Darwin

On another sunny and hot day, another good breakfast at City21 cafe was followed by some hiccups due to the Darwin Cup holiday which meant that there were no hop-on, hop-off buses. Many ladies were smartly dressed as they proceeded to the race-course on the outskirts of the city.
I took the free city bus to the relatively new Northern Territory Museum and Gallery which had a good exhibition of Aboriginal art; a room telling the story of the devastating 1974 cyclone including a small, dark room in which you listened to the roar of the cyclone; a natural history section; the history of Darwin from 1900 to 1920; and a large hall with many types of boats including one used by Vietnamese refugees.
I took the bus back to the city and walked down to the Waterfront and along the harbour wall to the Royal Flying Doctor Service but it shut just as I arrived at 14.00 due to the Public Holiday.
I walked past the Cathedral with its flowering frangipani, the Supreme Court building with ibis and other birds on the lawn, and the Governor's residence.
In the late afternoon, I went to the 16th floor of the Ramada Zen building to have an overview of the city and watch the sunset whilst drinking cocktails. I could also see the mangroves in the Charles Darwin NP, and the controlled burning of the bush in the distance, the smoke creating a haze which enhanced the afterglow of the sunset.
I had snapper for dinner at a restaurant on the Waterfront.
The Aboriginals call themselves "blackfella" with whites being "whitefella".
I was intrigued as to why AC in some restaurants and other places was set so high. One hotel and and lodge wanted the AC in the bedrooms kept at 24 degrees to control the humidity but, in other places, it didn't seem to be adjusted to the change of the outside temperature.Les mer