Clayton's Blog

The blog you’re having when you’re not having a blog.

I don’t usually write a blog for our domestic travel. But then we don’t normally head off around the country for more than a few days here or there so domestic blogs are hardly worth the effort, and in any case it’s not as exciting as some exotic location on the other side of the world.

But this time she said “why don’t you write a blog” to help remember everything we did. So here it is, the Clayton’s Blog (I suspect only Aussies of a certain age will appreciate the reference, but thanks Jack Thomson all the same …).

Friday, 12 September 2025 – Perth to Brisbane

Travel day. Left home around 8am, getting to Perth around 11:30.

A two-stage travel day – firstly Perth to Adelaide and then Adelaide to Brisbane, getting there about 10:30 pm local time. Rather than travel into the city at that time of night we had opted to stay at one of the airport hotels, and make a leisurely trio into town the next morning.

Saturday, 13 September 2025 - Brisbane

Today was the official start of the holiday.

Because of the late night we had no urge to start the day early, and so we caught a train into Brisbane late morning and made our way to our base for the next few nights, the InterContinental.  The hotel has recently been acquired from the Hilton chain, and we were told that the new owners are planning a substantial renovation in time for the 2032 Olympics. Given that that’s 7 years away that should give them enough time to do whatever they want to do!

After settling in we decided to go find breakfast. It was, after all, 2pm by then. We stumbled upon the Australia Unites Against Government Corruption Rally, organised, I think at least in part by Turning Point Australia. I stood and watched for a while. It was hard to tell exactly what the crowd were protesting about – based on the various flags and banners I suspect that many present didn’t really know. The man with the megaphone spoke passionately about not having racial and other division in our society. Two of the banners I saw proclaimed “RIP Charlie Kirk” and “Make Albo Go Away”. The guy wearing what very much looked like a German army steel helmet was also making a none too subtle message. Whilst I don’t for a moment condone political assassination and violence, from what I knew of Kirk before his demise and certainly afterwards he was a spreader of divisive messaging in the name of free speech, and in that gun crazy and violent country it’s no wonder that people take the actions they do. In my view the notion of free speech comes with obligations as well as rights, a view of course not supported by the US’s current political leadership, and it troubles me to see this sort of stuff seemingly willingly imported into our largely trouble-free country by sections of our society; that which I see as the worst of American society.

Meanwhile we enjoyed our breakfast at the nearby Café Mondial whilst listening to some of the local conspiracy theorists ranting about how bad things are. And that ends today’s political commentary.

We then went for an extensive wander around the city centre. On our first pass we took in the river, the Customs House, the Story Bridge and the crowds at the various eateries and bars along the Howard Smith Wharves. On our return journey we passed through and around the City Botanic Gardens which was hosting Afterglow, an evening light show which we decided to attend that night.

Our accommodation package gave us access to the InterContinental club lounge, which provides afternoon drinks and snacks. A bit extravagant perhaps, but for the few days in Brisbane it gave us another home away from home in between other activities.

A good day all round.

Sunday, 14 September 2025 -

Birthday day.

Today was another wander and explore day, We started, with no particular plan, at the Brisbane City Hall, which we could see, prettily lit up in pink at night, from our hotel room window. It’s a lovely building in the midst of what I think is a fairly confused architectural scene; by that I mean the impression I have is that Brisbane hadn’t in recent decades really figured out where it wanted to take itself architecturally; there seems to be a complete mish-mash of styles. But the old City Hall is an example of yesterday’s style. The rooms are lovely, and the auditorium and its huge pipe organ quite spectacular (the auditorium is apparently based on the Patheon in Rome), and its copper dome roof the largest in the southern hemisphere. The City Hall hosts a comprehensive museum which we spent a good hour at, and could have stayed longer, other than we had a tour of the bell tower, which gave us a great view of the CBD.

Then it was on to the sky deck which sits around 100 metres above the Star Casino building, for another great view of the city and the river, before a wander over to Southbank and back.

