The Top End: Day 6

Today was the day I explored Darwin. I had to carry around my bags with me all day. Let me tell you – I was glad to have packed light!

I started at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. The exhibits on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history were so educational. Also on display was the infamous Sweetheart. Sweetheart was a 5 meter long saltwater croc that was accidentally killed while relocating him after too many attacks on boats (but not people!). There were also displays of the wildlife you might find in the Northern Territory, including more things than I can count that could kill you: Box Jellyfish, Blue-ringed octopi, Cane toads, pufferfish, countless snakes, and that’s just what I recall. The exhibit of Cyclone Tracy was fascinating. Tracy devastated Darwin in the early hours of December 25, 1974. They had a dark room where a recording of the storm so you could attempt to imagine what it would have been like to experience such an extreme weather event. 

I then visited the marine section of the museum, seeing actual boats (ships? Maybe I didn’t learn as much as I thought I did…) that carried immigrants and refugees to Australia over the years, among other things (I was hot and my brain was full by this point, can you tell?). 

After the museum, I visited the Northern Territory Collection at the Northern Territory Library, which is located in the Parliament House. I asked for some help to find materials about the places I visited, and the history of the NT. I spent about an hour and a half reading and relaxing in the air conditioning while I charging my devices. Making a midday stop at the local library is definitely something I would recommend if you have a day to kill in a city – it’s a great space to have some down time, and somewhere you can just exist without the expectation of spending money.

I went for a walk after the library, making a pitstop for strawberry gelato and iced coffee. I had seen a bunch of advertisements for this particular brand of “coffee flavoured milk” so I gave it a try. While it was tasty, it didn’t have the strongest coffee flavour. Next up, I made my way to the Mindil Beach Sunset Market.

The market was full of vendors, food trucks, and entertainers. I met up with another person who was on the tour and still in Darwin to explore. It was a lovely way to spend the evening! I got some fresh mangoes, postcards, mango and passionfruit ice cream, and some dinner. We watched the sunset (along with the hundreds of other people there) from the beach, got to see more flying foxes, and see performers who are far braver than I playing with fire.

It was dark now, so I headed to the airport five hours early for my 2 am flight. I was beginning to regret my decision to save the money on my flight. All things considered it wasn’t too bad, I got to catch up on reading. Jetstar is a budget airline, so I coughed up the $8 to have a window seat in hopes of napping. I landed in Melbourne at 6:45 am, and got a bird’s eye view of Williamstown on our descent! 

Surprisingly, I wasn’t completely dead, but crashed hard later in the day and was asleep by 8:30 pm. My day was full of catch up errands, but I got more done than I planned on!

My trip to the Top End was unforgettable, and I am so glad Australia is my big adventure.

– Kate