Australia’s only tropical capital

Flying to Darwin

I chose a good day to leave.  The weather had dropped to 6 degC overnight and rain was forecast.  I had been lucky with cool weather but scorching in the sun at times.

I checked out from the hotel and waited for the complimentary airport shuttle. As it arrived, most people rushed to stow their luggage in the belly and board. I was one of the last to put my luggage in the hold, then boarded and took a seat next to a big man right in front (most people avoided sitting with him I guess).

We arrived at the airport and I was the first to disembark, get my bag and check-in. I believe it says somewhere in the Bible that “The first shall be the last and the last shall be the first”?

For the 45 min flight to Alice Springs, I sat at the back inches away from the fuselage-mounted engine. Surprisingly, it wasn’t any noisier than an average jet. Upon landing at Alice, I disembarked and reboarded the same aircraft bound for Darwin. Two hours later, we did a turn over the Arafura sea and landed in the country’s only tropical state-capital.

Introduction to Darwin

After settling in briefly at the Banyan View Lodge, I went for a walk and found the city’s glitzy waterfront. It had an artificial beach, wavepool, hotel, apartments and restaurants. To my surprise, I found a bargain at Hot Tamale restaurant – chicken quesadilla for AUD10 and white sangria for AUD5.

That wouldn’t get you much in Oz normally. Even the Japanese, Scandinavians and Finns find this country expensive! Later in the evening I proved all these people wrong when I found at Coles supermarket whole cheesecake and pecan pies for AUD10! I bought the latter as a treat for the remainder of my stay in Darwin.

More about the Banyan View Lodge … many hostels in Darwin are full of young party-going backpackers. So I chose one that was supposedly more sedate. I found mine to have a mix of backpackers, people on working holidays and domestic migrant labourers.

As a result, the lodge wasn’t so well equipped with all the travel information, knowledgeable staff and booking services that one would have liked. And with so many longer term residents, cleaning is a little haphazard as people have more stuff sitting in floors, shelves and corners for longer periods.

As things are less than spotless, people’s attitudes adjust to suit and they don’t tidy up after themselves in the kitchen.