Brisbane, QLD


Thursday, October 8, 2009

Kimberley and Top End Last Days of Tour -Darwin

After watching the birds of prey we walked through the Wildlife Park until we came to the Nocturnal house, where the daylight and night time have been reversed for the night animals so that we humans can enjoy seeing them hunting for food. No photos as it was dark and flashes would scare the animals. Next we visited the Aquarium.

The Cat Fish

Turtle

Sword Fish above the walkway tunnel.

A crocodile smile.

Then it was time to return to our bus at the entrance of the park in this little train.That evening we had the last dinner with our tour companions.

The last sunset over the sea.In the morning we went for a walk through the city. Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory. On Christmas Eve, 1974 Darwin was hit by tropical cyclone, "Tracy." The city was wiped out. 80 percent of the houses were destroyed, 71 people died, 30,000 people were evacuated from a total population of 49,000. There was 837 million dollars worth of damage done. The whole city had to be rebuilt.

Consequently, Darwin is Australia's youngest city. The Mall is above.

House of Parliament

Lovely parkland along the harbour foreshore.

Interesting park benches sheltered by Bougainvillea
The final tour of the trip was a visit to the Museum where there was an excellent display and talk about Cyclone Tracey. Then we had a coffee at the museum overlooking the water, which was our last magic view before heading to the airport and home. It was goodbye to our wonderful tour guides, Kim and Ben. They both had an in depth knowledge and love of the outback, it's flora, fauna, people and geology. They drove the bus, fixed the bus, cleaned the bus, and packed the bus. They took us on guided walks, administered first aid and prepared our lunches and snacks.
And it was good bye to our new found friends. It was a dream come true for me as I had wanted to visit this part of Australia for many years. 

13 comments:

  1. Very very very good!

    Thanks mother B. I really enjoyed that!

    Son-in-law David

    xx

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  2. Wow what a wonderful trip. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts and seeing your gorgeous photos. Thank you for sharing holiday. Elcmae.

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  3. I love to discover a part of a country with a roundtrip ! and yours was really wonderful !
    Next year I will return to Morocco and see the imperial cities. This year was more natural monuments and the sahara. Apparently you were with a nice group too, that's very important.

    PS. I prefer my cats to the catfishes !

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  4. Oh my, what a beautiful collection of photos you have here. My children love watching the animals..

    Underway! Shift Color
    Sailor's Adventures & Opinions

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  5. Oh Diane, I cannot thank you enough for taking me along with you on this trip. I'll probably never get there---so going along with you was just fabulous.

    Love the aquarium and hearing the history of Darwin. Galveston, TX had a horrible hurricane in 1900 which wiped them out. They rebuilt and put in a big seawall. Hurricane Ike hit them last year --and they still had substantial damage---even with a seawall. Those hurricanes/cyclones can really do tons of damage.

    Thanks again.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  6. Well captured photos Diane. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. What a fabulous tour...Great photos!

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  8. I love the aquarium, you got some great photos of the inhabitants. You must have been sad when the tour came to an end, I would imagine you made some friends in the tour group. Thank you for taking us along, I had a great time.
    Judy

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  9. Diane
    Loved the photo of the smiling crocodile!
    I think way back when we ( that's you and me ) were teenagers, what was that song?
    "Never Smile at a Crocodile" - it was a funny song and that photo made me have a real laugh!
    Great photos and great commentary on your travels!
    "Yellow Mellow"

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  10. I have thoroughly enjoyed coming along on your holiday with you! What a fantastic adventure you have both had. I'm thrilled that you two are still out there seeing the world together. I hope that Dave and I will be doing the same when we are your age!

    Mum, you are a Brilliant Blogger (BB)!

    All my love
    Carol
    xxx

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  11. I certainly enjoyed your travelog and instead of a bimbo on the beach mouthing some inane words to promote our country causing some of us to cringe a little, I think sending you for a tour and reading your words and viewing your photographs gives a real sense of what this land is all about.

    Thank you once again Diane for taking the time to collate and narrate this latest trip which I appreciate and enjoyed so much.

    lizzie b.

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  12. Thank you all for your comments and Lizzy that is one big compliment..thank you.

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