12:27.795 S  130: 50.481 E

Darwin 7^th – 14^th July 2007

After all our hectic travelling we chose Darwin as a base for a week to relax and meet up with old sailing friends who were all gathering for their next leg across to Indonesia. We knew 8 of the boats but unfortunately were only able to catch up with 4 of them!

Darwin’s waterfront

Darwin’s  proposed waterfront expansion and the old boat which was being used for a film starring Nicole Kidman about the pioneering days in Australia as you can imagine this was causing a great deal of excitement for a little town like Darwin

Cullen Bay Marina is where we visited our friends on Amoenitas and Carelbi we were also able to catch up with David & Barbara on our sister ship Baker Street.

They were preparing to set off to Indonesia and Singapore for the next leg of their round the world voyage

We had sailed in company with Chris and Fiona on Carelbi from Bora Bora to New Zealand in 2001.

David (Amonitas), Fiona and Chris, (Carelbi), Diana (Amonitas) with David (Kanaloa)

at our farewell to Australia dinner

The catamaran Elanah had changed owners since we sailed with her along the coast of Panama in 1998

Very ancient tree of knowledge where the aborigines used to gather is now in front of the City Council

And then the Chinese who outnumbered the Europeans in the 1800’s for the mining and pearling.

Government House, right on the waterfront, was bombed in 1942 by the Japanese, along with

More ships by more planes than devastated pearl harbour!

It has been beautifully restored now

There are many galleries in Darwin, showing

Aboriginal paintings from the Central Desert and Arnhem Land

which can fetch as much as 25,000 AS$ a piece, sought

After by Australian as well as foreign investors

The tropical Northern Territories Wildlife Park had a very good selection of the Nocturnal animals we would never otherwise have seen, plus many of the beautiful birds in huge aviaries.  Their aquarium revealed how many fish the rivers held, species we had never imagined existed are in proliferation, the Barramundi being the largest, up to 2 metres long, living in both fresh and sea water.  It’s the fish most people east up here, as good as cod.