The day was finished off with a fabulous birthday dinner at French restaurant Pompette. Before we got there we stopped off for a glass of champagne for Janet a full-bodied red for the birthday boy at Toscano Bar & Kitchen. In another time we could have easily stayed there for dinner. The “full-bodied red” reference was because I didn’t know any of the wines, and the server offered to go and check with the bar and came back with a couple of samples before I made a choice. Very good service.

Then to cap the night off, Pompette was simply fabulous. ‘Nuff said.

Monday, 15 September 2025

Today we decided to take a trip down the Gold Coast. Whilst I’ve only visited a very few times in the past, I’ve never really been a fan of the place, and today reconfirmed that view. Sure, the beach is nice, but since we live next to the best beaches in the world, well …

Anyway, I find Surfers Paradise a bit tacky; sorry to my Qld friends.

But we had a nice day on the train and then the light rail. We had a light lunch at El Camino Mexican restaurant, and then that followed it up with another Mexican feed at Comuna Cantina, close to the Brisbane River and not far from the InterContinental.

Tuesday, 16 September 2025

Today was another wander and explore day. It was our last in Brisbane, and following yesterday’s Surfer’s experience we decided to take a river cruise, starting again at Southbank and heading down river to the old powerhouse and back. Touristy, yes, but a bit of fun and interesting all the same.

That aside, a fairly lazy day.

The Intercontinental Lounge was handy. Apart from the snacks and drinks, it also allowed us a relatively spacious and quiet place to do some work most afternoons. J had a never-ending stream of client matters to deal with, whereas I took the opportunity to catch up on and respond  to the stream of emails which follow one across the globe. I actually prefer that to coming home to an inbox with a million items to wade through (most of which are dealt with by the delete button, but require some attention all the same).

After the attention to work we headed back to the train station, hopped a train to South Brisbane, and walked down the road a bit to Kinara restaurant. Kinara, an Indian eatery, had been recommended to us at the same time as Pompette, and it became a toss-up for the birthday dinner (there was an Italian restaurant in the mix too, but it got lost somewhere in the logistics of the few days in Brisbane). Anyway, Kinara was very different to Pompette. Excellent food, good service, and no complaints, but more “suburban” and less stylish than Pompette. No complaints, just different.

We decided to walk home – a relatively short hike – and take in the lights of the Brisbane River by night.

I did spend a little time doing some FB chatting – something I very rarely do these days – but this was on a special ex-PNG Wales/Westpac group. Today is the 50^th anniversary of PNG’s Independence from Australia; a special occasion by almost any measure, but particularly so for me as I was a young bloke in Lae on 16^th September 1975 and the experiences in that country then and subsequently have absolutely shaped my life. So wasting a bit of time on FB, and chatting to a Papua New Guinean chap I’ve not seen since that time, and in all likelihood never will again, was rather special.

Wednesday, 17 September 2025 - Mooloolaba

Adios Brisbane. After breakfast we packed our bags and hopped a train back out to the airport to collect our hire car for the next three days, and then wend our way north for the relatively short drive to Mooloolaba.

Little to report today. Mooloolaba is like a giant version of Dunsborough. Our 5^th floor apartment is maybe 100 metres from the beach. Just back from the beach is an almost endless array of eateries and retail outlets of all sorts, themselves also fronting an equally never-ending array of short-stay apartments. It’s pretty unlikely that I’ll be living in/near Dunsborough in 30 years (it’s pretty unlikely that I’ll be living in 30 years!), but I can imagine that that is what our local future will look like in some form.

Once settled in we decided to walk from Mooloolaba to near Maroochydore, a 10 klm round trip approximately. It was good to stretch our legs, and get a general feel for the place. It’s nice here (J would be quite happy to have a winter escape place nearby), but certainly full of escapees from the colder southern climes.

Mooloolaba has an entirely different feel to it than its southern cousin on the Gold Coast. Same beaches (still not as good as ours), and many similar high rise (but not as dense as Surfers), but somehow it just feels “better”.

Takeaway Thai for dinner, backed up by the relatively low rent bottle of wine which the InterContinental had given us on check in for my birthday.

