Darwin, on the Northern coast of Australia, is the gateway to Indonesia and the Asian continent. Most of the buildings have been built since 1975 after Cyclone Tracy destroyed 70% of them and killed 71 people on December 25, 1974.
When sailing into most ports, a pilot is required to ensure safe passage through the busy and often narrow channels. The pilot is the expert on the local waters and is delivered to the ship while it is in motion. They also travel on the ship when it leaves port until it is outside of the area where their expertise is required. From that point they have to jump off of the ship onto the small pilot boat for a ride back to shore or to another inbound ship where they will pilot another ship in or out of the port.
While travelling along the eastern coast of Australia, in the waters around the Great Barrier Reef, a pilot will be on the ship for the entire three or four-day trip. This is as much to protect the reef as to protect the ship. Another passage requiring a pilot is the Torres Strait which separates Australia from Papua New Guinea. This is a rather narrow and shallow channel with many islands which disappear from time to time as the water level rises and falls with the tides. Tide tables are not possible here since the tides and currents on both sides of the strait are different. The currents are also very strong and tend to pull a ship down deeper into the water in the same way air flowing over the wing of an airplane force it upwards.
We arrived in Darwin under beautiful warm sunny skies.
The plan was to walk into town for a walkabout before it hot too hot. The route was across the bridge on the right, through the terminal building in the centre, along the shore and between the apartment buildings, then climb up the stairs to the city level on the top of the cliff. Looking back from the top of the stairs, we cannot see the ship hidden behind the apartment buildings.
One store in town had me wondering, what would you by at an Infidelity Store?
In the center of the open-air Smith Street Mall stands a statue of a “Claypot water bearer”. It was presented to the people of Darwin by her “sister city” Kalymnos, Greece.
Where the Smith Street Mall stands there once was an open-air theatre that provided movies and other entertainment for the people and visitors of Darwin. It was run by Tom Harris who also organized the Tomaris Melbourne Cup Sweep. This plaque in the mall is a reminder of the “good old days”.
On the way back to the terminal building, we found another route through the Bicentennial Park, down the stairs and along the waterfront.
We made it back to the ship for lunch and watched other passengers returning in the rain later in the afternoon. In the evening the rain stopped and we were shown the most amazing sunset images I can recall.
Here are two more sunset images to help remember Darwin before we sail off to Komodo Island to find some dragons.
– Where do you want to go today? –
Here is a link to set up your own Melbourne Cup Sweep office: https://www.orderin.com.au/resources/blog/2018/how-to-organise-melbourne-cup-sweep
I love the claypot water bearer and the infidelity store made me laugh. Not sure WHAT I would buy there – I mean, is it trustworthy?
Looks like a fun place to visit. Thank you for inviting me along with you!
Another great trip I took with you through photos! Absolutely stunning!