Botanic Gardens Apartments Darwin

... rebuilt from the ground up twice: once after World War II, and then once after Cyclone Tracy destroyed 80% of the city in 1974. So, all their buildings now are "cyclone proof," although luckily a cyclone hasn't hit since then so it's never been tested. Darwin is also a very youthful city, with an average age of 32. I think that's pretty impressive.
Honestly, though, despite all this, you couldn't pay me to live here. It takes everything good ...

... didn't get well rinsed turned into a gummy mess in my hair. wasn't working at all. I did get a refund though because I complained about it so much.
2) money belt around the waist. A real belt but with a tiny zipper that goes almost the entire length of the belt. It's ok. A good idea but needs a better execution. First off, I have lost mine! I'm sure it is in my daughters house somewhere but not where ...

... nights at several of the campgrounds in the park – choosing only the options with showers. I stopped at the Window on the Wetlands which has exhibits and a panoramic view over the wetlands – I have never been to a wetlands area on this scale – don’t think you can compare this and Lincolnshire somehow – and it is amazing to think that in a few more weeks and it could all be under water. Also stopped at Mamakula which is a huge watering hole ...

... a 1 km walk past several fascinating Aboriginal rock art sites. We then climbed to the top of the rocky look-out to have 360 degree views over Nadab Flood Plains.



Through Kakadu National Park, we headed towards Darwin stopping at Humpty Doo Pub for a break and then Darwin's Fisherman's Wharf for a lunch of fish and chips. While in Darwin we checked out the city center and most of the tourist spots along with Mindil Beach ...

... enjoyed.
Behind the reserve there is the Berrimah Prison with razor wire surrounding it, we often see the prisoners sitting outside their donga's (cells/rooms).
We were able to catch up with some friends that we knew when we were here in 1991 - Greg and Helen from the Darwin Sub Aqua club. The club is still active and Ash did several dives with them.
The Mindil Market is one of the best markets that we have ever been too, and every Thursday ...

... night with our racing commitments the next day and we adjourned at a reasonable hour. The children who were also with us were already waning at 8pm. Max fell asleep under the table, they were still recovering from the trip back from Bali.

Greg organised for Julie, Tony, Deb, Damo and I to attend a luncheon in the members on Super Saturday, The Palmie Sprint. Friends Derek and Robyn in the caravan park had offered to look after the kids whilst we were attending ...

... it back to Darwin tired and dirty but having had a brilliant 2 days! With just one day left in Darwin before setting off to the centre I had lots to do on my last day so after doing my laundry I headed to the lagoon to lie in the sun and try and finish my book - its a hard life as a backpacker you know!!! In the afternoon I met up with Claudia (one of the german girls from my hostel) and we walked out to the museum and Art Glallery. We almost couldnt find it as it wasnt ...

... at the top end of town. Only being completed in 1994 it is a spacious and modern building. Across the road from Parliament House sits Government House, a beautiful white homestead with immaculate gardens. This building is one of the only ones that has withstood the bombing of the city in 1942 and cyclone Tracy in 1974.

While in Darwin we also took a wander through the Smith Street Mall and enjoyed views across the harbour from ...

Adieu Adelaide, re-bonjour la route! Nous quittons Adelaide après une courte visite de la ville et apres avoir fait des reserves de bouffe et d'eau pour la grande traversee du desert ou comme disent les Australiens, du Red Center. La route s’etire sur des milliers de kilometres entre le sud et le nord et les paysages sont constitutes presque uniquement de plaines de sable rouge. On se croirait sur Mars!

Dormir sous terre…

Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia sabaustralisim

... Mt Isa that they really improved and we were able to cruise comfortably at the limit. We were determined to put some kms behind us so we decided to get as far as we could and then decide a plan for the next day. Augathella was where we dropped and surprised ourselves by finding somewhere very nice to stay. No, I didn't know where it was either, until I saw the map. Think Eketahuna. We were off before light to try to get west of Mt Isa but a review of the map showed ...