Thursday, 18 September 2025

A very lazy day today – what are holidays for? J went for a run along the beachfront, we had breakfast at one of the local eateries, then drove up to Maroochydore for some retail therapy, followed by a walk along the foreshore, then dinner at the local surf club.

Friday, 19 September 2025

For some years – not quite sure why – I had wanted to explore the Glasshouse Mountains. Today was the day. We headed out from Mooloolaba down the coast via Caloundra, and then used the secondary roads as best we could (avoiding the M1) to head into the hinterland. First stop was the visitors centre where we were provided with a map and a suggested itinerary. Jannine, the “ambassador” as they term their volunteer staff was super helpful, and with her flourishing yellow highlighter pen directed us to several places to experience.

There are 13 of these “mountains”, so named by Captain Cook in 1770 (he was actually only Lieutenant Cook back then) as they reminded him of the glass furnaces in his far distant Yorkshire home. Several are quite spectacular – geologically they are volcanic cores or plugs and the surrounding softer rocks have eroded over the past 25 million years or so resulting in these sometimes very steep protrusions. Apparently they are all technically climbable, but the visitor centre discourages that as, according to Jannine, “we’ve lost several people over the years”, and in any case for the local indigenous people they have spiritual significance and they prefer people not to climb them.

We did walk up one at Jannine’s suggestion – to the peak of Mount Ngungun, which has a very well-marked and maintained but very steep and at times challenging path with a number of people on it. I assume the traditional owners were happy for this to occur. The view from the top was quite spectacular, and yes, with a bit of a misstep one could easily fall off, with a less than comfortable outcome. 

We took a somewhat circuitous route back to Mooloolaba via the hinterland, passing through the very pretty little village of Mapleton and a few others.

Dinner tonight was at the Fish House Steak & Grill, about a kilometre east of the apartment building. A pleasant enough meal, not exactly cheap, and we thought that the service was a bit slack. I sort of left thinking that we were more commodities than customers.

Saturday, 20 September 2025 - Cairns

Today was farewell to the Sunshine Coast and off to even warmer climes. First step (after a coffee and the return of the apartment keys) was the hour or so back to Brisbane airport – and yes, this time we did take the M1 – to drop off the hire car and catch our flight to Cairns.

It was a largely uneventful day – a comfortable flight arriving in Cairns a bit before 5pm, a quick cab to the hotel, and settle in.

Keeping with our somewhat extravagant style for this trip, we have taken a Horizon Club room at the Shangri La Marina Hotel. As the name suggests the hotel sits directly on the marina, and our room had a great view over it. The room package also had Horizon Club access, providing late afternoon drinks and canapes as well as breakfast. Why not??

It was over 40 years since I had last visited Cairns on my way home to Australia from my three-year stint in Port Moresby. Of course the memory is a bit hazy, but my recollection from back then is that I wasn’t overly taken with the place. I’m not exactly sure why; the very vague recollection is that I found the place a bit run down and dirty. I might be being a little unkind.

But how different is it 40 years later? A big city with a population of some 160,000 people, the central area where we are is teeming with people. I didn’t bother count the number of eateries, but there are lots, most of them full. The main streets, one or two back from the waterfront, are not quite as busy, but still fairly active. Perhaps it’s a Saturday night thing, but I rather suspect not.

Anyway, nice to be here …

Out the front of the marina is a pretty flash boat. Of a nighttime it actually looks like a building at the end of the pier. On closer inspection, and/or at day time, you can see it for what it is. It’s not hard to spy on the Liva on the web: one article I read states “A mystery billionaire from Dubai has taken delivery of his 387-foot-long superyacht ‘Liva’. Built in Germany, the $250 million vessel features an underwater lounge, a 7-person submarine, and a swimming pool with a liquid marble floor that mimics the sea’s surface.” We got chatting to a security guard who was standing watch over the yacht. The guard said that the yacht, with its crew of 30-ish people, had sailed into port a few days earlier, and was just waiting for the owner to arrive and for instructions as to where to sail. She was in port for the whole time we were there, leaving not long after we checked out of the Shangri-La on the last day. We had a bit of fun with Paul Yates with photos of the Liva going back and forth.

