My posts have been pretty wordy this week, so I’ll give you a break by sharing some photos of our four days in Darwin. Writing and taking photos to share with you causes me to look at things with somewhat altered perspective, which I really enjoy. I hope you will too. (I have prepared this post bit by bit while on the move the last five days. There are a couple of undesirable anomalies in the format which I ask you to forgive. My abilities or the software seem unable to rectify them!)

Food in Darwin has always been fabulous, and it has only gotten better over the years. The diverse group of people living here have contributed their own cuisines to the great advantage of the culture of Darwin. The fresh red papaya with a squirt of lime juice over it is simple, but delicious. A favourite stir fry dish called Kway Teow is made in as many different ways as there are cooks who make it.

On this trip Don and I have gotten up each morning to go for a walk before going our separate ways. I guess we have a tourist’s view of Darwin these days, so you are seeing things more from that perspective.

In the time it takes to walk from one end of the Smith Street Mall to the other (or less!) you can go from the sublime Paspaley pearls to the ridiculous local characters.

At high tide the shoreline is lovely, though mostly rocky. But the tides are huge and so at low tide one might be quite shocked at how far out they’d have to go to reach the water, nearly half a kilometre at times.

The bush around Darwin holds a few hidden gems but in places it is rather unwelcoming. Within minutes of seeing this sign about the biting insects, I had numerous sand fly (biting midges) bites on my arms and legs! Ah, yes, the good ole days… not.

Turkey bush (above), coral tree (left) and Kapok (right) are bush favourites of mine. Forty five minutes out of the city on Paperbark Way is a classic Paperbark swamp, which my husband tells me can also hold some of the very big lizards. (Called crocodiles!)

The Parap Markets nearby the city started a little under 30 years ago. we remember the first few primitive stalls selling gado gado and noodle soups. Today it is quite large with a variety of frsh fruit and veg, Asian specialty dishes, and Territory curiosities.
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These days Darwin is fun to visit, but I don’t long for my days of spotlighting crocodiles at night from a dingy in the billabongs, or mopping sweat from my brow as I mop the floors. In the dead of Alice Springs winter, the markets, the characters, and , the dry season here are all attractive, but only for a visit… and to reminisce.

(The header photo on this blog is one taken in the Darwin Botanic Gardens.)