Our port of call for today was Darwin, located in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Zuiderdam arrived in the dark before 7am, and the ship was alongside (portside) and cleared by the local authorities by 8am. We figured is has been 6 years since we were here last, and not much has changed since then.
The line for the Pinnacle Grill was long this morning because many folks had booked tours late enough that they could squeeze in a fast meal. So far, we have not missed a morning here for breakfast, and our waiter, Adi, has our starters of Greek yogurt, berries, sliced peaches, pineapple and bananas ready to go. One waiter brings the orange juice (fresh-squeezed no less) and Carla or one of the fellows usually pours our coffee from a full steaming hot pot. Yes, we are spoiled.
The gangway today was on deck two portside, so we got to watch as the guests trickled off. Tours here today included a town heritage walk for 2 hours at $60, but the other four excursions were out of town. One was the defense of Darwin and WWII history for 4 hours and $100, while the jumping crocodile cruise was $160 for 5 hours. The Territory Wildlife Park was 5 hours for $130, and finally Litchfield National Park was 8 hours for $190. The one that took guests to Kakadu Park was not on the list this time. And we have done them all over the years, but found Kakadu one of the most memorable due to the unbelievable excessive heat and flies that attacked everyone's mouths, noses, and ears. At one point, we were only allowed outside the bus for a maximum of 10 minutes to see the cave drawings. Our guide urged everyone to drink the bottled water when we re-boarded. Our guides for the Litchfield trip were a kick. The lady guide showed us how to eat sugar ants live as she plucked them off of her arm, and her husband had a fine time serving us the best cold beer they had in their cooler. Good memories.
There was a complimentary shuttle to take the folks up to the town with a drop-off at the information center in. It was no more than a 15 minute ride, but good for the people that might have a problem with the heat. We have to mention that the temperature in Darwin was in the high 90's with a humidity factor to match. It can be a lethal combination if you are not prepared for it.
Around 9:30am, there was another crew drill that imitated a helicopter crash on the bow of the ship. That was followed by an abandon ship order from the Captain. We sure were glad this was only a drill and not for real.
We decided to walk from the Fort Hill Wharf at 10am taking the covered bulkhead wall walk, then crossing the lagoon to the Darwin Waterfront. This condo-filled cove has a lagoon and aqua park, as well as a wavepool. It is filled with dozens of restaurants and cafes with some boutiques and shops scattered in between the eateries. Many of them would not open until 11:30am until 2:30pm for lunch. Then they re-open for dinner later in the evening. Six years ago, we had come across a nice restaurant that served pizza, but it looked like it was gone. Nothing stays the same forever, does it?
We wandered past the lagoon with its sandy shoreline and huge water bouncy toys for the kids. Passing by about every restaurant on the way, we did see a possibility with an Italian Pizzeria which opened by 11:30am. We found the elevator that took us up to the bridge that took us over to the downtown area of Darwin. From here, a smaller elevator took us up to the top. There was a flight of stairs, but we chose not to climb them in this heat. This brought us out to the main street of Smith which was the start of the historical section of town.
We passed by an old church next to Civic Park. Across the street was a new construction site that was in the process of building the Northern Territory Art Gallery. We passed by an old stone building called Brown's Mart, the Town Hall Ruins, and another old government building. On the next corner, was the larger information center which was full of people that had arrived on the free shuttle. This used to be the former Reserve Bank of Australia. This info center was filled with brochures and magazines from all of Australia. They even had a desk where you could book independent tours in and out of town.
"The Mall" was up the street that was closed off to traffic for a few blocks. Totally outdoors, it had the same look about it like it was built in the 50's. There was a mall singer with a great voice, which most all Aussie's have. At the very far end was a huge Woolworth's, the store with everything. Since we did not need anything, we continued on to see St. Mary's Cathedral, which was re-built after WWII. The interior was very impressive and constructed in a way that took whatever breeze there was into consideration. The stained-glass windows were impressive. And a private Catholic school was on the same property, although school was out for the summer.
Following a better map we had picked up at the info center, we ended up going too far up Smith Street. There were lots of things to see along the way such as the public housing for the Aboriginal folks where each apartment building had a mural of a cockatoo, a dragonfly, butterfly, and a sugar ant on the side. A sign posted on the fencing stated no alcohol was allowed on the property.
