Wednesday we needed a break after two jam packed days of travelling and touring. We took our time in the morning and decided to explore the city after that. The Hilton is in Mitchell St, the main drag in town. We had gone across the road the night before to watch the second half of the Crows game, our first win for the season, at the Hotel Darwin. This was because, unbelievably the Hilton did not have cable TV!! We set out along the street and went into the Mitchell Centre, a where Fletcher managed to procure a cable to connect his camera to the laptop. He had left his at home. We walked a fair way, noting the various bars and restaurants along the way. Then we branched off to Smith St which then led down to The Mall.More shops and cafes along there. From there we continued to The Waterfront. This is a relatively new area, consisting of shops, apartments,cafes fronting onto a lawned expanse which leads to a beach and swimming area..Many families were taking advantage of the inviting water and happily splashing around in the safe, crocodile free environment. It was very warm but we
sat for awhile admiring the view.We explored the various shops and cafes and finally returned to Mitchell St and stopped at Monsoons for lunch. This was disappointing. I had ordered a Cajun chicken wrap and Fletcher , a prawn salad. However, the salad had been drowned in sweet chilli sauce dressing which he despises so we swapped. The prawns were OK but there was so much dressing on the salad that was all I could taste. He said the wrap was OK but could only eat half so I scoffed the prawns and left the rest..
After buying some supplies from Coles and Liquorland we returned to the hotel so I could finish my blog and we could rest. About we set out to walk to Stokes Hill Wharf from which the sunset cruise we had purchased on board the Ghan was leaving at We had scouted where the boat was during the day and thought we had plenty of time but discovered there was no shortcut from the Waterfront as we thought and we had to walk for miles around the Convention Centre and take a circuitous route to get there. It was hot, and we
were both puffing and panting by the time we arrived, just before we were due to board!!. We werent the only ones to make that mistake!! From then on the evening improved. We boarded and were allocated a table in the main dining room. However, we were asked to move out onto the front deck as there had been a mixup with another couple. This was great as we were now outside, right in the front of the boat , with excellent views of the sunset to come.
We motored out into the harbour and along the coast towards East Point. The sun gradually sunk lower sending a gorgeous tinge of pink and yellow across the sky. As it dipped below the horizon the colours intensified and the light was glowing reds and pinks. The other unexpected event that happened then was that a full moon rose spectacularly in the sector of the sky directly opposite where the sun had set. The juxtaposition of the two heavenly bodies was amazing. The food on offer was ecellnt, consiting of a seafood buffet with plenty of large fresh prawns, salads and other meats etc, washed down with a delicious Leo Buring
Riesling.. Bliss! We returned to the wharf about and to avoid that long walk I managed to quickly snag a taxi. It had been a good day overall.
Thursday morning we were up at 6am as our tour to Litchfield National Park was starting early. We were in the lobby at as requested but the bus was late and finally arrived about There were some friends from the Ghan on the same trip so it promised to be a good day. We headed to Batchelor about an hours drive from Darwin and then continued towards the Our first stop was at Banyan Caravan Park where most headed for the loo and a cold drink. then it was on the road again. The first real tourist stop was at the Termite Mounds. These are all through the territory but there is a large number of them at this one particular place.
