It was pleasant to have a normal sort of breakfast, in our apartment. Grapefruit and toast.
Spent some of the morning relaxing, and watching the marina activity from the balcony. Being a weekend, there was quite a bit of boat movement, in and out.
Looking across towards the Marina entrance at Cullen Bay
Went out and walked around the Marina complex itself, up at the end of Marina Drive, where our apartments were. It did not seem to have changed much since 2006. There were similar food outlets, including Yots, the Greek establishment where we had dined then. It was still expensive! Much as we’d enjoyed the food back then, we were not tempted to eat there again, this time.
There were some empty shop fronts and the place did still seem a bit dead.
Cullen Bay was developed in the 1990’s, by enclosing a natural bay to create a sheltered anchorage, for pleasure craft. The surrounding housing and accommodation, and the small commercial area, were developed at the same time. In 2006, we’d caught the Mandorah ferry from its terminal by the marina entrance.
Cullen Bay Marina (Wikipedia).Apartment complexes on the left and central Darwin in distance
We had a sandwich, “at home”, for lunch.
Looking the other way, from our balcony
Went out driving – felt the need to do something, rather than stay all day in the apartment.
Went to have a look at the newer port development along Frances Bay. There had been a lot more industrial development since we last saw it.
Frances Bay
Continued out Tiger Brennan Drive – very pleasant motoring along that – to Berrimah, East Arm and the Ghan Railway Station. Mainly, we wanted to check out the route and access, for later on. It was small, and closed and there was really nothing to see. Just another industrial area out here. People arriving in Darwin, for the first time, on The Ghan, would definitely not get a very favourable first impression of the city.
After that, drove back towards the city and out to Fanny Bay where we bought fish and chips for dinner. As we’d headed back from East Arm, the sky was looking increasingly black and rain seemed imminent, so we’d decided an early meal was in order, rather than venture out later in poor conditions.
Ate our meal sitting out on our balcony – it really was a most pleasant spot. The food was a bit pricey, having cost us $30 for snapper for two, 3 potato cakes, a dim sim, and a heap of chips. We drank our last bottle of wine.
After tea, John watched football on TV. I read and did some of the embroidery I’d brought from home. Predictably, it rained steadily from before dusk, on.
Moving day today. Had the original plan worked, we’d have been returning from Kakadu today.
Left Star City about 10.30am. Couldn’t go into our apartment at Cullen Bay until 2pm, so had time to fill in.
Outside our Sky City room
Went to the weekly Parap Markets and wandered about there. Unlike the better known tourist destination of the Mindil Beach Market, the ones centred on the Parap Village centre operate all year round. They are not of the same scale as Mindil Beach, or at least they weren’t at this time of year. But in some ways, I preferred these to Mindil Beach. They seemed more geared to the permanent residents of Darwin, and less to tourists.
There were many food stalls and some selling fruit and vegies. There were a few stalls with the usual Darwin market kitch offerings.
We bought some greengroceries – our apartment was self catering, and I fancied a salad tea.Tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, red onion, a dragon fruit because John wanted to try it.
We browsed the surrounding Parap shops too. Went into one art gallery shop. I was initially attracted by some aboriginal print fabric that was on display, thinking it would make up into great cushions. But then we looked at some limited edition prints on paper. John was very attracted to a stylized one of an owl. I loved it too, so we bought it, for $350. One of only 20 made. It would be mailed to Melbourne for us. With my artist brother now specializing in doing prints on paper, these days I had more of an appreciation of print making as an art form.
From the Markets, drove to the Wharf precinct and wandered about some more. We only had cool drinks there. We’d both had a final big breakfast at the Sunset, this morning (despite my supplies purchase yesterday), so neither of us was hungry at lunchtime.
All that filled in the time for us. Our final stop was at the Nightcliff shops for more supplies for the apartment. I bought olives, feta cheese, a carrot, some mixed leaves, milk, bread, margarine, a little jar of marmalade, bananas and oranges. Bought a couple of pasta dura rolls for tonight, and a Weekend Australian – that cost $4! We needed to be careful not to oversupply ourselves with foodstuffs. It wasn’t like a caravan park, where we could take food with us when we moved on.
So, to our establishment at Cullen Bay Apartments.