Passing another area of apartments, we watched a flock of little corella cockatoos gorging themselves in a backyard bird feeder. Walking by, we scared them back into the surrounding trees. Speaking of walking, very few local people walk in town, except for the outdoor mall where they can duck into cooled off shops and restaurants. So when we reached the outskirts of the central business district, we were almost alone except for passing cars.
In hindsight we should have turned on Daly Street which led into the Botanic Gardens. We ended up on Gilruth Avenue, taking us a few miles out of our way. This brought us past the Mindil Beach Casino and Resort, a very nice property on Mindil Beach. It looked familiar to us since it had been a stop on a tour many years ago. Had we continued this way, we would have ended up at the Museum and Art Gallery. At this point, we saw the street sign Gardens Road across the highway and the sign to the George Brown Botanical Garden. This garden is a 2 ½ mile walk from the city info center. It consists of 100 acres with 1500 plant species and displays of local culture and exhibits. The mature trees along the roadside provided much-needed shade for our hike.
Although we did not have enough time or energy to explore the garden trails, we did stop at the café at the beginning of the garden entrance. This small and quaint eatery was originally a Wesleyan Methodist Church in the old days. They sell deli-type food and more important, they had an array of beverages. We bought a bottle of water and a soda and sat on their covered patio under the canopy of trees. Added fans helped cool the customers off. There was also a clean set of restrooms here.
We knew we had to head back to town if we had any chance of returning to the Italian restaurant before closing time. There was a good reason for the "heat advisory" warning printed on the front page of today's The Daily. We did remember the extreme heat of Darwin, and we had brought water with us. It is never enough to keep one from over-heating. The thought of life-saving beer and hopefully a pizza kept us going.
When we finally reached the mall, we knew we did not have much further to go. So we went back down the elevators, turned right at the bottom, and found the Bravo! Pizza-Pasta-Wine Bar. The doors were closed, but we did see a couple of customers dining at a window table. It was 2:15pm, and the establishment closed at 2:30pm for the lunch service. The waitress said if we placed our order, it would arrive before closing time. More important, we could get the Great Northern Brewery draft beer right away. We took a table for two and enjoyed every sip of the beer which was cold and refreshing. Life-saving. We ordered a Hawaiian pizza which was cooked to perfection. The waitress/owner continued setting the tables for the dinner service, which almost wore us out watching her so busy. We thanked the cook and her for allowing us to stay inside, although the doors were locked at exactly 2:30pm. We did notice that a stack of pizza boxes were taken out for take-away delivery we assume.
We still had Aussie money to spend, so we stopped at a gelateria stand, Trampoline, for a cup and a cone of Pokey-pokey ice cream, which sure sounded like Hokey Pokey ice cream we love in New Zealand. It was close, but no banana. It was missing the creamy vanilla bean ice cream, but did have the caramel and crunchy candy in it.
By now, the lagoon was full of the locals enjoying what looked like very warm lagoon water. We walked past the restaurants facing this lagoon. They all had indoor and outdoor patio dining, but most of them were closed. At the far end, we talked to a very cute waitress who said they used to serve pizza, but now it was only seasonal. Their main entrees leaned towards seafood like oysters and mussels as well as sushi and sashimi.
Back down the stairs brought us to the bridge across the lagoon and the walk back to the wharf. The xray check was done before we boarded the ship. It was so nice being back onboard with the air-conditioning. Even at 4pm, it seemed hotter than earlier in the day. It had been a marathon day for us, and we chilled out in our room until dinnertime. We still needed more ice water and sodas to cool off.
The sunset was a nice one, which we enjoyed after we set sail after 6pm. Dinner followed with Caesar salads, a brie and shrimp appetizers, and one surprise entrée. One of us had ordered the swordfish, but when it arrived, it was the veal meal. Oh well, our waiters seem to have their minds set on the upcoming visit to Indonesia, so they don't always hear everything well. The veal was good, and it was OK. The other meal was lasagna with Bolognese sauce…..full of meat, it was filling. One small scoop of vanilla ice cream finished the meal. We were done for the day.
Now we will have two lay-low days at sea on our way to Komodo Island.
Bill & Mary Ann
