It is Sunday now and we have been home for 2 nights and a day. We are slowly coming back down to earth and will be back at work tomorrow. It all seems so strange and almost unreal but it is nice to be back in a comfy warm bed that you don’t have to climb into and I am slowly reintroducing myself to the kitchen and the pantry. So much space!! Our pets Ellie and Rosie were very glad to see us and us them. We really missed their companionship which was evident everywhere we met animals along the way. Our thanks go to Mum, Dad, Andy and our neighbours who looked after the animals and kept watch over our place, they look better than when we left.
In the end we travelled over 10,000km and stayed in 14 different places (Katherine and Kununurra twice at different points). We put the van up 15 times and down 14 times and are certainly experts at it. The kids even managed to put it up on their own once!
Many thanks for the feedback and comments that I have received regarding the blog. It has been a good way to record and share our travels with you which has been a very special experience and time for our family.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Day 34 Darwin and HOME!!
Last day today. The packing up has started and I do not know how I am going to fit everything that I need to take home in the suitcase that Mum and Dad have brought for us to pack up in. Typically, the kids have found friends to play with and spent the morning with them in the pool. Bags did eventually get put together and being still too early we had some lunch together and went for a quick drive into Charles Darwin National Park, where we learned more about Japan and America’s involvement in World War Two. There is a great lookout over Darwin from the park and it was a good place to reflect on all the things we have done here.
Quick trip to the supermarket for plane snacks and back to the van for a final change(it will be very cold in Melbourne) and it is hard to believe that it is all over. It seems very strange to be walking (well, flying really) away from the things that have housed and transported us so well for the last month. Someone asked me during our trip how we were coping being in such close confines with each other for such a long time. My response was that you live your reality. The car and van were our reality for 5 weeks (the visit to Bill’s place notwithstanding) and I never felt claustrophobic in either. Most days that we had stopped we were sightseeing, walking or swimming in the pool. The days we were on the road we had to cover huge distances in some of the most vast and open places I have ever visited.
Quick trip to the supermarket for plane snacks and back to the van for a final change(it will be very cold in Melbourne) and it is hard to believe that it is all over. It seems very strange to be walking (well, flying really) away from the things that have housed and transported us so well for the last month. Someone asked me during our trip how we were coping being in such close confines with each other for such a long time. My response was that you live your reality. The car and van were our reality for 5 weeks (the visit to Bill’s place notwithstanding) and I never felt claustrophobic in either. Most days that we had stopped we were sightseeing, walking or swimming in the pool. The days we were on the road we had to cover huge distances in some of the most vast and open places I have ever visited.
Day 32 and 33 Darwin
We knew that there would be a lot to do Darwin and we weren’t wrong. Our first stop was meant to be the Qantas hangar and the home of the Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts Club of the NT collection of classic and vintage cars, motorbikes and trucks. Problem is that we had quite a bit of trouble locating this place and we ended up heading up to East Point and we visited the Military Museum there. We learned a lot about the Japanese bombing of Darwin, something that we were aware of but had no idea of the devastation that occurred here over the months towards the end of World War II.
We did eventually find the Qantas hangar and then went into town (Darwin really doesn’t feel like a city) for some lunch. I treated myself by trying on a $135,000 strand of pearls at Paspaley Pearls. The afternoon was spent marvelling at the sheer size of the B-52 Bomber that is housed in yet another hangar, this one purpose built for displaying this mighty beast and a number of smaller aircraft.
The guide here was extremely knowledgeable about the B-52 and he talked for ages which would have been boring except it was so interesting to hear what these planes were used for and how they actually fly. It seems impossible that they could even get off the ground.
Next visit and second last for the day was to Aquascene Fish Feeding. We had heard a bit about this place and it was a bit daggy but to have wild fish of many different varieties swimming around your feet was very exciting. Some of the fish even came to the surface and took the bread from our hands.
After watching the sunset from the wharf we went to my Aunty and Uncles for a BBQ dinner and to meet Mum and Dad who are bringing the car and caravan home for us.
Thursday we did some more sightseeing around Darwin with Mum and Dad. We spent a few (free) hours in Darwin’s brilliant (airconditioned) Museum with its Cyclone Tracy Exhibit and another hour or so in the wave pool on the waterfront after having lunch at Stokes Hill Wharf. The museum is a must see in my opinion, it is every bit as good as ours here in Melbourne, just on a smaller scale.
We didn’t save much energy for our evening, however which we planned long ago to spend at the Mindil Beach Markets, something we have been looking forward to for some time when we realised that we would be in Darwin for the first Market of the season. What we were not prepared for was the seething mass of humanity that we came apon. We found a car park not far from the market but the sheer volume of people was truly amazing, even by Melbourne Show or Footy Finals in Melbourne standard. We did make a few special purchases and found dinner. Justin had lots of turns at the whip cracking and it would appear that he has quite the knack for it.
We decided to escape the madding crowd and not wait around for the fireworks. Maccas and 50c cones were a really good idea and then we found a vantage point not far from the market to see the fireworks, which did not disappoint.
We did eventually find the Qantas hangar and then went into town (Darwin really doesn’t feel like a city) for some lunch. I treated myself by trying on a $135,000 strand of pearls at Paspaley Pearls. The afternoon was spent marvelling at the sheer size of the B-52 Bomber that is housed in yet another hangar, this one purpose built for displaying this mighty beast and a number of smaller aircraft.
The guide here was extremely knowledgeable about the B-52 and he talked for ages which would have been boring except it was so interesting to hear what these planes were used for and how they actually fly. It seems impossible that they could even get off the ground.
Next visit and second last for the day was to Aquascene Fish Feeding. We had heard a bit about this place and it was a bit daggy but to have wild fish of many different varieties swimming around your feet was very exciting. Some of the fish even came to the surface and took the bread from our hands.
After watching the sunset from the wharf we went to my Aunty and Uncles for a BBQ dinner and to meet Mum and Dad who are bringing the car and caravan home for us.
Thursday we did some more sightseeing around Darwin with Mum and Dad. We spent a few (free) hours in Darwin’s brilliant (airconditioned) Museum with its Cyclone Tracy Exhibit and another hour or so in the wave pool on the waterfront after having lunch at Stokes Hill Wharf. The museum is a must see in my opinion, it is every bit as good as ours here in Melbourne, just on a smaller scale.
We didn’t save much energy for our evening, however which we planned long ago to spend at the Mindil Beach Markets, something we have been looking forward to for some time when we realised that we would be in Darwin for the first Market of the season. What we were not prepared for was the seething mass of humanity that we came apon. We found a car park not far from the market but the sheer volume of people was truly amazing, even by Melbourne Show or Footy Finals in Melbourne standard. We did make a few special purchases and found dinner. Justin had lots of turns at the whip cracking and it would appear that he has quite the knack for it.
We decided to escape the madding crowd and not wait around for the fireworks. Maccas and 50c cones were a really good idea and then we found a vantage point not far from the market to see the fireworks, which did not disappoint.
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