Days 30 - 36 of Trip Destination Unknown. Darwin (Larrakia country) 7/6/2022

 Day 30: Because we are staying in Darwin with family and with an uncertain leaving date, it is lovely to be able to look around Darwin at leisure. This morning, at the suggestion of Bruce (my brother), I went to Lee Point to find Gouldian Finches. This was a first for me, so very exciting. Not only were their Gouldian Finches but the beautiful Chestnut-breasted Mannikins, amongst other birds.

 

      Double-barred Finch                                                           Juvenile Crimson Finch

 

Gouldian Finches

     

      Red-winged Parrot                                                     Lemon-bellied Flycatcher

Day 31: Today's Darwin sightseeing included a visit to the Darwin Botanic Gardens where trees grow on steroids!  It is a wonderful place to wonder around, with amazing plants and artworks randomly scattered around the place. Even the park benches are worth looking out for.

 

 

  

 

 

Later, on the edges of the city we took a look out across Darwin Harbour.  Beautiful.

A visit to Darwin in the so-called dry season is not complete without a visit to Mindil Markets. This is a place where people gather twice a week to watch sunset then eat and peruse a few handicraft stalls.

 

With the unusual amount of cloudiness in the sky and fires burning around the area, we couldn't miss a good sunset.  Enjoyed our meal of beef rendang, rice, beans and chilli egg.

Day 32:  An earlier start than usual to go out bike-riding with Bruce.  Managed to ride the 19 km to Palmerston on our e-bikes, barely needing the motor with the flat bike-paths around here.  We were greeted with the most gloriously red sun (due to the fires around) and were glad we started early as we were certainly warm by the time we arrived at our coffee destination.  Waited there a while, hoping for a pickup in the breeze before heading home - another 19 km.  Not often I ride that far in a day.

Had another brief visit to Lee Point where I saw some more Gouldian Finches and some adult Crimson Finches.

Day 33: With Bruce having gone on another long bike-ride, Pete and I opted for an easier 10 km leisure ride around East Point.  It is a lovely ride along part of the Darwin coastline.

 

We then ate morning tea cum lunch at the Parap Saturday morning market.  Sooo many people.  On the way back home, we called into an old QANTAS Air Hangar. Pete had noticed that it housed some sort of motor museum.  Wow!  It has a huge range of car bits and pieces including engines, old vehicles of various sorts, tools, books and other motor related paraphenalia.  Even I (not a motorhead) enjoyed this place.  As the headquarters for the Darwin Motor Enthusiast's Club, it also includes a couple of  workshops where vehicles are undergoing or awaiting their restoration. Well worth the visit, especially for the donation only entry fee. They even cater for the women-folk with a 'tapestry'.

  

      An old truck door                                                An old farm water cart

  

        From this ...                                                          ... to this - a restored steam traction engine

The QANTAS Air Hangar shows some of the damage inflicted by the Japanese raids here.

The 'tapestry' for the women

Day 34: We started the day with a pleasant 10km bike ride to East Point and back. This ride takes you along the coast and with a little breeze is fun even on a hot morning. Most of the day was spent helping Fiona and Rosy pack up pre removal-day.  Tired by the end of the evening and no-one felt like cooking so we headed back to Mindil Market. This time I indulged in a seafood paella! Yum!!!

Once again there were huge crowds watching sunset and hanging around eating, milling and listening to music but still a lovely atmosphere. We were entertained by sunset on one side and a lightning show on the other.

 

Day 35: A day travelling here and there in Darwin doing a number of chores.  Nothing very exciting. We did venture into the city mall for the first time, but it is pretty dead from mid-afternoon. In the gardens near the Supreme Court and Parliament House, there were some beautiful Acacia flowering. I have noticed these in various parts around Darwin. The leaves are huge, the flowers large and very yellow and the seed pods long and quite hard. I THINK it is Acacia dunnii, or Elephant's Ear Wattle (or Dunn's Wattle).  Pretty spectacular.

 

Day 36: Using our extended stay in Darwin as an opportunity to sightsee at leisure, Pete and I took our bikes on the ferry to Mandorah (on the other side of Darwin Harbour) today. 

 

           Darwin from the Ferry                                            Darwin from the beach at Mandorah

We explored the beaches on foot a little, rode our bikes on various trails in the bush, then cycled down to Wagait Beach. The colour of the rocks on the beach is amazing.  On one part, it looked as if the tide had washed in one colour one day (millenium) and another the next, and so on.

It was HOT today and by the time we reached the little store, a cold drink and chips were in order.  Some more exploring in and out of various beach access points. I can imagine this being the sort of place I would live if I had to live in Darwin. Quiet, and out of the hubbub of the 'big city'.  However, the fact that swimming in the sea here is never safe puts Darwin out of my want-to-live places.

As is the case with many parts of Darwin and surrounds, Mandorah had its role in WWII with gun emplacements and watchtowers, the remnants of which can still be seen today.

We enjoyed watching tiny little hermit crabs on the shoreline.  They were interacting with each other in their various shells, but I'm not sure whether in competition or friendship.

There has obviously been a bit of fire activity or burnoffs around earlier in the year and some very tall cycads (Cycas armstrongii) were looking very cute in their recovery. They can grow (rarely) up to 6m tall (I think the tall one in the left photo wasn't too far off that) and,  unusually, lose their leaves in the dry season.

I encountered one of my favourite birds on one part of the beach - a lone Beach Stone-curlew.

 

Unfortunately, the main eating establishment at Wagait Beach, Cox Country Club, now only caters for dinners on Thursday and Friday and lunches on Saturday and Sunday.  This is a pity, since it is a cute looking establishment under the shade of an immense curtain fig.

For us, it was back to the general store to grab a bite to eat on the ferry back to Darwin. If you go on any day other than a weekend, it is probably a good idea to take your own food.

A beautiful Fannie Bay sunset tonight.

To cap off the day I decided to do a moth watch.  Here is the link. Fannie Bay Moth Watch