DARWIN

Yesterday morning at 8:00 am we docked in Darwin, Australia.  It was a nice port - said to be almost eight times larger than the Sydney Harbor.  This is our last stop in Australia and I must say that I am sad to say good-bye to Australia.  This continent has been on my bucket list forever and I’m so happy to be able to cross it off the list, although I know I will be back! I also have two wonderful friends living in Australia and even though I didn’t get to see them this trip, they were in my heart the whole time I was here - (Sally and Anne Marie, you know I’m talking to you!)

Here’s what the Viking Daily said about Darwin:  “Darwin, Australia is the cultural hub of the continent’s northernmost region, the Top End.  The laid-back city got its name after the HMS Beagle sailed into the harbor during a surveying expedition in 1839.  The famed naturalist Charles Darwin, who had sailed on the ship’s previous voyage of five years, was so esteemed that its captain named this newest discovery for him.  Today, it is the largest city in the populated Northern Territory state.  It boasts a rich and lively arts and culture scene, much of it centered on the MAGNT, or Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.  Its excellent collection of art and aero facts reflects the region and its indigenous people.”

Here is where we ported.  The shuttle busses are queued up to take everyone back and forth to the downtown area.  Darwin cityscape can be seen in the distance.

We signed up for a guided walking tour of Darwin.  We enjoy walking tours when we travel because we feel there is so much more to see when you are actually in the area that is being talked about - better photos too!  Our tour was scheduled for 3:30 pm.  That was a bit unfortunate, however, because in Darwin this is the rainy season and the temperature was expected to be in the mid 80’s with 100% humidity.  Not sure how a 2 1/2 hour walk would work in that scenario!  Since our tour was late in the day we decided to go into town on our own and take the Hop-On-Hop-Off Shuttle.  Mark and I love the “Hop-On-Hop-Off “ program and try to use it whenever we visit a big city.  You get such a nice overview and it helps you to decide where you want to visit later and spend more time.

The ship offered a shuttle into town from the port. It was a quick ride.  We walked around the “Mall” which is the main downtown area.  Lots of souvenir shops and some boutiques.  I found a cute shop selling hats, but didn’t end up buying one because one, I have lots of hats and two, I would have to find room in my suitcase to bring it back home!

Here is the town center referred to as “The Mall”.

We “hopped on” the bus and thoroughly enjoyed the hour and a half ride around the city.  Lots of beaches, resort areas, nice homes and WALLABIES!  The recorded guide on the bus was very informative telling us about the landmarks of the city as well as some historical events.  We learned that Darwin was almost completely destroyed because of the bombings that occurred during the Second World War by the Japanese. In fact, the same fleet of ships and warplanes that were used to destroy Pearl Harbor were used to destroy Darwin.  More bombs were dropped in Darwin than Pearl Harbor - 65 different attacks!!  In 1974 the city was destroyed again by cyclone Tracy - almost 90% was gone!  Darwin was also destroyed 2 times prior by cyclones.  It has been rebuilt, this time with many precautions to protect the city in case there is another cyclone.  I was struck by the resilience of the people who call Darwin their home - to rebuild so many times after such devastation!

Views from “Hop-On-Hop-Off”

One can wash your car and dog at the same place!

I keep noticing signs about “poo”!  This cracked me up!

Lovely homes in Darwin.

Wallabies were resting in the field under a tree.

More scenes from our tour.  Pretty wharf.

The Hop-On-Hop-Off delivered us right to the ship in plenty of time to join up with our walking tour.  It was HOT and the sky was getting DARK and we had just seen the areas that would be covered on the walking tour, so we talked ourselves out of going!  From what we have heard, the tour was nice but history heavy and not that much to see, AND it was HOT and RAINY.  We feel that we made a good call to not go on it and enjoy the Hop-On-Hop-Off instead!

We enjoyed some quiet iPad time and naps before dinner.  We ate at the restaurant and met a couple from Toronto, currently living in Denver.  They just booked a Mediterranean Viking Cruise for next winter.  The  couple we had just had dinner with the night before had just booked another world cruise for next January- same itinerary!  We are finding that this is a common theme.  We have met several couples that this is their third and fourth world cruise!  Wow!  There is so much to see in this wonderful world of ours and even on a world cruise you cannot see everything.  Anyway, it was a lovely dinner: Crab Cakes, Lobster, Couscous and Pear Cobbler with ice cream for dessert!  Yum!

So Long Australia!  So Long Mates!  So Long Anne Marie and Sally!