Trip to the NT

Day 1 - Darwin
You feel the heat and humidity hit you the minute you step off the plane. Even though it’s expected, the intensity at nearly midnight comes as a bit of a surprise. But it’s welcome. That balmy, tropical smell reminds me of Bali and Port Douglas – places that I’ve loved. There’s a sense of coming home for me when I visit the tropics which is strange given that Sydney was my birthplace and the city that I spent most of my youth in before my parents escaped to Tasmania for a quieter life. Over thirty years living in southern states gives me no right to consider anywhere balmy my own – yet that sense of homecoming that I can’t explain is almost tangible for me.

The wide streets are lined with palm trees only just visible in the dark. I can’t hear the leaves slapping together but I can imagine the sound which for me is the sound of the tropics. Moonshadow Villas are located near the Gardens. They are luxurious and Balinese style apartments – this is where I spend my first two nights. It’s quiet and close enough to the city to walk. It’s almost 2am my time before I make it to bed. It’s beautifully comfortable but I’m restless in a new place and uncertain about leaving air conditioning on all night and somewhat confused at the offer of a heavy doona as the only bedding other than sheets. I can’t say my sleep was refreshing but it’s enough.

It’s overcast but hot already by early morning. I review the maps to work out where I should begin my exploration. I decide on the Botanic Gardens, Mindil Beach and Cullen Bay. The Gardens are serene. There’s some evidence of the cyclone that hit a week or so ago but the overwhelming impact is of lushness and green. It’s a stark contrast to my own dusty back garden where nearly everything has a parched and withered look about it. The carpet of grass here is so thick and inviting. I’m tempted to go back to collect a book and a picnic rug to spend my morning lying under the trees.

Mindil Beach is deserted. I stroll along the wide flat bed of sand toward Cullen Bay and contemplate the frustration of living by a sea you can’t swim in during summer. The box jelly fish and the crocodiles have claimed it their own. (Later I find out that the sea temperature at this time of year is over 30 degrees so there’s nothing refreshing about swimming in this part of the ocean).

Cullen Bay is quiet too. I find marinas inviting places, having grown up on boats. I imagine the wharf restaurants are busy on weekends and during the middle of the year when a heavy tourist trade is drawn to the north. It’s sultry now. The sun is mostly covered by cloud and there’s a subtle threat of rain. This steamy climate is one of things that I find alluring about Darwin. It’s the antithesis of the long drought we have experienced down south that has reminded all of us how vulnerable this country is. It feels like a reprieve to be in this balmy oasis where the lushness of the vegetation offers hope that one day we’ll see an abundance of rain again at home. More...