Days 43 - 46 of Trip Destination Unknown (Darwin - Larrakia Country)

Day 43: A day off packing today! Having not yet really explored Darwin's waterfront, Pete and I headed down to the Wharf area to do learn some more of Darwin's history in the old Oil Tunnels. You are able to walk through two of the tunnels and glimpse into another two. The history is well worth reading, although it is rather grim. The whole building of these tunnels was pretty much a disaster from go to woah. How the Japanese didn't actually take Darwin is beyond me.   The picture on the right below is a sculpture made from pieces of a crashed WWII aircraft and a bombed ship.

          

 

After the tunnels we reemerged into the modern era, scouting around the Wharf area where some tugboats are moored and where famed fish'n'chips can be eaten. We were leaving the eating to another time but seeing the actual size of the tugboats was fascinating - much larger than I had imagined.  I love the utilitarian nature of these boats - nothing is there but for a useful purpose. 

                
The Wharf is also a place of fun with a ferris wheel and putt-putt golf, and jetskis and cruise boats for hire.

In what is known as the Waterfront area there is also a swimming area, part of which is a wave pool. We enjoyed watching a lot of people enjoying it but the cool breeze kept us from wanting to join in!


For a couple of hours in the afternoon, I wandered around the Buffalo Creek beach area, a famous area for shorebirds to rest.  Had an enjoyable walk even though there were not huge numbers of birds around except a long way away near the water's edge (it was low tide). I did see a large flock of some sort of sandpiper (I think), and some Red-capped Plovers.


I also spotted this beauty - an Orange Lacewing.


To top our day off, we enjoyed a catchup with friends Karen and George, George being an old friend from our youth. They just happened to be visiting Darwin at a time that coincided with our unexpected visit here. After enjoying Darwin views from their holiday apartment at Cullen Bay we headed out to an Indian dinner and a good old chin-wag. Great to catch up.


Day 44: Packing was the sport of the day today.  Put a big day in.  Also ended the day with a really good moth trapping night. So much better than a few days ago.As usual, click on the link if you are interested. Muirhead moth watch 2

Day 45: Today was another fun catch-up. This time, some good friends from home (Wooli) arrived in Darwin.  Keen to see the Gouldian Finches, we spent the best part of an hour and a half in the morning hunting around Lee Point for them. While we didn't see any, we enjoyed the many other birds that were around, particularly the Crimson Finches, Chestnut-breasted Mannikins, Masked Finches, Double-barred Finches and Red-winged Parrots. 

 

 

Tried again in the afternoon, but again no luck. The Gouldian Finches just weren't playing ball!

Day 46: To celebrate Rosy's last day at her Darwin school, we went out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant with her and Bruce and then explored Darwin's Waterfront at night. A completely different vibe to the daytime, with trees lit up with fairylights and lots of people enjoying eating in the numerous restaurants in the area. The ferris wheel on the Wharf is lit up and the colours are rather beautifully reflected in the harbour waters.

             



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