Author Archives: Matthew

The off-season in the Top End, Jan. 16

There weren’t the usual level of tourists in Darwin, since this turns out to the the off-season. It’s supposed to be the “wet” season but the usual rains have not yet started. Many locals leave town this time of year.

I had signed up for a tour of the Territory Wildlife Park and a return cruise down the river back to Darwin. The latter was cancelled due to lack of interest, but three people were enough to keep the wildlife park tour on. So, more critters and birds:

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The cancelled return cruise opened up some more time in the afternoon, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough extra for me to figure out how to get to the military history museum about the Bombing of Darwin in WWI. It’s described as the Pearl Harbor of Australia; with more attacking planes, more sunk ships, and more lives lost, and I had never heard of it.

Here is the memorial to the USS Peary, one of the ships sunk. The gun was recovered form the ship and points to where the rest of the ship remains to this day.

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The Ghan

The Ghan is billed as the world’s only north-south transcontinental railroad (since most continents have more than one country in the N/S direction).

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I has a single sleeper cabin in the Gold section. It was much more comfortable than just a chair in the Red section, but there’s a big demographic different (I was one of the younger people in the sleepers).

At Alice Springs (hot and dry) I went on a tour of the Alice Springs Desert Park. We were on time for a Birds of Prey show.

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At Katherine  (hot and wet)I went on a boat tour of the First and Second Gorges at Nitmiluk National Park.

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Alice Springs: third times a charm

Just a quick photo from the phone from Alice Springs Desert park.

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This was actually my third choice for an Alice springs tour. First choice was the Old Ghan museum, but I was the only one that requested it. (I’m on a train and no one else is interested in trains?) Second choice was a tour bus around the city with the opportunity to get off for 2 sites, since it was pointed out that one of the choices was the old Ghan museum. However, that bus was full up so I had to pick again.
Pictures from the DSLR will have to wait until I can upload from the laptop.