Sunday, 21 September 2025

After a late start – why rush, we’re on holidays and it’s a Sunday, today was a bit of a planning day which also turned into an action day.

Including today, with three more days here at our disposal, we had to work out how best to manage that time. There were two activities to be planned – a trip to the Atherton Tablelands and a trip to one of the nearby islands – and then a yes/no/maybe activity.

We really didn’t get started until after midday, and by around 1:30 (this is the yes/no/maybe bit) we decided to hire a couple of jet skis as part of an escorted tour. Because we ummed and ahhed by the time we got to actually booking there was only one jet ski available, which actually worked out fine. The 3pm tour didn’t end up starting till about 3:50pm, and with me as driver and J as pillion we scooted around Chinaman’s Creek (yes, that’s what it’s called), up to somewhere near Admiralty Island (I’m not exactly sure where we were), cruised along the mangrove swamps and their resident quite large puk puks, then back out to the bay/ocean briefly, and home in time for afternoon drinks at the Shangri La. So much fun. So much, indeed, that we decided to repeat the experience in Darwin in a few days, this time definitely with one each.

The time in the hotel lounges does serve another purpose. Janet has worked most days when we’ve been away, and I’ve kept an eye on my various activities from afar also, so the lounge time (and space) is an ideal opportunity to whip out the laptops and catch up on things.

The day was capped off with another early evening stroll along the Esplanade. One thing we noticed, which we southerners forget about, is the large tide movements. At some times the water laps right up to and under the Esplanade boardwalk with just the very tops of a few lone mangrove trees popping their heads out of the water as the fleet of pelicans slowly cruise by, and at others the water is nowhere to be seen, and the bigger mangrove are now accompanied by dozens of their smaller brothers and sisters, and the pelicans are just sitting on the muddy sea floor lazily waiting for the tide to come back in and set them off floating and fishing again. Marvellous to watch the changes.

Monday, 22 September 2025

There are two main islands not far from Cairns for day-trippers to choose from for a visit, Green Island and Fitzroy Island. Depending on who you talk to, both are the best one to visit. A Google/AI search tells me “Choose Green Island for easy access, shallow water snorkelling, and a resort-like experience with amenities like a glass-bottom boat and a crocodile habitat, especially good for families. Choose Fitzroy Island for a more adventurous trip, with longer hikes to scenic lookouts, beautiful coral gardens, and a focus on nature, making it ideal for active travellers and couples seeking a romantic getaway.” Not so sure about the romantic, but guess which one we chose?

The departure from the marina seemed all a bit chaotic – people milling around everywhere, no apparent boat, but eventually the 10:45am boat to Fitzroy departed about 10:55 and we were off. The trip takes about 50 minutes, meaning that we got to our 11:45am glass bottom boat tour at 11:46, but hey, this is FNQ and let’s not get too precise about such matters.

The glass bottom boat trip was interesting, and according to the skipper/guide the water was exceptionally clear and so we had good viewing. Didn’t see any turtles or other large marine species, but lots of coral and little fish. It was interesting to learn a bit more about the life cycles of the corals and the effect of water temperature warming and the resultant “coral bleaching”.

After the coral viewing trip ended, and since our return ferry wasn’t until 4pm, some 3 hours later, we decided to go explore the island. I mucked up my navigation (the signposting was somewhat absent), and as it turned out rather to our advantage. We had intended doing a simple walk to the island summit and back, but the missed turnoff meant that we did a 4.5 klms approx. circuit out to an old lighthouse, and then to the summit, and back by a different path. Google AI search advises “The Fitzroy Island Summit Walk is a challenging, boulder-strewn 4km return trail that climbs through woodland to the summit, offering spectacular 360-degree views of the island, surrounding reefs, and the mainland. The walk is strenuous, with a significant elevation gain and many steep, rough sections and steps. It takes approximately 3 hours to complete, and you should be an experienced and fit walker to tackle this trek.” I mention this for a reason which I’ll come back to.

