Ok, mission accomplished!

2008-09-23 - Tuesday

It wasn't a late night, I think we pretty much were all back at the hostel by 1:30am; however, we started at 7:30pm ... So that's still 6 hours of rather heavy partying.

And it was definitely a morning for sleeping in. Matt, our guide, dropped by around 8am to ensure everyone was doing well; after, confirming that I was, I proceeded to roll over and sleep for another 3.5 hours. Yep, up at 11 and feeling the side-effects of the night before; I was pretty sure at this point that it was going to be a quiet day. Which worked out quiet well, since today was a free day anyway.

Paul and I found a cafe serving breakfast 'till noon. I had ordered a big breakfast but could only put down half of it...and even with that my body took issue with me.

After "brunch" we headed out to explore the city a bit, first looking for the first coast we could find...didn't take much, it was only two streets over. I believe it was called bicentennial park and we walked along it's length for a while, down to an attraction called Aquascene where once a day ocean fish will converge for daily feedings. I guess it's pretty interesting...we missed it by an hour.

At this time, I'd like to share with you my experiences with Australian Public Washrooms. Now, I know these particular systems aren't available everywhere in Australa; but I have seen them both in Alice Springs and here in Darwin... And I swear, they're right out of Star Trek.

From the outside, they simply look like a misplaced silvery metalic cube measuring 10x10x10 feet (approximately). When you approach one, you notice that it has two doors and a display panel between them. The panel explains that a green or red light will indicate if the facility is available for use. If it is, you simply press it's corresponding button and the door slides open. As you step into the cube, a voice from overhead welcomes you. You are instructed to press another button to close and lock the door. As you do, you are informed that you have 10 minutes to use the facilities before the doors automatically unlock again. The voice is then replaced by softly playing musac (elevator music). The inside is as futuristic as the outside, done up in tile and chrome. There is, as one would expect, a toilet, a toilet paper dispenser (push button operated - no less), an integrated sink with automatic water flow and air dryer. The toilet automatically flushes by activating either the hand washer or by openning the door. To leave the facility, you simply press the unlock button and the door slides open (I'm sure I also heard the star trek sliding door sound effect as it did so).

Unfortunately, my description doesn't do it justice, you really have to experience it for yourself. If I happen across another, I'll try to snap some pics! We really should get some of these in Canada...they're awesome!

After the walk in the park, my plan had been to do some souvenier shopping, get caught up on email, write some postcards and do some laundry. Paul had planned on checking out a local beach. It was suggested that there was a local beach with a market on it; so thinking we could kill two birds with one stone we headed in that direction.

Before catching the #4 bus to Mindi beach, we stopped into a local Aboriginal souvenier store specializing in Aboriginal musical instruments. I no sooner walked in store when I was greeted by the stores attendant, Walter.

Walter was an older gentleman, probably mid 50's if I were to hazzard a guess. He matched me in height and had a rather dark complexion, but certainly not as dark as any of the Aboriginals we've seen. He was certainly Australian and it quickly became apparent that he was passionate about Australian culture and the role music played in it.

Walter had asked my name, which I gave, and noticing that I was eyeing a didgeredoo had asked if I had ever played one. I responded no, except for Matts, which we tinkered with around the campfire a couple of times. He immediately began telling me about the different types of didgereedos and sized me up with a properly sized one. Concerned that this was going to quickly turn into a sales pitch, I had mentioned that I was travelling with a tour group and wasn't prepared to buy one. "No Worries" was his reply and he continued with what pretty much turned into a 45 minute lesson on didgeredoo playing. Right from the proper way to vibrate your lips, to proper mouth positioning, to vocalization while playing. He also went into the different types of didgereedo playing; for each region had thier own forms of didgereedos and their own methods and reasons for playing them...much of this part of the conversation was way over my head. Nonetheless, thank you Walter, your beginner tips on didgereedo playing were greatly appreciated.

PS. Mom / Dad ... There may be a rather long, cylindrical parcel arriving on the doorstep in the next couple of weeks.

Ok, back to bus #4 to Mindi beach. Well, the beach we found, the markets we did not.

It had surprised both of us how unpopulated the beach was - deserted really. There's probably a couple of good reasons for this: 1. These waters do have crocodiles in them; 2. If the Crocks don't get you, the box jelly fish surely will. They're little, but pack a massive punch. The pain their stingers exert have caused many to go into shock and a percentage of those to die. Still though it was surprising not to see any sun worshippers as the beach was quite sandy; and the sun was ripe.

Despite the dangers presented by the crocks and box jelly fish, I collected the courage to press ahead and dip my toes into the Timor Sea. :-)

After litterally hours of walking we made our way back to Darwin's city center with not one souvenier....but I did snap a nice picture of the city from the most northerly point in Darwin; had a nice refreshing Solo (carbonated lemonaide) and a Magnum ice cream (just barely)... And now feeling fully recovered from the previous night's activities!

Tonight we gathered for another night of cheap food, relatively cheap drinks and lots more dancing at the Vic. I'll certainly be partaking in the food and the dancing, not so much so of the drinks though. Once in a blue moon is really all I wish to deal with.

Tomorrow we leave Darwin, heading south on the Stuart Hightway, towards the connector, Barkley Highway, that will take us east towards Cairns (prounced "cans" - It's taken be a bit to get that right...but that's how Australians pronounce it).