Our Cullen Bay apartment complex (Google)
We had Apartment 403, several levels up. The complex was built around a central atrium, like Sky City. Maybe it’s a tropical thing, for some reason? However, unlike Sky City, this had more of a roofed effect because of the walkways at each level, so was gloomier, with no plants growing.
Internal atrium at Cullen Bay
The underground car park spaces were tight to get into, because of the placement of pillars. But at least, they were under cover, with a degree of security, and with lift access to each floor.
Our apartment was fine. It was clean. We had a bedroom, kitchen/living area, bathroom off the bedroom. There were two split system aircons, ceiling fans, a good TV, couch, a couple of tables. All we needed to stay in comfort – except there were no microwave specific cooking dishes.
Living room
We had a nice little balcony, where we could sit out and look over the Cullen Bay Marina – interesting in itself. Below us, in front, a street of waterfront houses edged this part of the Marina. Presumably, the residents accounted for a number of the definitely upmarket boats moored there.
Marina and residences from our balcony
If there were any lightning storms over Darwin, we should have a good view of same, from our balcony.
So, I was happy with the unit. Back in 2006, we had visited a friend of M’s who lived in one of these serviced apartments, provided as part of her job. So I’d had a fair idea of what they were like.
We unpacked. John watched sport on TV. We had a beer each for happy hour, out on the balcony, watching the boat activity in the marina, and the sunset over it.
I made a Greek salad, and a leafy green one, for tea. These made a nice change from all the large and heavy meals we’d been eating. We didn’t have any wine with the meal – again, a change. I only had one bottle left from the supplies we’d bought, and was saving that for another time. The dragon fruit tasting was really a non-event. John wasn’t keen on it.
There were some storms at night, but no lightning.
We drove into the town centre, to the Information Centre, where we cashed in our Kakadu Passes for a refund. Had no problems with that, as the highway was still closed.
This morning’s sight seeing focus was to do the Historic Walk along Smith Street and nearby. We could do this whilst leaving our car parked near the Information Centre.
Town Hall remains
The walk featured some historic buildings, of what had been the city centre, and some remnants left after Cyclone Tracy. This cyclone had arrived unexpectedly on Xmas Eve 1974, weather forecasting back then not having the technology to detect cyclone formation, like it does these days. Because recording instruments broke, there was no accurate measurement, but it was estimated that the winds that devastated Darwin then, reached 250kmh.
“Old” Darwin had grown in an ad hoc manner, without much regulation, and its structures could not withstand such impacts. Not much was left standing. Officially, the death toll was about 70. I had been told by a friend, a long time resident of the Top End, that her brother had bulldozed into pits, and covered, lots of bodies, and the real death toll was hundreds. The old Darwin was a place people went to drop off the grid, and no-one knew how many aboriginals were camped around the town at the time.
After Cyclone Tracy
Tens of thousands of the survivors were evacuated, mostly by a massive air lift. Many never returned. The Darwin that was rebuilt and grew anew, according to the old hands, bears little resemblance to the old, frontier type of town that so many of them loved.
For me, there was a sense of both pathos and bravery in some of what we saw.
The old and the new….Christ Church old and new
Walked the new Sky Bridge, a sheltered walkway that took us from the end of Smith Street, over the cliffs that drop naturally to sea level, with the old roads carved along them, to the Waterfront Precinct building. There, a glass lift took us to ground level. That was all very well done; from the Sky Bridge we had good outlooks down over the waterfront developments.
Had a look at the Wave Pool, which had been built and opened a couple of years ago, and so was new to us. That would be a great place to take kids – safe from the local marine wild life, but more interesting than just a swimming pool.
It was very hot and humid, walking, so we sat and had a coffee at the Coffee Club. Then walked around to the historic WW2 oil storage tunnels that had been excavated into the cliffs below the city centre. These were closed off with a wire mesh gate – another tourist feature shut in the Wet Season. But we could look in through the mesh and get a general idea of what they were like.
Climbed up the Survivors Steps, from there, and thus along Smith Street back to the car. The Sky Bridge and elevator route had been much easier than our walk up the Steps! It teemed rain, just as we got to the top. The really heavy rain was an indication that the weather pattern had definitely changed from earlier in the week.
Despite the conditions, the Historic Walk had been well worth doing. An interesting contrast between the old and new.
