Darwin: Pre-Expedition

After collecting our bags at DRW, we hopped in an Uber for the ride to the Double Tree by Hilton on the Darwin Esplanade … the same hotel where we stayed prior to our rail journey on the Ghan earlier this month.

Once we were settled in the room, we went down for a light lunch poolside. Now that “The Wet” is over, the humidity wasn’t as bad as we’ve experienced on previous visits to Darwin. Definitely comfortable enough to sit in the shade.

After lunch, Mui went out to run errands. I used the time to update my journal. When he returned to the hotel, we used the guest laundry to wash a few things. By 5:00p, our chores done, it was time to head out for a birthday dinner at Shenanigans … with a slight detour when we came across St Mary’s Star of the Sea Cathedral and I spotted some stained glass windows to photograph.

This St Mary’s is the second one in Darwin. The first one was severely damaged during the WWII bombing of the city in February 1942. Mass was being said when we arrived, so we took a seat in a back pew and waited for the service to be over. The stained glass windows were worth the wait. We even spotted two small tributes to the US War Office and the US Air Force for assisting in the defense of Australia during WWII.

Dinner itself at Shenanigans was good. But the music level from the live band was an abomination. So loud that we could barely hear ourselves speak even though we were on the far side of the patio. How anyone who was close to the band could even stand to sit there is beyond me!Read more