It was a fairly strenuous walk, which we did in under 1.5 hours, and that was allowing for a good 10 minutes on the top having a chat to some other visitors. The description above is fairly accurate – it is strenuous, and boulder-strewn, but the views of the beautiful blue NQ waters in almost all directions are to die for.

When we got to the lighthouse (somewhat short of the half-way mark) a young couple were there and were just leaving. By the time we left they were probably 10 minutes ahead of us, and we cold see them in the distance heading up to the summit (and they could probably see us down behind them). As it turned out, we got to the summit directly after them, meaning that we had traversed the boulder-strewn path in good time. When we arrived he looked at us and said something to the effect of “you guys are amazing”. I asked him why and he said that he was impressed that we had caught up with them. A compliment, given that I am probably 40+ years older than him. But that’s not the story … 

Everyone sat down/stood around and took in the view. They started to chat to each other; I was a little removed and couldn’t really hear them. Janet was closer, and asked something like “are you French?”, because she thought that that’s what they were speaking. No, she said, we’re Israeli. Right at this time in world history that leads to an immediate “ah”, spoken or not. Janet decided to speak, and asked “so what do you think about the current situation in Gaza?”, a valid, but somewhat brazen question.

The young woman responded “it’s complicated”. We then got into a conversation – not heavy as one might imagine – but simply honest and factual. The essence of it, from their perspective is this: they disagree with the carnage (my word), but her grandmother and aunt live in southern Israel, right on the Gaza border, from where the October 7 attacks were launched. Her grandmother saw the attackers coming and raised the alarm and she believes that action saved the whole kibbutz from being killed. Complicated.

I asked something like “I bet you get that question all the time?”, to which she replied, “no, because we don’t tell people we’re from Israel”. Which begs the question, why tell us: “because you don’t look threatening” came the reply.

Like much of the rest of the world I cannot for a moment condone the actions of the Israeli government, and this encounter today didn’t and won’t change my opinion, but it certainly adds a level of nuance to the debate.

This whole encounter only lasted 10 minutes max, but it was perhaps the most thought-provoking episode of the whole trip.

Tuesday, 23 September 2025

Today was another driving day.

On Sunday I had booked a car online, just for the day. When we were wandering on Sunday afternoon we strolled past the car hire place (a kilometre and a half outside the main drag) just to orientate ourselves. We got there at around 12:30, the place having closed at midday. The proprietors were inside and much to our protestations insisted on opening the door to see why we were looking in. We ended up having a good old yarn with them (they are originally from Victoria but have been running the car hire business in Cairns for 35 years or so). They’d visited Perth and have family in Bunbury, so we chatted about all sorts of nothing. But surprisingly, and most pleasantly, out of that conversation came the question “where are you staying?”. I told them, and he said “I’ll come and pick you up from the hotel a little after 10 and bring you back here and you can complete the paperwork, and that’ll save you the walk”.

Which is what happened.

The days turned into a roughly 250 klm round trip up through Kuranda on the Atherton Tableland to see the Barron Falls, onto to Mareeba, Mossman Gorge, Port Douglas and then back down the coast to Cairns.

Barron Falls would be absolutely spectacular in the wet season. I was lucky enough to overhear an indigenous chap telling another couple the bulurru (dreamtime story) of the creation of the Barron River and Barron Falls. In essence it is this: the rainbow serpent (Gudju Gudju) travelled from the coast to the high country trading with the people along the way; one day upon his return emu men killed him and chopped him into pieces; the people had great sadness and their tears unleashed the big waters which formed the falls; Gudju Gudju’s body parts were washed out to sea and formed Green Island and Fitzroy Island. This is a greatly condensed version of the story I heard, and so may not be fully accurate, but the essence is there.

The inland drive north is quite lovely. Over the space of less than 100 klms the journey traverses rainforest, farming country and then back into rainforest again as it nears Mossman and the Daintree. I had read somewhere quite some time ago that Mossman Gorge is one of the prettiest/must see places in Australia. It’s nice, and I’m glad that we went there, but it doesn’t quite match up to the wrap.

