Darwin, NT – 3 week stay

In the last month we have covered a lot of kilometres quite quickly, mostly due to the nature of the outback. There are some big distances with not a lot in between, just one or two night stops, then continue travelling, so before we knew it we were at the Top End. Even the week in Kakadu was a lot of driving, as it’s bigger than you think. By the time we arrived in Darwin, we were all ready to get out of the car and stay put for a few weeks. It was a great to slow down, catch up on school work in the mornings and chill out playing tourist or going to the waterparks in the afternoons. The beaches are a no go zone up here, partially due to crocs but mostly because of Box Jelly Fish and the odd shark – a winning combo –  so the local government has created a few free waterparks which are heaps of fun! Brings back great memories of running up and down the slides at Grundys as a kid.

We LOVED our time in Darwin! The longer we were there, the more we loved it. I can understand why people don’t leave. First impressions we weren’t too sure, as the main shopping mall in the city is a bit like Manly Corso on a bad day, but once we’d sussed out a couple of coffee haunts, pubs and good restaurants we were sold. A splurge in an air conditioned apartment with Sean’s parents, Max and Denise, for 5 days definitely helped. None of us were overly happy about leaving the apartment…

Sean and I were able to go walking in the mornings, thanks to the screen babysitter, and after a bit of hunting we managed to sniff out a few great coffee and breakfast places. After having my hair done, a few decent coffees and great restaurants, I’ve had my fix and am now feeling human again!

Darwin is a really fun place to be a tourist and also really fun to just hang out. Lots of markets with the most amazing laksa’s – we had 3 in a week, which is about 3 more than we’ve found all year, and we even managed to find a coffee supplier where we picked up an AeroPress, as recommended by the Barista Brother to replace the The Little Guy (aka The Big Dud or the kettlebell) which was shipped home with Max & Denise. The van coffee situation seems to have improved significantly, so stay tuned for next weeks episode. Will the AeroPress save Sean from being voted out of the van by his teammates…?!?

We were all a bit flat saying goodbye to Max and Denise, as we really enjoyed having some Grandparent love and familiar faces. The apartment certainly helped reenergise us all, but now we’ve had our fix of home comforts we are ready to go back to the bush…