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  • Day 1

    Northern travels

    August 19, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    19 August 2017
    Darwin

    T and I are off on our next adventure. This time we are staying within Oz and heading to the wilds of Darwin and the Northern Territory.

    We left Sydney at 9.40am on a Virgin Australia Boeing 737-400. The plane was about three quarters full and it was a good flight. Flying over the Northern Territory you really appreciate how big Australia is and just how empty it is.

    We arrived in Darwin 30 mins ahead of schedule which was a nice change. First thing I noticed as we were coming in to land was that there wasn't the usual suburban sprawl, we seemed to come in over bush and then there was the airport. Darwin has a population of about 150,000 so it is quite a small city.

    We made our way off the plane, collected our bags, and grabbed a cab to the hotel. The cabbie was a tad confused and dropped us in the wrong place but we soon worked out where we should be. The Dawin City Edge Hotel is more of a budget accommodation venue but our tour leaves from here so we are staying here for 2 nights. After booking in and dumping our bags we went for a walk around the city.

    Darwin has a feel of a country town along the lines of Wagga. We dropped into the local Irish Pub (as you do) and grabbed a refreshing drink. And then wandered around town admiring the sites.

    It is also a very new town. With the bombings and Cyclone Tracy in 1974 most of the old buildings in town were destroyed. There are only 4 original fibro buildings left and many old stone buildings in the centre of town were destroyed in the war. There are a few high-rise buildings that might be up to 20 stories but most are low-rise buildings. It is also a very young persons' town with a lot of people up here working in mining or backpackers just passing through - there are a lot of camper vans around.

    The city is only a couple of blocks square so looking around doesn't take very long. We headed over towards the water and down towards the wharf area. There has been a lot of development in this area with new flats, restaurants, and a water park opening recently. Of course you casn't swim in the open water as there are either jelly fish that will kill you or crocodiles that will eat you so this new water park is a good idea. By a quirk of geography Darwin doesn't get any waves so the wave pool at the water park is particularly popular.

    T and I grabbed a feed and then wandered back to the hotel for an early night.

    Tomorrow we explore some more!
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