Top of the continent

A small town,destroyed twice by cyclones,the last one being Tracy in 1974.It has been rebuilt with much stricter laws.
The pop.is 30,000 in the city,110,000 including the suburbs.
I took the historic Darwin tour.We visited the Northern Territory gaol museum in Fannie Bay,a good way to keep us on the straight and narrow!

Gaol

We visited the Botanical Gardens which were lovely.I always enjoy seeing plants and trees in beautiful settings.The palm trees were beaten down from the recent storm,and many flowering bushes looked bedraggled.The day was overcast and it had rained getting on the bus but the rain stopped and everything smelled so fresh,even the drooping flowers seemed to perk up.

upended trees

Path in Botanical Gardens

waterlogged bush

Our last stop was the Art Museum where we saw lovely examples of aboriginal art.Each tribe has its own design,rather like Scottish tartan.We also saw a film of the damage done by cyclone Tracy,and there was a sound proof booth where a few people could go in to hear what the cyclone sounded like.The worst noise was not just the wind but metal hitting the ground and other metal at 200 mph.
We saw a stuffed crocodile called "Sweetheart" which had taken bites out of a metal boat.It was finally captured years later but drowned as it was being pulled into the boat.
Now two days at sea and then Bali.

Top of the continent

Darwin, Australia