A spot of fishing!

Andy had his birthday while he was with us in Darwin so we decided to go on a fishing charter. It was a lovely day despite not catching anything we could keep. I hooked a 3 metre shark which Andy had to haul up cos i wasnt strong enough but of course we let it go -it was a ghost shark. We ate croc burgers on board and we also saw a sea turtle, a white bellied sea eagle which swooped down to snatch Harry's fish he threw back and a navy patrol ship.

Andy treated us to dinner by the bistro pool that night and then we had birthday cake while Harry provided music with his didjeridoo!

Croc Hunting!!

We drove out to Fog Dam on the road that leads to Kakadu and visited Harry Bowman and his croc boat. The photos say it all really. 5 meter 800 tonne monsters!

Here it comes....

Closer...

and SNAP!!!



needless to say i was extremely nervous, that boat was just not big enough!

Time to have a go driving the boat, back to home base, and finally i can relax!

..i was the only nervous one of course!

These animals are the perfect predators -scoots on their back so they dont make ripples on the water as they move, can hold their breath for up to 2 hours, their eyes roll back into their head as they capture their prey so the prey cant poke its eyes out, they can shut off the back of the throat so they dont drown while they're making their capture, if a limb is injured they just cut off the circulation to the area so they dont bleed to death, and when those jaws snap around you there is no escape!..

..safely back on land i relaxed enough to appreciate our surroundings! note the luxurious toilets lol!

Despite being very nervous on board, it was a great experience.. really!

Wave Lagoon

I apologise for the size of these photos but they were taken with the water camera and i must have it on a high setting?! as usual i have no idea! In town at the harbour they have a large man made wave pool which is great fun. I guess they're compensating for the fact you cant swim in the sea unless you want to be eaten or poisoned!

Mindil Markets

After the museums we headed down the road to the famous Mindil Markets. We were lucky enough that our friends were in Darwin at the same time so we ate our international cuisine from the markets on the beach with them and watched the beautiful sunset together. The markets were good with lots of local craft and yummy food and music too. The four of us got henna tattoos of geckos on our legs which was fun!

Darwin's Resilience

The first day was a full one. Very hot! We headed to the Museum and the Military Museum where we learnt a lot about the history of Darwin. At the museum the highlight was a Cyclone Tracey exhibit which included a dark sound proof room you went into that simulated the noise of a cyclone -very scary stuff for those caught in it back on Christmas Eve of 1974 and which flattened the city. At the Military Museum we were then surprised to discover just how often Darwin was bombed during the war. I knew it had been bombed by the Japanese but in fact endured 18 months of bombing on a regular basis. The museum had a fantastic film simulating the bombing as well as great artifacts etc Wil LOVED it! Even better, a lizard on the tree next to where we parked! The museums were a great way to spend a hot day as although the beaches look inviting, they're full of crocs and box jelly fish!!

and finally... DARWIN!!!!!!!!!!! 6 weeks on the road and 5000 kms later!

Very exciting, we've driven right through the middle of Australia! We were late into Darwin due to a hiccup with the car, all sorted now, then once we'd set up we headed into the city to catch up with Andy who'd flown in early that morning. Everyone was tired so we pottered around the harbour then had dinner at the RSL before heading home for an early night to start our Darwin adventure the next day!