Drove to Nightcliff shops. Bought a bottle of wine to take out tonight. I decided to buy some breakfast type groceries for me, so I could eat in the room: some grapefruit, a little pack of Weetbix, soy milk.
Outside our room at Sky City
After some leisure time back at the hotel, we left to drive to P’s place, for 7pm, taking some beers and a bottle of wine. P had asked our former colleague J, now working at Kormilda College to the meal, so we could catch up again. With J was his new wife.
P’s house was great, inside, belying its outward appearance and overgrown garden. The place was surprisingly large, P sharing the rental with a couple of others, who were not home tonight. It was a very “Darwin” establishment – much atmosphere, with a lot of old restaurant gear around. There were little ponds scattered outside, much greenery of course, a small spa pool, and obviously a huge frog population. They provided background song all evening.
P cooked a Thai soup and curry – very yummy. A dessert platter was rather an eclectic mix – melon, chocolate icecream, raspberries, chocolate cake.
Was much enjoyable talk, mostly about Kormilda. J’s role had changed and he and wife were now running the girls’ boarding house, but not living in. They had only been doing this for four weeks, and already the wife hated it and clearly resented the time J was putting into the role. I am afraid I could not warm to the lady at all. It was the third marriage for both; the ceremony had taken place in Bali because she did not want any of his family to attend. I thought that fact really summed her up, and could not see the marriage lasting very long.
After J and wife left, we stayed on for a while, talking with P, mostly about the various short term contracted works he’d been doing, including writing a grant application for Planet Savers, conservation being a cause dear to his heart. We arranged a return meal with him, at home in Melbourne, for a couple of weeks’ time.
The drive back to the hotel was through rain – of course!
Again, there were thunderstorms through the night.
Now that we were not leaving today, decided to drive out to Litchfield and revisit where we worked, five years ago.
Obviously we took the highway south and the route through Batchelor. The shorter way, that we’d used a lot in 2006, would have been well under water at the Finniss River ford.
It was clearly the Green Season. Lots of road side water in the lower lying areas, really tall green grass. A few flowing shallow flood ways and areas of sheet water on the road.
Litchfield National Park in the Wet Season
We drove straight through the National Park, to the former Monsoon Cafe, where we’d worked. Now, it had been renamed the Litchfield Cafe, the boss we’d liked having bought out the other one.
Said boss was in the office corner of the cafe when I went in. Recognition was immediate!
The place had changed a lot. Boss’ wife lived out there now, full time – no more weekly commuting to Darwin. His daughter, her husband and their little kids lived on site too; they took it in turns of one working in the cafe and one minding the kids.
The menu had been streamlined but broadened. There was no more offering of barra poached in garlic and cream – whoever got to clean the stove would have been grateful for that. There was still the same list of burgers and sandwiches, plus filo wraps had been added – there was a range of flavours in these. The boss now bought pre-sliced meats – well, that would save a lot of kitchen worker time in the mornings. The salad was now just leaves, tomato, cucumber; gone were the capsicum slices, grated carrot and sliced red onion. Again, very time saving. They still made wet salads for the tour groups – a curried rice one alternating with “my” rice salad; potato salad; “my” coleslaw made with wombok. There was no more waldorf salad, or the unpopular pasta one that old boss loved so much. They still served watermelon slices.
The mango cheesecake was still on offer – how many of those had I made over the three months? But now it was somewhat less rich, half the cream being cut out and replaced with yoghurt. New regular offerings were chocolate cake and apple slice. The addition of a little deep fryer meant that now chips were served. That had been a big lack when we were working there, often being asked for.
Inside the cafe, the tourist souvenir section had been greatly enlarged. There was too much kitchy stuff there now, in my opinion. It cheapened the place. They still had a good range of locally made cards, though, and some of Dorothy Mangan’s art. I bought four small works on canvas – $85 total.
The soft drink fridges had been moved out from behind the counter, to be accessible to the public, but this made the cafe area seem more claustrophobic.
In the kitchen – my former work area – the two big fridges had gone, now there was an attached coolroom built on. There was a nice air-con in the kitchen – wish it had been there in my time. There was the new deep fryer and an extra microwave. The old stove was still the same – and dirty, as well. Funny how no-one ever liked cleaning the monster.
