Well, we made it!! Three thousand kilometres across the guts of Oz and we arrive at a tropical paradise house-sit for Pete and Jen. This is a regular for them as they go away several times a year to do those typical NT past-times, barra fishing and….barra fishing. By all accounts, a fishing tackle store is a license to print money in the NT. If you don’t own a tinny and a 4WD, well, you’re definitely not from around here.
So after a 24 hour run-down on the do’s ans don’ts they hit the road for a 4-6 week sojourn and left us in charge of this:
Tough gig…no? Well five acres of manicured lawn does take some work. It took the best part of eight hours to mow every ten days. Luckily, the ride on made it fun and the grass fell where it stood. I’d gather up about 20 palm fronds each day for burning later and there were the chooks and budgies to maintain. Tamika was in charge of the aquariums and making sure the auto sprinkler system was set correctly. Pete and Jen had worked for years to get this nirvana exactly so. There were fresh pineapples, bananas and pawpaws, a sort of vegan all-you-can-eat. A work shed that looks more like a bus depot and, of course, the pool. So we settled in rather nicely for the first two weeks with our little routines and large amount of free time.
Darwin is about 30klm to the north and after a few days we put our tourist hats on and drove in. We were giving ourselves a heads up and a history lesson. Darwin, as we all know, was the epicentre of aggression during WW2, and it’s still a big deal. We’d noted the signs to abandoned airfields and military bases on the Stuart Highway heading north from Katherine. There is a comprehensive story board history in Bicentennial Park with a view over the harbour to set the scene. We probably spent the best part of an hour here. Darwin itself is really a flash country town and the vibe is definitely laid back. We penciled in the open air cinema and look at the port for next time and headed back to base.
After about a week, the chooks seem to have decided that I was now their fearless leader and would follow me back to the van after being let out for their daily free range. Part of our duties was to feed the possums and the chooks quickly learnt that, if they hung around under my feet, the occasional bread chunk would fall there way. Spend enough time with them and you can see how really, they’re just domesticated velociraptors. Still, they laid between two and four eggs each day. Tamika had to get quite creative in the kitchen to keep the supply under control. ‘Egg Surprise’ was one of several on-the-run dishes to make their debut during our stay.
Come for the markets, stay for the sunset
The Mindil Markets are the best known tourist attraction in Darwin. Open twice a week in the dry season, over 100 stalls cater for every culinary taste and every momento you’d want to take away. It’s a bustling atmosphere with easily 1000 visitors jostling for everything from ragout to roadkill.
While the markets were a foodies heaven, the star attraction is the sunset over Beagle Gulf. About half an hour before sunset, the crowd drifts away from the markets over the dune to Mindil Beach. What is it about sunsets? Why don’t sunrises have the same pull (apart from the fact that, what fool would get up to see one)? I wondered how primal our reverence is, as I watched the faithful sit quietly as the sun slowly made it’s way to the horizon. The giver of heat and light perhaps. The fiery evening sky heralding the uncertainty of night. Nature in motion at it’s beautiful best. Whatever the reason, it was an interlude from the day to day humanity, a reminder to be humble before the extricable forces that in the end, rule over us all.
So, inspired by this little outing, we set our sights on seeing a lot more of this end of the world. Unfortunately, the fickle finger of fate had other ideas……..