G’day from the territory.
Last night Catherine hesitated before getting in the pool because the night was too cool..! The minimum temperature in Darwin last night was 24.0degreesC. It’s getting brisk. The humidity is leaving & for the firtst time, you can even go for a walk without becoming covered in sweat. And the smell of smoke is in the air. Last night at the Trailer Boat Club some flakes of ash wafted on the breeze & sometimes onto our table, while this morning featured a hazy sunrise over the harbour. The burning season.
It hasn’t slowed down the frogs, though, who were sighted clambering over the fly wire on the kitchen window and also, more distressingly, hiding inside a pair of my jox that were hanging on the line. They’re clearly made of tough stuff. Since the last Tales we had one of those trips that help to define life – an almighty trip with Melbourne & Brizzy mates that took us through the wilds of Kakadu and even paddling a stretch of Katherine Gorge at Easter.
And what follows easter..? Cricket season, of course. Cricketers are out & about on the ovals these days as the season has just started. Everything is topsy-turvy.
Speaking of which, watching AFL is trickier than I imagined. It’s an AFL town (think Maurice Rioli, Michael Long, Nathan Buckley, Aaron Davey, etc etc – in fact Shannon Motlop was even playing in the local competition up until February 2005), yet we only see live AFL on the days when Channel 10 has the TV rights. E.g. was rapt to see Collingwood run over the top of Carlton LIVE one Saturday afternoon... On Friday nights or Sundays, however, when Channel 9 has the TV rights, they show rugby league. Getting a real feel for the way Channel 9 continues to shaft regional Australia. The sooner they lose the rights, the better.
We’ve recently been along to housewarming parties, fishing trips, bookclubs, engagement parties and CJ helped to organise an open-air movie night fundraiser. I’ve had a couple of guitar lessons and we just had 2 long weekends in a row.
ANZAC day long weekend CJ & I camped & walked & swam down at Edith Falls; ~250km south of Darwin. This weekend just gone, May Day weekend, Nicko & Jess arrived from Melbourne & we tripped around a bit with them. On Sunday the four of us boarded a Sea-Cat that took us out to the Tiwi Islands – spent the day at Parslake on Melville Island, celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Dutch landing there in 1705. A Very Big Day. The 2-hour catamaran trip ended at Nguiu-Paru, from where we were scheduled for a 1 hour bus trip to the celebration site. Unfortunately no one told the bus drivers, who were having enough trouble with flat tyres and the like, as well as conflicting advice about our arrival point on the island, so that some buses were sent to Paru and others to the airport.
All in all, the trip took many many hours but was a great experience in Tiwi life. CJ & I spied a sea turtle swimming of the port side of the boat as we came into the islands, before all 100 passengers were unloaded from the catamaran by barge. The day was a terrific occasion and one of only a handful of times when visitors are allowed onto the Tiwi Islands without an Aboriginal Lands permit. We ate suspiciously cooked steaks and drank copious fluids as a re-enactment of the Dutch landing took place, complete with locals throwing spears and Dutchies firing guns. Swirling Dutch music, dancing competitions, Tiwi islanders wearing clogs, Ted Egan singing "Home on the range," and barra burgers all added to the cultural mix of the day. We bought a piece of inspired Tiwi art before bussing back to Paru. Washed the day down on the catamaran with a few cold ones while waiting (2 hours) for some stragglers that the bus had left behind, and then motored back to Darwin. The waters of Beagle Gulf had chopped up nicely during the day, and I don’t mind saying that this reporter lost a bit of lunch overboard on the return trip (as did Cath (sorry Cath)).
Workwise, CJ has landed a permanent position with the Department of Health & Community Services that will lock into place following her current contract. My contract with NT Gov ends this week and I’m then starting work on a water/ vegetation research project at Charles Darwin Uni.
But the happiest story is that CJ & I are expecting a child. Cath is now 12ish weeks pregnant and we’re starting to notice some visible signs of the internal excitement. Had an ultrasound yesterday & all is in order. The little ‘un is due around early November.
So life continues to fly along. Photos of the top end are at the usual.
http://worldsafaridave.50megs.com
Keep punching.
- top end.
