Finally, our last port in Australia was today in Darwin in the Northern Territory. We can understand why so much of the population of this huge country is down in Sydney and the southern area. The weather is so different. Just saying that the temperature was 82 degrees with 89% humidity and winds at 8.1 mph doesn't even come close to how hot and sticky it is here. There were some blue skies this morning, but eventually the broken clouds turned into heavy overcast with some light sprinkles later in the afternoon. Rain had been predicted and we would have welcomed it. After all, we did pack the umbrellas today fully expecting to use them. However, we never needed them.
We were late in arriving due to problems with the local pilot and dock hands we understand. It had something to do with a commercial ship arriving that took priority over us. Honestly, it made little difference to us since we had no tour booked. It was breakfast as usual in the Pinnacle Grill with one exception. A couple we have gotten to know well since January, had to go to the local hospital for a treatment that could only be done in a hospital. We felt bad that they had to leave and be prepared to stay for more than one or two days. If all goes well, they will return in Bali.
There were quite a number of excursions offered here today. Five of them were under $100 and ranged from two to four hours. They were all city tours, or a harbor cruise and one pub and craft beer hop. Three more were from $110 to $170 and lasted for three to five hours, which included another city tour, Territory Wildlife Park, and a Jumping Crocodile cruise. Longer excursions included Litchfield National Park for eight hours and $210 or Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve for four hours and $240. Riding jet skis for over two hours was $260 and a gourmet food and street art walk went for four hours and $260. Iconic Litchfield was nine hours and $360, and the highest price one was crocs, history, and flavors for five hours and $400. We have done a few of these such as a visit to Litchfield where we saw the guide eat ants off of her arm. Which brings to mind the guest chef dinner last night. We asked Joan at breakfast if they actually served ants in an appetizer, and she wrinkled her nose and said YES. They were black ants flavored with lemon and cooked crispy for a topping on one of the appetizers. She agreed, it was weird.
This morning the outside crew were cleaning the verandas on decks six. Perhaps that is why we were docked starboard…..again. And for all we know, there may have been other reasons to dock on the starboard side other than Captain Rens prefers it that way. For some odd reason, we did not receive a Darwin map with the port agent info printed on it. Asking at the front desk, we learned no one got them. Not only do the maps have some good directions, but they also have the emergency numbers of the port agent in case there is a reason to contact him or her. Unexpected things can happen and being able to contact the correct people is important.
We left the ship while our veranda was being cleaned shortly after 10am. There was a free shuttle that took the guests up to the Top End Visitor Info Center in town. This has to be one of the best info centers since they carried brochures and flyers on all of Australia. In addition, they sold Aboriginal-made souvenirs with some of the proceeds going to that group of indigenous people. Also on this corner was the Big Bus (Ho-Ho) where you could buy the tickets and board the coach right there. As far as the free shuttle was concerned, we chose not to take it leaving the ship or coming back.
Once out of the lack-luster Stokes Hill Wharf Cruise Terminal, we followed the covered walkway that took us to a pontoon/bridge across the Lagoon at Darwin Waterfront. Built right on the water, this complex has many high-rise apartment buildings with easy access to a myriad of small boutiques and restaurants that face the Lagoon. To easily access the upper city, we made our way to an elevator lift and the Skybridge walkway over a major road below. There is a rainbow-painted set of stairs to access Smith Street, but we took the elevator up one flight. One of us hates stairs.
The main drag here has most all of the major sights such as the Christ Church Cathedral and Civic Park. We can verify there are nice benches here. A new art building has been in the works for several years now, but is still far from being finished. This is the beginning of The Mall, which is an outdoor pedestrian street mostly under cover for a few blocks. It is full of major retail stores, small boutiques, and a lot of various types of cuisine. A kiddie playground is in the center, mostly empty of kids because it was a Monday and school was in session.
We passed by some hotels, two stores where we searched for some clothing, and Woolworth's for food shopping. We did find some shirts and shorts to buy but promised to come back later and not have to pack them with us all day. The most important item to pack today had to be water. In this oppressive heat, it is a must to stay hydrated. Further up this street we came upon St. Mary's Cathedral and the private Catholic school. Turning on Daly Street, we located Gardens Road which took us through the gardens passing the golf course and other apartment buildings. It was one long hike, mostly downhill, to reach the Botanic Gardens and the most appreciated Eva's Café located there.
