Tuesday, 11 September 2012

Darwin: Work and Play 14th-26th Aug


More busy days at work with a much needed day off on the 17th for some R+R. It's Darwin festival and on Saturday night we have tickets to see La Soiree which is great fun.The setting is also beautiful. A civic space has been turned into Festival Park with fairy lights, chinese lanterns, bamboo poles, seating, and rustic food stalls. The venue for the show resembles an open air circus tent in shape with fairly lights tracing where the tent poles might run. It's lovely to be outdoors- there's no contingency planning, no umbrellas, no mud- this is Darwin in the dry.


A few more days work and on-call too then another day off to play the tourist. I take a visit to the Darwin museum and see "Sweetheart" the massive 5.1m croc, stuffed after a relocation attempt went wrong (he'd been attacking boats). There's also an art gallery and a display about the 1974 Cyclone Tracy which destroyed Darwin on Christmas day. Susie met me for lunch we which had at one of the restaurants down on the waterfront- delicious risotto whilst watching people lounging beside the artifical beach and protected swimming lagoon.

Another day of tourism and I visit Cullen bay- a pretty marina, go to the fish-feeding and then head into the city centre to see some crocodiles. After watching the feeding, seeing the pig-nosed turtles and holding a baby croc (with it's mouth held shut with an elastic band or apparently even when this tiny they can break your finger!) I head home for a swim and shower. The weather's getting hotter and more humid and trying not to melt is vital. As the sun sets I take a walk along a different section of coast to usual and enjoy the fantastic colours.

That evening we have a house meal out at a rather posh place and I have the nicest steak ever! Entertainment is provided by the possum hanging out of the tree above us and the tree frog in the flower bed.

Work finishes on Saturday without, for once, any dramas and Susie and I hit the town to celebrate.

Sunday finds us at Nightcliff markets having brunch before returning my work car. The markets are a real social event, everyone enjoying juices, crepes, asian cuisine, coffee and browsing stalls of fruit, handicrafts and local art.

For the final night of Darwin festival we go to another outdoor performance this time in the Botanical gardens. Similarly decorated as the downtown festival, with lanterns and fairy lights seating is on picnic blankets on the ground looking down to the stage. The performers are Black Arm band- an indigenous group with singing, digeridoo playing etc. Some of the harmonies are stunning and in this beautiful balmy setting it's intensely moving.

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