Day 34 Friday 11 August
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Sadly we packed up our stuff and headed rooftop for a final swim at RNR appartments. Which if your traveling to Darwin we can highly recommend. Have I mentioned the amazing rooftop pool!
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Packed the gear into the van, gee I'm glad we brought all the journal stuff inside-NOT!
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We went to the Wave Lagoon. An enormous swimming pool with man (machine) made waves. The best beach ever!! Great big waves, no sand and no wildlife!
We must be aclimatetizing cause it felt abit cool at 31 degrees!
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3 sets of 20 minutes in the massive waves, (some bigger than Matilda could handle and she go dumped repeatedly) before the kids came out of the water for a rest and it was only because Olivia accidentally banged her knee on the ground! A bit of Blood but a quick fix by Andrew the life guard and they were off again for another round.
It's actually a really good work out. 1, 20 minute, surf was enough for me. I was happier in the 10 minute still cycle.
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We need refuelling and walked along the boardwalk of the waterfront where there was a plethora of choices for a light lunch. We chose the Oyster Bar, not that any of us like oysters but there were heaps of beautiful fresh fish options and toasties for the girls.
Couldn't resist sending Martin a photo of their beer chilling tower that intermittently spat fresh ice over a visually impressive collection of chilled craft beers. (Not sure that was much appreciated as he was crawling round in a ceiling space!)
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Back to the wave lagoon for the girls and JD went to check out the WW2 oli storage tunnels which had remained a top secret until 1992, when 50 years after the bombing they were opened up during in commemoration.
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We checked into the Argus which wasn't quiet up to the same high standard as RNR but still a spacious base for our last night in Darwin.
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After some bill payments (reality still lingers quietly in the background) we set off to the waterfront for some dinner at the stunning Wharf One! Right on the corner of the deck overlooking the harbour. Our lovely English backpacker but incredibly clumsy waitress Lucy, made our dining experience very amusing between her having a serious case of drop everything from full drink trays, twice!, to a tray of full meals and trying to passify a couple complaining about the same bottle of wine the sent back 3 times! Maybe try a different wine!
Poor girl! She was under the pump as the only waitress on the deck. She was delightful, apologetic about the extended waits due to droppages and our meals were delicious, more beautiful fresh seafood! (As well as the option of Branham Hump, which no one took up) Anyway we gave Lucy some good positive feedback to her manager on our way out!
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We are walked back to the apartment via the skybridge through town where the Darwin Festival was on in their park. We walked through a very relaxed crowd sitting on lawns eating drink and dancing similar feeling to Launni's Festivale.
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Darwin is such a beautiful city! So much to offer and yet it's got a relaxed calm pace, barely any car traffic and yet all the services of a big city. We loved it. Will be sorry to leave tomorrow but there's a big Western Australia waiting for us!