Darwin in 'the dry season' is a fabulous place, it's warm without the summer humidity, and the evenings are pleasantly cool. We were lucky enough to stay with friends who have a glorious apartment overlooking Cullen Bay Marina, and who invited us sailing on their 37ft catamaran, Tiata. What great hosts!
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| Tiata |
Darwin has a history intwined with WW2, and we spent time exploring the East Point military museum complex, and gun emplacements built to protect our northern frontier. Darwin was bombed 64 times during WW2, and the initial raid on 18 February 1942 was by the same Japanese force that bombed Pearl Harbour the previous December.
188 planes flew the initial raid, and dropped more bombs and destroyed more ships than at Pearl Harbour. For the rest of the war the Darwin residents were evacuated to Alice Springs, leaving only military personnel. The old airforce runways can still be seen beside the Stuart Hwy out of town.
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| Cullen Bay Marina |
We toured town, went to the old wharf which had been fully restored, and now has bases for the Navy, boarder protection, customs and commercial vessels.
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| Stokes Hill wharf, Darwin |
We explored the oil tunnels under the city which where hand dug into the sandstone during WW2. The tunnels were meant to store millions of litres of military and shipping oil. Like the gun emplacements they weren't completed before the war had finished, so never saw use.
Another great thing to see is the aircraft museum, you name it they have it, including a B52 bomber which was donated by the USA.
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| Fogg Dam Croc warning |
Mindel beach markets are iconic, so of course we spent a Thursday evening there. Plenty of great Asian food stalls, and jewellery stalls on offer, so everyone was happy.
After our relaxing stay with Lyn & Rudy in the heart of the city, it's time to hit the road again and start heading towards the east coast. Outdoor showers and roadside camping here we come!
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