Here we are back in Darwin after being away for about 3 weeks. Our main purpose for returning was to meet up with our good friends Wayne & Mary. They have sailed their yacht around to Darwin from Bundaberg to take part in a yachting rally to Indonesia in company with more than 100 other boats. We met them at the Darwin Yacht Club on the shores of Fannie Bay and then took them on a shopping excursion so they could restock with some essentials. After this we were invited aboard their yacht for dinner and it was fantastic watching the sunset over the harbour while enjoying a couple of relaxing drinks, and of course their company, a very nice night indeed.
During our absence from Darwin we have visited Adelaide River, Daly River, Douglass Hot Springs and Berry Springs. Adelaide River was the virtual front line of defence during WWII and has lots of historical military sights and the war cemetery, all of which are worthy of a visit. A rather unusual and amusing sight is in the bar of the pub. There standing on top of the end of the bar is “Charlie the Buffalo” who was a star in the Crocodile Dundee movies. It seems Charlie’s owner, the publican, was so fond of him that when he died he had him stuffed and placed in this prominent position so he could see him every day.
Daly River has little to attract tourists unless you are really into fishing and it was a little disappointing for us because we were told in no uncertain terms that you would be a total idiot if you tried to fish from the bank because of the large crocs always present. With us not having a boat and not wanting to pay the high prices asked to hire one, we couldn’t see much reason to spend much time there.
Douglass Hot Springs were also disappointing mainly due to the state of the camping area. It was dry and very dusty, the toilets were blocked up and it was totally unregulated. The campground was overpopulated with locals (from Darwin) all with lots of kids that mostly ran noisily around uncontrolled until well after dark, and some of the adults were very rowdy and inconsiderate of others. We only spent one night there before moving 14Km up the road to the Douglass-Daly Tourist Park that has a 2Km frontage to the river with lots of lovely swimming holes and nice shady sites with plenty of lush green grass. Each Thursday they serve up free scones with jam and cream and your choice of tea or coffee – mmmm, yum.
At Berry Springs we visited the local nature park (free entry) that has a spring fed stream cascading through a number of large pools full of fish. There is lots of room for swimming and the water is very inviting. The extensive lawns under the shade of large trees made the perfect spot for our picnic lunch, whilst others were using the free BBQs scattered throughout. Berry Springs is also the location of the Territory Wildlife Park, which could be seen as Darwin’s zoo. The displays and activities on offer are just great. At the sandy billabong some people are chosen to feed the freshwater Whip Rays and the pond is full of Archer Fish. An attendant comes along and gives you Mealworms which when held over the railing are shot down by powerful spits of water from these deadly accurate fish, very entertaining. They have a birds of prey show, a walk through aviary and an excellent aquarium, as well as many other attractions, again very much worth your time to visit.
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