. Not bad.

Then a stroll over the other side to the Marina. Love it here.

Restaurants and cafes line the marina.

This is a crazy restaurant with carnival decor. Fantastic!

Dezzi soaking up the ambience of all those lovely boats.

Just thought this little duck was cute.

Next stop East Point. Beautiful walk along the ocean front.

Treated myself to a blow up Li Lo to drift a few hours away on the lake at East Point. Best $8 bucks ever spent!

Heaven.

Dezzi loves nothing more than going for a walk? Can you see the excitement before we head off around the Botanical Gardens?

Coffee and cake to get started.

Darwin Botanicals are huge, lush and beautiful. Bit different to Alice Springs!

I absolutely love these palms. Bright red canes and green, green fronds. Bugga we can't grow them back home.

So many beautiful, tropical plants and flowers. This is just some.

Margot had a few "pre-wedding" jobs that we were happy to do. Wedding bells set for 23rd July at their home.

Dez took up the challenge of re-planting the herb/veggie garden. It looks great. Margot very excited when she got home from work.

Planting under way.

The end result. Dezzi took it very seriously and made sure it was watered every day, and gave specific instructions to Margot for ongoing success! Including keeping Rocket the Jack Russell out of it!

Darwin does markets really well. First up, the Parap Markets just down the road. You can get all sorts of crazy stuff here.

Including real crocodile skulls!

Amazing flowers.

Art.

Mouthwatering food, food, and more food. Mango smoothies to die for!

Brilliant music. This guy was so friendly. This bizarre looking instrument comes from Sweden and sounds amazing!

You can even find friends at the Market. Hilarious, we ran into Carol and Micheal! We also saw Deb and Harry (unplanned) and a patient from Kawana Dental!

Next day up in the middle of the night....5.15am to get an early start fishing and crabbing with captain Michael.

Sunrise through the fog and smoke haze. Burning off scrub is a regular occurrence in the top end.

First mate Dezzi ready with the crab pots.

Sunrise on the water.

Captain Michael.

The mangroves are beautiful.

Out with the crab pots. Fingers crossed!

I love the intricate web of mangrove roots.

And the lush leaves.

Mr crocodile that followed us around.

Woo hoo. What a beauty.

And another one!

In between checking the pots we tried a bit of fishing. No luck at all for the boys. At least I caught one. Dez kept saying he wouldn't claim a catfish. I said it was still a fish!

Yummmmm lunch!

Soooooo good!

You can't come to Darwin and not do the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets. Love it here. Crazy busy. Mouthwatering food. Huge Asiani influence. Amazing fruit and juices. All manner of clothing, trinkets, art and entertainment!

Fresh oysters to start.

Fun times.

Fresh oysters, laksa and a couple of beers. Who wouldn't be happy!

There is always some kind of entertainment. Tonight, right in front of us...a flame thrower. He was awesome!

And of course, the sun setting into the ocean.

A great night out at the Deckchair Cinema. Dinner and a movie outdoors. Great fun with Margot.

We had this little buzz box while the Paj was getting fixed. Three days in the shop, but they finally got it sorted. $1,500.00 later....ouch!

Our last night in Darwin was Northern Territory Day. Otherwise known as cracker night. Anyone can sell fireworks, and anyone can buy them and let them off anywhere. It's crazy. We had our own showing in the yard and in the street!

Just a few of our selection. There was a big box full!

This is one of the bangers. Love the warning...get away!

But our two weeks was up. Time to hit the road south and then west to the Gibb River Road. Very tough leaving our beautiful guest accommodation and Margot and Ben. Sharing wedding planning, football games, cracker night and more!