There was one slightly amusing incident. Partway along this pretty drive we came to a one lane bridge. I was obliged to give way, but the car in the distance coming towards me seemed sufficiently far away that I would get over the bridge before he got to it. Not so. Whether I misjudged (possible) or he had sped up (likely), I was halfway across the bridge when he arrived at the other side. Did he slow down? Uh-uh. He just came straight at me, and there we were like Robin Hood and Little John on their bridge. He stopped directly in front of me, flashed his lights and made it quite clear that I was to be the one to reverse. We were in Katter country – well, not really, but pretty close and it adds to the story – so reverse I did. When we got level we both wound down windows. His five words “Give way mate, give way”, spoken in perfect Queenslandish. My protest “but I was on the bridge first” fell on completely uninterested ears, and off he sped again. The bloke behind him waved as he passed me, almost apologetically. There’s a moral in all this somewhere …

We got the car back to the hire place at a very civilised 5:30 pm, and wander back to the hotel to do email catch-up and the like before heading out for our last dinner and explore of Cairns.

Off to Darwin tomorrow, early-ish.

Wednesday, 24 September 2025 - Darwin

Day 1 in Darwin.

Darwin has always held a special spot in my life. I first travelled and lived here in July 1957, not long before my 5^th birthday, leaving in September 1959. I have real but vague memories of my time here then, all of them enjoyable. The memory is not good enough to tell me with any accuracy where we lived at that time (and unfortunately all family records have been destroyed), other than I recall that it was towards the northern end of Mitchell Street, not all that far from tonight’s hotel. That whole part of town has been remodelled over the decades, and the old house is probably no longer standing (although there are still a few of the older houses which do seem to date back to the very early years, and which survived Tracy.

I then next lived in Darwin for four months from December 1971 until March 1972, this time at what is now a pretty posh address in Larrakeyah Terrace. I think that it was probably at #6, but again I have no family records to support that. The house was largely destroyed by Tracy in December 1975 – I do have a photo somewhere showing the top half having been ripped off, but the general layout of #6 feels about right (or indeed it could be #5 up the other end of the street). At that time I worked as a laboratory assistant at the now demolished Stokes Hill Power Station. Again I have fond memories of that time.

And then I’ve come back a few times over the years for a few days here or there. It’s always nice to return, and as I said it brings back positive memories. This time we’re staying at a hotel/apartment complex at 105 Mitchell St. Mitchell St, slightly nearer to the CBD, in Darwin’s rather rowdy entertainment precinct; this town has a certain character to it which is unmistakable if one is here and unfathomable to the southerners. There’s also lots of newish high-rise apartment buildings sprouting up in this mid-town area. Most are in the 10/12/15 storey category, no doubt due to cyclone-rating building specs. But looking at the city, here and along the Esplanade and adjoining streets, it has a modern feel to it. And it doesn’t seem to be architecturally confused in the way which Brisbane struck me.

Anyway, all that aside, we checked in, got ourselves comfortable for the forthcoming 5-night stay, and then wandered down to the Darwin Waterfront, about 2 klms from here, for a coffee and just a stroll. “Just a stroll” is of course very situational – the constant 35⁰C temperature and 50% humidity means that one is a ball of perspiration after just 2 minutes outdoors. My Google fit app tells me that a bit after 1pm we strolled down to the Waterfront and an hour later strolled back. Meanwhile my credit card tells me that we had almost the world’s most expensive coffees in the middle of those strolls ($17.26 for two coffees).

Late afternoon we hopped on a scooter (more of that later) and took ourselves to the Mindil Beach Markets, a Darwin institution for both locals and visitors alike, only to find, like all well-planned travellers, that the markets are open Thursdays, not Wednesdays. Ahh well, you get that. So back up to town again, this time to the Hotel Darwin. The Darwin is a typical territory pub in many way, and a cut above some of the rest in others. 85 years old it has survived wars and cyclones. The outside décor is beautifully art deco, and the interior of the main bar, where we hang out, a gallery of lovely timber floors, benches and tables. It has become our go to place for a drink and feed in Darwin over the years. Pizza for dinner.