Outside, the cafe was quite radically changed. A second coolroom container had been put down, with access from the outside. Long gone were the daily drives up to the Wongaling school to collect our bulk meat and green groceries from their coolroom.
We considered that the bus tour group lunch area had been ruined. A hard roof had been built over it – which would extend the area that could be used in wet weather – but instead of the once lush lawn underfoot, there was just bare ground. The buffet servery area had gone. There was a dishwashing machine – not hooked up yet. In our day, John and M were the dishwashers! The boss had put two containers at the end of the cafe veranda – he planned that these would be opened up and filled with souvenir stuff for the bus groups to browse in.
Eating area for bus tour groups
A tarp roof had been added to the front of the cafe, too, creating a larger sheltered area for cafe tables, but creating yet another area of bare ground. I didn’t like it and wondered whether the wet season patronage was really sufficient to justify destroying the former beauty of the place.
There was nowhere near as many of the lovely green hanging baskets of ferns and similar, around the place . The view along the cafe veranda was closed in by the new containers. Now the place looked more like a big shed than anything else – poor ambience. The cafe lawns were long and unkempt, but that could be because it was the quiet season for tourists. I had to admit that the exterior of the place was much more attractive in our time, when the former boss was in charge of it.
A good feature was the addition of more toilets, alongside the old ones.
Boss and wife lived in two containers that were joined together and he was fitting out inside, as a prototype for accommodation units planned for the future. Big improvement on his old caravan. They now had an inside bathroom!
What had been the helicopter pilot’s donga had been moved closer to the cafe. The old boss’ donga was being fitted out to be bathrooms. But the open air, tin showers we’d used were still in use, with the addition of a washing machine at the end of them. The daughter and family had a donga beyond where we’d had our van parked by the creek. That van park area was still there – for seasonal staff use.
Boss said the tent stay business was booming – at $25 a night per person, with no meals. 2010 had been a very good business year. But despite all that, he said he still planned to move the business further along, to Woolanning, where he owned a block of land. I was dubious that the volume of tourists that now went to the cafe would bother to drive that much further out, especially if someone else bought the old Monsoon and ran it as a cafe.
Boss and wife were coming to Melbourne for the Caravan and Camping Show – to publicize the business. We invited them to come to tea and stay the night, on a spare night they had. Would try to get M to come too.
We spent more than two hours at the cafe, talking and looking over the place. When we left, it was raining quite heavily.
Blue winged kookaburra
We called in at Wangi Falls. As we walked to the viewing platforms, there was a family of feral pigs digging around beside the path – quite out in the open. What on earth were the Rangers doing?
Wangi Falls were thundering down very nicely.
Wet Season Wangi Falls
So many tourists who visit the Falls in the Dry Season, and swim in the plunge pool, would not believe what they are like in the Wet.
Such an awesome volume of water pours over the escarpment edge at Wangi, and the plunge pool is such a mass of swirling, turbulent currents.
Swirling currents in the Wangi Falls plunge pool
We went on to Buley Rockholes, hoping to be able to get some good photos there. However, there were a dozen or so tourists swimming about in the pools. These had been closed until yesterday, because they were running too fast, so we lucked out by a day. But I managed to get some photos that did not include bodies.
Buley Rockholes
Our last stop on the way out of the Park was at the Magnetic Termite Mounds. Walked around the track to the viewing platforms. The grass was so high that the mounds were barely visible.
Magnetic Termite Mounds
Back to Darwin, through occasional drizzle. Then, as we approached Palmerston, the heavens opened. We were grateful that Tiger Brennan Drive was now open from Palmerston, as it was much better for driving in such conditions. It was like trying to drive in a big bucket of water. One could hardly even see the bonnet of the car, let alone any further. That was a new driving experience for John!
Closer to central Darwin, the rain became lighter. We still got a bit damp, walking up from the parking area to the hotel entry. No question about the humidity today – 100%.
Enjoyed the day’s outing. It had definitely been worth doing, even without the old times factor. Litchfield in a good Wet Season should be on every tourist’s agenda. So beautiful.
Went down to the Sunset Restaurant for tea. It was the seafood buffet again – yummy, but a bit dearer than last time because the 20% discount only applied Monday to Wednesday.
There were thunderstorms at irregular intervals through the night, but little in the way of evident lightning.
This Adventurous Age 