Darwin - Day 4

On Sunday morning, we went for a lazy breakfast to a cafe at Cullen Bay. Read the newspaper for an hour or two, and then hopped on the ferry across to Mandurah Beach.

The ferry cost us $25 each return, which we thought was pricey. It turned out to be well worth the cost, however, as we spent the afternoon listening to one of the best bands we've heard in a long time. They didn't play a bad song - called "The Old School" - they played all our type of music. The two singers were amazing. The view wasn't half bad too! Glen went down the beach and "fished" for an hour or two ("fished" is in inverted commas, because he didn't catch anything!).

Leaving Cullen Bay on the Ferry

A fascinating piece of twisted metal

The jetty at Mandorah Beach

The Old Schoolers

Entering Cullen Bay on the Ferry

We couldn't resist heading off to The Water Ski Club for another spectacular sunset. We found yet another amazing band playing there - The Baker Brothers. Slightly different music - but just as good! We sat for another couple of hours and enjoyed a couple of beers and had dinner under the stars. 

The Water Ski Club - Pub on the Beach

Sunset, beers and great music

The skies are these beautiful colours because there are quite a few controlled bush fires at the moment. This occurs just after the wet season, so the bush fires are very slow and containable, preventing serious bush fires later in the dry season from devastating everything in their path.

Can you blame us for going back a second time?? A very lazy Sunday comes to an end!

Darwin - Day 3

Today was loads of fun! We booked a one-day tour through Litchfield Day Tours. An early start, so we had a chocolate croissant and instant :( coffee before meeting the tour bus at the ungodly hour of 6:45am.

We met our tour guide, Patrick (Pat) who, with his long hair and bushy beard, was a fair dinkum local! He entertained us all day with his never-ending yarn about the local population and area.

Our first stop was at the Litchfield National Park to see Cathedral and Magnetic termite mounds - here's Pat standing next to a Cathedral termite mound teaching us city-folk things we didn't know!

Pat explaining the ins and outs of cathedral termite mounds

And here's a picture of the magnetic termite mounds... (these are live ones - you can see that by the saw- tooth tops - one of the many things I learnt today)

Magnetic Termite Mounds

From here we set off for the Wangi Falls. Very impressive, and must be even more so during the wet season (which we have just missed). We swam in the rock pool at the bottom of the waterfall - and yes - I was brave enough to take the plunge! Very glad I did - bit chilly at first, but very refreshing.

Wangi Falls

Relaxing in the rock pool below Wangi Falls

We had lunch at Florence Falls - more beautiful scenery and nice, healthy sandwiches - NO SWIMMING :)

Florence Falls - Warning!

Florence Falls

Lunch at Florence Falls

After lunch - an afternoon swim at Buley Rock Hole. Yep - that's me bravely swimming again! Note: Wangi Falls and Buley Rock Holes are the only places in Darwin you can safely swim without turning into a tasty croc meal! 

Wallowing at Buley Rock Hole

The afternoon was spent on the Adelaide River watching those crocs mentioned above, and realising why you wouldn't want to spend any time in their territory! We saw many crocs in the river - would hate to have fallen off the boat...

Crocs - they may be fierce, but they are pretty dumb too!

How's that for a set of choppers - he seriously needs a toothbrush!

To put a cherry on top of the cake, we spent the last part of the day indulging in prawns and champagne - watching the sunset and chatting to our new friends. Well worth the money - highly recommended tour!

Delicious - Prawns and Champagne at Sunset

End of a perfect day

Darwin - Day 2

On Friday we had breakfast at The Coffee Club and headed off for a drive. Not much planned for today, so we headed out to what looked interesting places on the map. Unfortunately we should have done a bit more research! We went to Casaurina Coastal Reserve, and took a walk on the beach. Not much to write home about! We then drove out to Channel Island - no excitement there either - just a huge power station!

After going back to the hotel for a shower, we went back to Cullen Bay and had dinner at Yots Greek Taverna on the waterfront. We had the Mezze platter for 2 which was lovely and the view from our outside table was equally good!

Darwin - Day 1

Darwin was the only large city in Australia we hadn't visited - so it's great to cross it off the list. It's been a pleasant surprise. The weather's been great and there's been a lot to see, do and eat...

We arrived late on Wednesday evening and made our way to our hotel. We're staying at The Vibe at the new waterfront (only complaint is the hard bed!). On Thursday morning we got up reasonably early and walked down to Aquascene fish-feeding sanctuary (http://aquascene.com.au). Would be great if you had kids - Glen enjoyed it - big kid that he is! 

Aquascene Fish Feeding

In the afternoon we took a drive to Cullen Bay, another new waterfront development in Darwin. There are lots of lovely coffee shops and restaurants here and a ferry leaves from here to go over to Mandurah Beach.  

Cullen Bay

We also took a drive up to Fannie Bay and East Point Nature Reserve. Darwin is full of WW II relics and history which is interesting to see. 

We eventually found ourselves at the Waterski club to watch the sunset - perfect as the sun sets over the sea, and the corrugated iron pub serves ice-cold beer. Well worth a visit! 

Cold Beer at The Water Ski Club

The pub at the Water Ski Club

Finally we headed off to Shenanigans - an Irish pub in Mitchell Street - the main street in Darwin for some good Irish tucker! 

Early night...

The Start

This blog is an attempt to document our lives, and remind us of the things we do each day. We lead a pretty ordinary life - but it's special none the less.

Confession - I used to iron the sheets! My kids laughed and told me how crazy that was! Believe it or not, I listened... now when they visit, they sleep on crumpled sheets - haven't heard a complaint yet!

So now I have a bit more time for the important things in life.

As I find it hard to remember what I did yesterday, let alone last year, this blog is an attempt to remind what I'm doing instead of ironing sheets!