Thursday, 25 September 2025

Today was wandering, jet ski planning, car hire planning and this time, Mindil Beach Markets day.

The main activity was to wander to the very end of Stokes Hill Wharf to check out where tomorrow’s sunset cruise left from and also to get a sense of bearings for the jet ski hire (more of that later).

The highlight was the scooter ride to Mindil Beach Markets and the ensuing Sri Lankan curry followed by the long-awaited mango lassi, and then down to the beach to watch the sun go down. As Ian Parmenter used to say, bliss.

Friday, 26 September 2025

We decided to go visit the Territory Wildlife Park again, having last been there 3 years ago (almost to the day). It’s an interesting, educational day trip out of Darwin. Being some 50 klms from the centre of town, with no public transport and as far as I could tell no organised tours (perhaps this late in the season), the only way to get there is to hire a car. Thrifty car hire happens to have an office about 500 metres down the road, so that was the go to. After a bit of mucking around we ended up in a Suzuki Jimny with no GPS and slightly dodgy steering. But, hey, it got us there and back.

The highlight of the day for me was spotting one of the two full blooded dingos who live there (spotting can be tricky because they are crepuscular creatures, meaning that they are most active in the twilight – early morning and late afternoon – and sleep, wisely, during the heat of the day). The dingo is Australia’s apex predator (other than the human, that is), and is much maligned as a killer of farmed animals (and famously, babies). I’m not an expert in these matters, but it is my layman’s understanding that hybrid wild dogs (i.e. dingo/dog crosses are much more damaging in the outback. Not that that really matters; I got to see my dingo.

Janet really liked the occupants of the nocturnal house – the tiny little critters who scurry around in the false darkness, unaware that many eyes are watching them from the other side of the darkened glass.

And of course there’s the close-up encounter with the puk-puks, both the freshwater and saltwater type; close up only in the sense that there’s half-an-inch of toughened glass between them and us!

That afternoon we headed out to the harbour (for the first time this trip). A Darwin Harbour cruise is a bit of a tourist tradition, but not something we’ve ever done. We chose the Gaze & Graze cruise by Darwin Harbour Cruises. Good choice. That option placed us on the upper (outside) deck of a three-deck boat, the Charles Darwin; the full dinner cruise option was inside and I imagine would have been more restrictive, and certainly a lesser view. The boat slowly made its way from Stokes Hill Wharf and at what seemed to be not much more than a walking pace cruised slowly west(ish) past the defence base, then turned north-east past Cullen Bay, eventually reaching a turnaround point off Mindil Beach to get us back to Stokes Hill around 8pm.

A lovely full day.

Saturday, 27 September 2025

Our accommodation option provided us with a modest breakfast each morning. We settled into a comfortable routine: Janet would go to the gym most mornings, then downstairs for breakfast, then off for the day’s activities.

We opted for a slower day today. After breakfast we decided to walk up to Cullen Bay for a late morning coffee. Cullen Bay is a man-made development built in 1993 on reclaimed land between Emery Point and Myilly Point at the northern end of the suburb of Larrakeyah, next to where the old (second) Darwin Hospital once stood. That Darwin Hospital was built in 1942, and bombed by the Japanese that same year. As I said in my post of the 24^th, I have vague but happy memories of my first time in Darwin. Some of them surround the old hospital. My mother used to volunteer there, in the radiology department I think, and she used to bring me home coloured tissue paper and “silver paper” which I think were covers of the x-ray blanks; I turned them into play things. I also recall that I used to play in the cliffs overlooking Myilly Point. So even though Cullen Bay didn’t exist on either occasions when I lived in Darwin, that 6+ decades old memory carries some fondness.

Cullen Bay today is pretty flash. Nice houses and apartments, lots of very expensive boats in the marina, and numerous restaurants along the marina boardwalk. We chanced upon Soul Essence On The Bay. Apart from a young bloke taking photos of some dishes they had prepared, there was no-one there. We ordered our coffees and settled in to just enjoy the ambience. A little while later the fellow who introduced himself as the chef wandered over and asked if we would like some of the leftover food. After mild protestations they brought us two of their “Cultural Brekkies”, a Bundilla Blush and a Mycelia Dreaming, both of which are made with various indigenous herbs. Generous and very tasty.

