Darwin

Yay!!! Yay!!! Yay!!! I finally have a computer to type on. I can write soooo much more crap when I am typing 60 words a minute than I can when I am trying to type on my phone, averaging about 3 words a minute.

At the moment we are in Darwin, and there really isn't a lot to do here, but I am having a FABULOUS time. I think because we are camped on - GRASS!!!! Also, the caravan park has a lovely pool and very clean bathrooms. Happy faces all round!!! Kristy and I also wasted no time bee lining the local shops and stocking up on yogo's for when we have our 'Big Bang Theory' nights in the caravan. Ben and James can't understand why we bother going on holidays when all we want to do is go shopping, swim in a pool and sit in the air conditioned caravan watching Big Bang Theory and eating yogo's. All things we can do at home!!!!! I have now decided to make it my mission to travel around and slob everywhere I go!!

We went to Fannie Bay Gaol yesterday and something very funny / hugely embarrassing happened. Fannie Bay Gaol is old and has been closed since 1979 and is used as a tourist attraction. I remember going there when I was 8 years old. Not much has changed in the last 24 years as it is still exactly how I remember it. The only thing different is that they have changed one of the rooms into an art gallery and use it to display art work that the inmates in Darwin prison have done. Kylah is quite taken with aboriginal art at the moment and has been looking with interest at the various dot paintings and rock art that we have come across. She thinks it is beautiful and I have been trying to teach her about aboriginal culture. At the gaol, Kylah spent a great deal of time studying the paintings of the inmates, which were mostly aboriginal art, and talking about which ones she liked. As we were leaving a group of indigenous students were coming into the gaol on an excursion. Kylah said in a very loud voice "Look!! There are some aboriginals. They must be coming to visit their paintings!!". There were a few snickers from the students and a few death glares too.... uh oh....

I think when I last left off we were still in Cooinda and about to go to Ubirr to watch the sunset. Maybe I should have written about that first but my blog is all mixed up so it doesn't really matter. Ubirr was lovely. There are these massive rocks, which are covered in thousands of years old aboriginal art. It is amazing and beautiful and they have guides walking around explaining the pictures. You can climb to the top of one of the rocks to watch the sunset. It was spectacular!!! The only downfall was that as soon as the sun is down you have to run down off the rock so you aren't trying to climb down in the dark. It was full on rock climbing too. By the time we were at the top we were at least 6 stories high. The awful thing about Ubirr was that it was insanely hot. There is no where safe to swim and there were mozzies and flies everywhere. I was soooo uncomfortable.

We also checked out the local river at Ubirr, which is full of crocs. My husband decided to fish there and stood with his feet in the water fishing. We had just seen a big salt water croc just meters from where he was standing. Crazy man!!!!

Today we went to Crocodylius (not sure of spelling of that word but I'm not sure they are either). It is a crocodile farm. The kids got to feed a huge 4.6m salt water croc. They had a broom handle with a bit of meat hanging of some string on the end and they had to dangle it in his enclosure and tease him with it. Apparently that is the only way he gets exercise is when he has to work for his food. It was a bit surreal watching Kylah giggling and teasing the croc with the food. There was only a wire fence between them. We were on a platform overlooking the small enclosure. Jazzy and Rohan didn't want to feed the Crocs. I can understand why!!! They stood back with Jago singing "Ner, ner, ni, ner, ner - you can't eat me!!!".

The kids all got to hold a baby crocodile and also hold a python. It was a really nice place to go. Very informative and educational. I did feel slightly sorry for the 682 baby salt water crocs all squished in the one enclosure but it is hard to feel too sorry for crocodiles. They are the ultimate psychopath.

Tonight we went to Mindil Beach Markets. We had such a fun night. The kids got to try their very first Dagwood Dog (I still haven't tried one - too scared of food poisoning) and we bought a few souvenirs. The kids all wanted hand painted boomerangs so we let them pick some nice ones out. Then we sat on the grass and ate ice creams while watching an indigenous band, followed by an african band. My eldest 3 got up in front of the crowds of people and danced. Very enthusiastically danced I might add. It was wonderful to watch them dancing so freely, not a care in the world about what everyone else thought. I bought myself, ummmm... I mean the family, some new fossils for our collection. I now have a total of 4 fossils in my, I mean our, collection ranging in age from 600 million years old to the fairly recent 2 million years old. I would tell you all about them but I can't be bothered. Anyone interested can arrange a private viewing of them when we return!!!

Tomorrow we are off to Litchfield national park. I'm sure there won't be any phone coverage there so I will be off the radar for a few days. Litchfield is supposed to be even more spectacular than Darwin. You can actually swim there because there is no Croc's so we are all looking forward to that.

It is really amazing the way that some families are traveling around Australia. I have seen everything from a family of 6 traveling with a tent tied to the top of their car, to a family of 4 traveling in a million dollar motor home. It is so interesting to see the way people get around. Some are completely over the top and others are so basic. The family of 6 who had the tent all wore the same green outfit day after day. I'm sure they must have had 2 of each outfit because they didn't smell offensive.

Oh gosh I am soooo tired. I had better publish this and go to bed. I need to be up early in the morning to get the kids ready to go fish feeding.

I will try to blog again soon!!!

xx

Oh - I almost forgot to tell you the two most exciting things that happened in Darwin. Ben bought me another pair of Flash Dance Pants on the proviso that I not talk about them again!!! And I finally worked out how to commuicate with my iq lowering box so it can tape Jersey Shore for me while I'm away. Happy days!!!!!