Darwin, Australia

Tuesday, March 25, 08
This morning has been an attempt to update my blog. Two days are on, two to go. Pat picks me up at 10:30 for a tourist?s visit of Darwin. First is a stop at Charles Darwin University where we look in on Tim, a professor who works closely with the local Aboriginal people. After a latte and talk we continue. This is a city which has been destroyed several times-WWII and again Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Darwin Harbor is a large, well-protected, deep-water bay. A storm is approaching, west to east across the bay. The steam rises from the pavement as we enter East Point Reserve. Lake Alexander, a man made lake, ½ for swimming and ½ for canoeing is to our right, Arafura Sea to our left. This is the same Arafura Sea, from the other side of the pond, that I saw in Timika, Papua. The rain sweeps closer from Madorah. Box jelly fish prevent much swimming during the rainy season, which is drawing to a close. Dry season will cool the residents. We stop at Dudley Point where the large 9.5?gun emplacements, along with the magazines and radar lookouts were in place too late for the defense of Darwin during WWII. Ironically, after the war, the guns were dismantled and sold as scrap metal to the Japanese. Peace dove, commonly called Kamikaze dove because they don?t fly till the vehicle is on them, seem to have a special car attraction this day. At the Museum and Art Gallery, we lunch on sweet potato soup, a chicken salad roll, and lemon tea. The Museum has lots of Aboriginal art and history, with a special section devoted to Cyclone Tracy. There is also a stuffed crocodile, Sweetheart, which was harassing boaters. It died while being captured. It was 300 years old, 780 kg (1716 pounds), 17 ft long, and has a girth of 2.3 m (5 ft). Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin Christmas Eve 1974 with an estimated wind speed of 200 miles/hr. The wind indicator at the airport broke. It leveled the city. Building codes are now strictly enforced. On to Larrakeyah Point where the colors of the Sea change, depending on the weather. There is an Army base here which is on the Sea. The Naval base is 11 km inland. Go figure! Cullen Bay looks and smells of money. This is close to downtown Darwin. Many of the homes have their own docks and the marina is here. On goes the tour till around 4:45. Darwin does not have a big city look. Most of the homes are separated from each other with trees and open areas still undeveloped. There is a rain forest which separates some of the suburbs and the Sea and Bays are pristine. There are some common expressions. ?No worries!? is one of the main replies given when a request isn't possible. Mate, bloke are terms of endearment. When passing, you most often receive a greeting and you are looked in the eye. That is, unless you are Aboriginal. For the Aborigines, it is considered impolite to look another person in the eye unless you are an acquaintance. To ask, ?How are you?? is rude to an Aboriginal unless you have spent time talking about the weather, and gradually working toward this personal question. Tonight, Pat is taking me to meet some friends for tea at the wharf. Tomorrow, I leave early for Cairns (pronounced CANS).