Port Douglas to Darwin

With a final morning swim and another great breakfast from Masterchef Dean, it was off to the airport and of course, another tough goodbye. Dean and "Auntie" Jacqui as we have dubbed her have built a very special relationship with our kids. Madeline flocks to Jacqui the minute she is in the room, Erica is always happy to see her friends and of course for Josh, it is another opportunity to talk and debate about footy and in particular the (non-existent) rivalry that exists between the Saints and Hawks. We were happy that they joined us in Port Douglas as it was a means to ease the separation anxiety from Melbourne and ease the family into nine weeks of hectic travel across a number of countries. Jacqui has also spoiled our kids with great Aussie literature as someone who works for an Australian publishing company. Who knew Kangaroos could do ballet??

We headed to Darwin to a 32 degree sunny day. We found our way to the Barramundi Lodge - not the Hyatt that is for sure - a comfortable motel-like place on the edge of the Botanical Gardens and a quick walk into the city centre and Mindil Market.

We spent the afternoon walking around the (small) city, checking out the new Waterfront, Government House and Smith Street Mall.

How does one describe Darwin??

Darwin (I think) is a city of multiple personalities. It has an average age of 28 so imagine a place full of youg people who like to drink and party all the time. Many shops are closed and there are equally the same number of "white" and aboriginal people stumbling around at any time of the day/night having had too much grog. The parks are beautiful and the market is fantastic but you can't help but think that it is a very transient place - people arrive here to go somewhere else and those that stay seem to have lots of fun but not necessarily to grow the local economy. It is definitely a government and military town and looks to be struggling compared to the rest of the country and its southern city neighbours.

Everyone was tired today. We had a fantastic Thai dinner and were quite happy to collapse into bed as we looked forward to our next few days of adventure at Litchfield National Park and Kakadu.

Thanks Dean and Jacqui for joining us. We will miss you!