Friday
Conference venue Holiday Inn Esplanade
On our third morning in Darwin, Mark was off to the final day of his Emergency Medicine conference, and Ro and Sherry were on their own again. Having stopped by a local grocery the previous evening, Sherry & Ro had brekkie in the room today, dining on day-old scones from the bakery, fresh fruit, and tea. They took a taxi to Crocodylus Park, about 15 minutes from the heart of Darwin city, and supposedly "the best place in Australia to come face to face with the largest reptiles on the planet."
See link:
http://www.crocodyluspark.com/
Ro piloting a swamp boat
The ads aren't lying; there were a lot of crocs, some with massive heads about as big as Ronan's body. In addition, the park is home to a couple of lions and tigers (no bears), dingos, emus, ostriches, a cassowary, water buffalo, snakes and reptiles, an ocelot, a variety of monkeys, and other exotic birds. Ronan had a great time, but by midday the heat was getting to him, and he was begging to go have a swim back at the hotel. Unfortunately, Sherry is still unable to swim because of her recent surgery, and without Mum in the pool, Ro lost interest pretty quickly.
Crocs, crocs, and more crocs
Not a croc. A wallaroo, actually
After grabbing lunch in the hotel room, Sherry decided to try to find the World War II storage tunnels. Following the bombing of Darwin in 1942 when the original above-ground oil tanks were destroyed, an innovative solution was to build a series concrete and steel lined tunnels for fuel storage. The construction of the tunnels was part of an overall defence strategy for Australia and the Pacific region. Building commenced in 1943 and 8 tunnels were planned. However, only 5 were actually constructed. Difficulties and delays in construction, material deficiencies and the inability to effectively seal the tunnels from infiltration of water meant that the tunnels were never actually used for their initial purpose.
Ro & Sherry at the WWII tunnels
"That's okay, mommy, you can go first."
Storage tunnel extending farther than you can see
In 1992, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the bombing of Darwin, tunnels number 5 and 6 were opened to the public and today the steel lined walls feature a photographic display of Darwin during WWII. They are truly amazing to tour, as they go quite deep under the city. Ronan likened them to caves that Scooby Doo might go into looking for clues. Next stop was walking by the Parliament House and back downtown, where Ro was begging Sherry for a cold smoothie. They returned to the hotel to shower and meet up with Mark for dinner.
Ro fascinated by a didgeridoo player downtown. Note the spit coming out of the end
Ro grooving to the didgeridoo
When Mark got home, Ro wanted to burn off some energy, so they wrestled on the bed WWE style until we all got too hungry to wait anymore. We walked down to The Esplanade to scope out the restaurants. We didn't have reservations, and it was a Friday night so most of the places were pretty crowded. We ended up at Char Restaurant, which was able to squeeze us in to their last table on the condition we vacated it by 8pm (it was 6:20), so we took it. The food was excellent - even Ro liked it.
Ro & Sherry dining al fresco at Char
After dinner, we leisurely made our way back to the hotel and had dessert - a king-size Kit Kat bar that Mark had won at the conference. One of the lectures he went to was a medical quiz-type thing, with some 80's Name That Tune thrown in for fun. When the first chords of the song came on, Mark's hand shot up the fastest, and he guessed it correctly: The J. Geils Band's Centerfold. Ro had managed to garner the lion's share of the Kit Kat, so after putting Ro in a bath and then bed, Sherry raided the minibar for a Cadbury Dairy Milk to quiet her chocolate craving. We had to get up early the next morning, so we spent a quiet evening in the room drinking wine, writing postcards, and watching the media circus on TV. RIP Michael and Farrah.
Ro wanted to sleep in Bear-Bear's hiding spot behind the curtain
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