Today I flew from Hobart to Darwin. 6:30am flight out of Hobart (to Melbourne) that was delayed by 20 minutes because the flight crew got in late the night before -- and then we had air traffic control delays landing in Melbourne -- which meant that my tight 40 minute connection turned into an mad dash 7 minute connection (and of course the gates were on opposite sides of the terminal) -- fortunately I made the flight -- and so did my luggage. (I would have been very bummed out if I had missed the connection -- would have had to wait 10 hours for the next flight).
A bit of a shock landing in Darwin -- so different from Tasmania & New Zealand. (1) it's really hot & humid -- 95F today with 90+% humidity. And Darwin is filled with young backpackers -- and it has a very lively nightlife (unlike Hobart where the sidewalks rolled up at 10pm). It's not quite high season in Darwin -- that starts in May when they are fully into their dry season (so 6 months with no rain) and the humidity drops significantly. April is a shoulder season in Darwin -- the monsoonal rains have mostly stopped (still have a chance of the stray storm in the afternoon) -- but humidity still high.
I'm going to take it pretty easy while in Darwin (I'm here for 5 nights). I've booked 2 full-day tours (tomorrow and Monday) -- and will leave Sunday & Tuesday open to do whatever. And then on Wednesday i take the train to Alice Springs (23 hour trip with at least 1 stop).
Today I didn't do much except walk around a bit -- the heat & humidity just zapped me -- I can't remember the last time I've been some place so hot.
Note: I'm really glad my hotel apt room has a washer / dryer -- I'm going to need it here.
Weather: mostly sunny, 1 rain shower, 80 - 95F
Miles Walked: 4.8
Book/s Read: To Darkness and To Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming. 4th book in the Rev. Clare Fergusson / Russ Van Alstyne series. I've decided to read the series straight through (well I started a little off by reading the last one (#8) first). This one was a bit weird -- kind of unbelievable that so many bad things would happen in 1 town at the same time.
Tidbit #1 for the day: residents of the Northern Territory are often known simply as "Territorians', or more informally as 'Top Enders' and 'Centralians'.
Tidbit #2 for the day: many people here say 'Ta' instead of 'Thank You' -- I asked someone if it was just an NT expression -- they said "no", that it's used by many Aussies (it's the first time I've noticed its use).
Pic Notes (very lazy today -- so not many pics -- plus my camera lens kept fogging up):
A bit of a shock landing in Darwin -- so different from Tasmania & New Zealand. (1) it's really hot & humid -- 95F today with 90+% humidity. And Darwin is filled with young backpackers -- and it has a very lively nightlife (unlike Hobart where the sidewalks rolled up at 10pm). It's not quite high season in Darwin -- that starts in May when they are fully into their dry season (so 6 months with no rain) and the humidity drops significantly. April is a shoulder season in Darwin -- the monsoonal rains have mostly stopped (still have a chance of the stray storm in the afternoon) -- but humidity still high.
I'm going to take it pretty easy while in Darwin (I'm here for 5 nights). I've booked 2 full-day tours (tomorrow and Monday) -- and will leave Sunday & Tuesday open to do whatever. And then on Wednesday i take the train to Alice Springs (23 hour trip with at least 1 stop).
Today I didn't do much except walk around a bit -- the heat & humidity just zapped me -- I can't remember the last time I've been some place so hot.
Note: I'm really glad my hotel apt room has a washer / dryer -- I'm going to need it here.
Weather: mostly sunny, 1 rain shower, 80 - 95F
Miles Walked: 4.8
Book/s Read: To Darkness and To Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming. 4th book in the Rev. Clare Fergusson / Russ Van Alstyne series. I've decided to read the series straight through (well I started a little off by reading the last one (#8) first). This one was a bit weird -- kind of unbelievable that so many bad things would happen in 1 town at the same time.
Tidbit #1 for the day: residents of the Northern Territory are often known simply as "Territorians', or more informally as 'Top Enders' and 'Centralians'.
Tidbit #2 for the day: many people here say 'Ta' instead of 'Thank You' -- I asked someone if it was just an NT expression -- they said "no", that it's used by many Aussies (it's the first time I've noticed its use).
Pic Notes (very lazy today -- so not many pics -- plus my camera lens kept fogging up):
- 1: aboriginal art at the airport
- 2, 6 - 11: The Esplanade -- across the street from my hotel
- 3: some government building
- 4: Darwin was pretty much wiped out 2x in the 20th century -- (1) WWII bombings, (2) Cyclone Tracy in 1975 - more than 70% of the buildings & 80% of the house were destroyed
- 5: Government House - the oldest European building in the Northern Territory (built 1870 - 78)
- 8 - 9: Orange-Footed Scrubfowl (aka Bush Turkey) - makes quite the noise -- some times it sounds like a turkey, some times a rooster, and other times just makes this weird screaming call (and look at those feet / claws)
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