Wednesday, 25 March 2009

Top End


Dot and I arrived in Darwin yesterday afternoon for a few days R & R and a bit of conferencing on my part. Rebecca and Max arrive in about an hour to join us, with Max staying with us in our beach-side apartment and Beck heading off for a young planners' meeting before the main PIA event.

It's warm (about 34 C maximum) and very humid. The climate here is not too different to Jakarta or Singapore! We were out for a walk yesterday evening to see the sun set over the Arafura Sea (between Australia and Indonesia's islands of Bali and Lombok among others). However, we never did get to see the sunset because of what loomed over (pictured). The sky darkened, the wind got up, and this terrible looking storm appeared. Shortly after we reached the apartment it started to rain lightly and the sky was lit up by fierce lightning and crashes of thunder.

The beach across the road looks lovely: gently shelving sand between rocky outcrops and calm waters. Signs everywhere say: Don't Use between October and May. The sad thing is that these waters are home to the salt-water crocodile (a species that has already eaten two Australia children this summer) and the box jellyfish, whose sting is often fatal. Fortunately, there is also a swimming pool on the cliff-top opposite, and that is entirely safe. We also have nearby a park with kids' play equipment, a tennis court, and a rock ledge with pools for Max to explore and perform his biological experiments. Crocs would have a job reaching him there, however delightful the prospects of a tasty meal.

AS

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