Day 1 - Darwin

This is the first post of a series to chronicle Paul's and my special 25th anniversary holiday and to show some of the photos we took.



Day 1 we were up VERY early (4am) to catch a flight from Melbourne to Adelaide, then Adelaide to Darwin. The benefit of starting so early is that we were at the hotel by early afternoon.
The package included the hotel - not just a room but a suite - a living room (with powder room) and a bedroom with en-suite that included both a shower and a bath. Very nice.
#1 job was to get a camera - we'd managed to forget Paul's good camera! - so we strolled along Darwin's main street - Mitchell Street and found a camera and a coffee shop (competitive research for Paul).
Also included in the package was a dinner cruise on Darwin Harbour on the Alfred Nobel.


The cruise started in daylight, so I was able to get a few photos of Darwin landmarks. This is Darwin's Parliament House. They've only had self-government for a relatively short period of time, so this is quite a new bulding. I think it's supposed to reflect some of Darwin's Asian heritage. (However the bus driver told us it's affectionately called "The Wedding Cake", not because of it's pastel colouring but because it's full of nuts and fruit soaked in alcohol).


Also on the harbour, next to Parliament House, is Government House.

From what was visible beyond the beautiful tropical gardens, it looks like a lovely place to live, and certainly has great views of the harbour.

This is our hotel from the harbour - Holiday Inn, Esplanade Darwin. Our suite was on the top floor, so had a good view of the harbour.

The boat also cruised by the Naval facility where the patrol boats live. There were several in port including Ararat and Armidale. (I wonder if they are all named after Australian towns and cities that start with "A"?)

These are the boats that look for illegal fishermen and illegal immigrants on Australia's northern coastline.

When it got dark (quite quickly, being closer to the equator) there was a thunderstorm - lots of spectacular lightening, but not too close and without any rain. It was end of April, and getting towards the end of "the wet" but still humid.

The food was a taste of "the Territory" and it's eclectic ethnic heritage - starter of chicken satay, then entree of prawns and oysters, main course of local beef (steak) and barramundi, and tropical fruit for dessert.