The Dry

The 'dry season' is here which means the weather has finally changed. It is still 31-33 degrees every day, but not so humid, and even the odd breeze makes being outside pleasant, rather than horrid.

The change in the weather has meant that we have started to enjoy some outside activities. Today K and I went for a little cruise on the Darwin harbour - on a bus/boat that drives on the road then enters the water.

 K was the only kid on board and the lady offered to let K drive the boat - of course our shy child refused, though was happy to sit up the front and observe.

We have been visiting the Territory Wildlife Park, which is a great way to get some exercise in this nice weather. It is a huge nature based park with different landscapes to walk through and some local inhabitants.

 

K says the crocodile is looking at her.

 

The park has a terrific bird show with some very well trained local birds.

 

The nicer weather has also meant that a trip to the park is far more enjoyable.

 

 

This time of the year is definitely the time to live in Darwin. We have officially forgotten what it is like to be cold. Mum wears a shirt and skirt to work at 4am and still needs to turn the air con on.

 

K sends her love to everyone. She talks about her family and friends often.

 

 

What else have we been doing lately?

We have been to the very busy markets. The trick I think is to go right on opening time, and beat the busy crowd below.

 

We have been bowling, and discovered how terrible Mum is at this game.

 



Today we also went back to the Wave Pool in the city.

Today is a Public Holiday - May Day. I haven't yet figured out what May Day is, but we have enjoyed the day anyway. Next month we have a holiday for the Queen's birthday. In July, we have Show Day. In August, we have Picnic Day. People from the Northern Territory definitely know how to holiday!

The Beach

We have finally touched the ocean, to a degree. Unlike what we are used to, the ocean in Darwin for a large percentage of the year is not swimmable. There are too many creatures within it that can cause you serious harm. The start of the market season however was a chance to get to the beach to at least watch this famous Darwin sunset we have been hearing about.

 K with the Fleet Manager from work, enjoying the sensation of squelchy beach mud

The sunset was just a sunset at the end of the day, going down over the water. I think coming from WA this is not a new experience for us, so it was slightly amusing to see half of Darwin lined up on the beach, watching this event unfold. Although it would have been 34 or 35 degrees at this time, you can see in the above photo that except for a few kids paddling, no one goes near the water.

 

Our next opportunity to get our feet weekend was yeserday at AquaScence - a spot in the city where (for a fee) you can hand feed the fish that come to the shore on the high tide. K enjoyed feeding the fish, though wasn't quite as brave as Dad to get right in the middle of them. As locals, we paid an extra $5 and received an annual pass. I'm sure we will be back to feed the fish again soon.

 

The nibbling of the fish on your legs was a bit much for Mum. I also wasn't sure why the crocs hadn't worked out that this fish feeding takes place at the same location on high tide each day??? I think we will be sticking to the swimming pool for a while - maybe a couple of years :-)