In need of something cold to drink, we purchased two Coke Zeros, a bottle of water, and the most delicious piece of carrot cake topped with a cream cheese frosting and halved walnuts. Figuring we needed some extra energy for the return back to town, the cake came to the rescue. So did sitting in the shade with fans blowing on their backyard patio. Restrooms are located near here as well. One of us had a sobering moment when spotting a very large light-green frog with orange feet nested inside the rim of one of the commodes. And that was just after using it…….what a shocker….
Time to move onward, we headed back uphill to Cavenagh Street which parallels Smith. There must be some colleges in this area because the only people we saw either walking or biking were young locals. Still hot, humid and heavily overcast, there was the slightest hint of a drizzle. We expected it to get heavier, but it never did. Too bad, it would have felt wonderful. Another thing we realized was the lack of birds we saw today. In many places, we could hear them in the dense growth of the trees but never saw them. The few that came out briefly were Sulphur-crested cockatoos and a couple of black- tailed cockatoos. Somewhere around the golf course, we saw some geese and one chicken-like bird at Eva's Café. There were some yellow birds and a gray bird – all singing in the trees in town. There were no white ibis to be seen and only one large fruit bat was visible. If there was one…..there would be hundreds. Just well-hidden.
We made our promised stops at Cotton:On for another pair of dark denim shorts, then onto Tommy Bahama where two neat shirts were bought. The sales ladies insisted we drink their cold water or sit down to cool off. Obviously, we were already soaked from our long walk, and probably had beet-red faces (at least one of us did). We thanked them and reassured them that we were on our way to a lunch that would include ice cold beer. They laughed and said that would do the trick.
Back down the two sets of elevators, we went straight to the Lagoon side and Hot Tamales Restaurant. The Italian pizzeria was closed today, so Mexican cuisine is another one of our favorites. Opting to sit inside the restaurant, we had air-conditioning and an overhead fan. It still wasn't enough as I whipped out my Hong Kong fan for more of a breeze. Ice cold bottles of beer arrived by the name of Balters Cervezas, actually brewed in Australia. Not terribly hungry, we shared one chicken quesadilla topped with salsa and crema and a not-too-hot sauce on the bottom. Really good authentic Mexican food. For a shared dessert we asked for churros with a fudge sauce and a side of vanilla bean ice cream with them. The hardest thing we had to do was get up and head back to the ship. It was so pleasant relaxing for an hour, we hated to go back out in the heavy heat.
One thing for sure, during the entire day, we saw the fewest people (local and cruise guests) out and about. It was that hot. Passing through their xray, we were back onboard after 4pm. Before we left, we had a notice that we were eligible for a tax refund if we spent over $300 AUD in one store. The shirts qualified us for that refund, so one of us went directly to the Navigator Lounge to see how that worked. The local officials would be there until 5:15pm, so you never know if there would be a line to do this. As it turned out, there were just a handful of guests filling out the form, and the officials were assisting each one with it. The refund would go directly to the credit card we used for the purchase. It is not a huge amount like under $50 USD, but now we know how it works.
When the all aboard time arrived at 5:30pm, we listened to Captain Ren's talk. This time he surprised us with the message that our departure was delayed due to the lack of the local pilot. He would be more than happy to depart the port by himself, but it would be illegal. He did not mention exactly how long we would have to wait, but we were still tied up by 9pm. Go figure?
Dinner time found a few new items on the menu. We had one bowl of pho chicken soup and a crab louis salad and a bang bang shrimp appetizer. Mains were the pork belly, tasty, but also fatty. Better to order this dish in the Pinnacle Grill next time. Dessert was going to be nothing, but they had rocky road ice cream, and we had to have a scoop each.
The ship finally left right after 9pm, three hours late. Previously, the Captain said this would not affect our time to arrive to Komodo. The clocks went back one half hour this evening too.
There was a singer Nyree Huyser in the World Stage for those of us that could stay up that late. The heat of the day had taken its toll. Two sea days will be in order.
Bill & Mary Ann
