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In contrast with Cairns, I rather enjoyed the quaint Darwin. Remarkably Darwin was settled by people travelling north from Adelaide and not from the sea. For those of you who can't picture the Australian continent, take a look at a map and you will see how crazy that seems.
The city has been flattened twice in its life. The first time was during a Japanese air raid during WWII. (There was a certain pride in telling you that it was by the same fleet that bombed Pearl Harbour and that more bombs were dropped on Darwin.) Then again by Cyclone Tracy in 1974.
There isn't that much to do in Darwin, but it is a pleasant place in which to relax and have a wonder. The highlights for me were seeing what historic buildings they have left, including Burnett House at the Historic Precinct and the old Telegraph Station. The modern Parliament building is worth a look inside. Without regard to cost, they have built a large building - suitable to expand into in the future according to the signs - which barely seems to be used. A white elephant? Sitting on the beach to watch a sunset over Cullen Bay was a lovely end to the day.
"Quaint" is not a word I would have used to describe Darwin. "Practical", "clean", "modern" perhaps!
ReplyDeleteA mutual friend of ours worked for many years in Darwin and to be honest I have no idea how she managed. Maybe there is more to the place than I discovered but for me it was just a mustering point for tourists heading to the interesting bits of NT.