We got talking to him, as you do. The restaurant is owned by a Larrakia woman, but the chef and his staff are all Nepalese. I’ve been lucky enough to live in and visit many places in the world, but two countries stand out as my most visited, and Nepal is one of them. That’s a bit by-the-by, but what is interesting is that these folk were the 3^rd group of Nepalese we’d met in just our few days here. The first was the taxi driver who brought us in from the airport when we arrived (he and his family have been here for 8 years), the next was an elderly grandfather taking his very pretty 3yo granddaughter for a walk on our second day, and now today. Depending on who we listened to the Nepalese diaspora in Darwin would seem to be around 8,000. That seems a lot, but I’ll take it on face value. The young woman behind the counter wanted to know if we were aware of the recent uprising in Kathmandu (answer: yes, certainly), and that turned to a conversation about the support which the young people have for the current Mayor of Kathmandu, Balendra Shah, to become the new Prime Minister. I recall when I was last in Kathmandu a couple of years ago he had only recently been elected to the Mayoral role, and was already starting to shake up some of the old ways. So that will be fascinating to watch.

Anyway, Soul Essence On The Bay deserves a big wrap. The coffee was great, the service excellent, and the two breakfast dishes we sampled were superb.

We had scootered down to Cullen Bay, but we walked back to the hotel to half-watch the AFL Grand Final, after which we went for a late afternoon stroll along the Esplanade, around Doctors Gully, Larrakeyah Terrace and then back up to Nirvana Restaurant (yes, another Nepalese employee amongst others) for a pre-dinner drink. Dinner that night was at Hanuman, another favourite from times gone by. We are recent converts - Hanuman has been around for over 30 years delivering its unique Asian-fusion style; an eclectic mixture of Malaysian, Thai and Indian styles and flavours. That was our 3^rd visit. Always good.

Sunday, 28 September 2025

Our last full day in Darwin turned into a bigger day than planned. By the end of the day we had walked some 15 klms up and down and around, spend 1¼ hours out on the harbour on jet skis, re-visited Mindil Beach Markets by scooter, and had our final, farewell drink at the Darwin Hotel.

The scooter supply contract has changed since the first time we were there. At that time they were Neuron scooters, the same as we present have in the City of Busselton. These days they are Beams. Much of a muchness really. It’s a great way to get around Darwin, not so much in a hurry (they are speed limited to 15 kph), but to minimise exertion in the heat. We probably only spend 1½ hours on them in total, but they were handy on those occasions.

Monday, 29 September 2025

Today was technically our last day in Darwin, but it really comprised breakfast at Lizards (the granola and fruit and berry compote had become a favourite, in the last couple of days augmented by scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on a croissant), packing, taxi to the airport, and then the trip home, plane and car.

We’ll go back to Darwin. There’s relatively few attractions there which we haven’t already seen, but even given the long distance one needs to travel to get there, it’s an enjoyable place. It’s clearly got its social problems, many seemingly around substance abuse, and the occasional “Warning: Guard Dogs Patrolling” sign, whether true or not, is a bit saddening. Not that we felt bothered at all at any time, even when wandering back to the hotel at 10pm. But like all big towns/cities, there are probably places that it would be wise not to venture into.

Next time I think we’ll hire car for a longer period and head down to Katherine, and maybe places in-between/nearby. But that’s for later.

When I start these blogs I never quite know where they’ll end. I wouldn’t have predicted that this would turn into almost a seven thousand word mini-opus. It was only ever designed to be a Claytons Blog, as I first said. But there you go. We were away for 17 days in total. My step counter app, which I don’t really trust, tells me that we walked some 150 klms in that time; I can’t be sure but it’s as good a number as any. On top of that we travelled almost 9,500 klms by plane, and almost 1,000 by car. An extensive (and expensive!) trip.

Our next trip of note is a return to France in June/July next year, so if anyone out there in blogland happens to be reading this, stand by for that one. Until then …