Exploring Oceania: Australasia, the Australian Continent’s Northern Territory, and the City of Darwin
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Saturday, February 10,2024
HAL Grand Australia & NZ Cruise
After having enjoyed several hectic and fun-filled days at sea, we anchored off the shores of Komodo Island in Indonesia. This was a short detour to afford us all the opportunity to see those ugly Komodo Dragons!!! Your RovingRaconteurs have been here many times before and chose, once again, to remain onboard. But here are some photos taken over the years:
The Komodo National Park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo Dragon, the world’s largest lizard. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991; and has been selected as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The park encompasses 29 islands.This is one of our better shots of a Komodo Dragon. Most of our photos show them scowling, drooling, or sound asleep!!! They are not very attractive critters.But the island is lush, green and beautiful.To be honest, all of the Indonesian islands are lush and beautiful!!!This is the closest of the 4 villages on the island. Population of this village is about 1500.We were last on shore in 2010.This time, we were much happier staying on board.
After that brief interlude in Indonesia, we resumed the Australia adventure.
The Northern Territory (also known as The Top End) is unique because it is not a state. It was granted “responsible government” status in 1978 with a Legislative Assembly headed by a chief minister, who acts as the King’s indirect representative in the territory. Darwin is the capital and was, in fact, named for Charles Darwin in 1839 by John Clements Wickham of the HMS Beagle. The honor was the result of Darwin’s visit aboard the HMS Beagle on a prior voyage.
Here are the photos:
We arrived in Darwin to a forecast of rain, heat and humidity. Although the heat and humidity were accurate; the rain did not amount to much of anything. Lucky us!!!The city of Darwin provided a shuttle to the CBD–off we went for a day of shopping and eating!!!We were dropped-off near the Smith Street pedestrian mall.Smith Street is quite long but the pedestrian area runs only about 2 blocks. We shopped up one side and down the other!!!!Then we took a cab to the waterfront area.We stopped at The Precinct for our afternoon libation.They were serving a nice assortment of wine….…..and beer!!!
We chose 821 South, a Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough area of New Zealand.
We ordered Pizza….…..as well as Mussels prepared in an Heirloom Tomato and Chorizo broth (absolutely yummy!!!)
Concluding a very pleasant afternoon, we started back to the ship;…..
…..it looked like a long trek,…..….. but really, only took about 10 minutes!!!
Next, we will tour Western Australia and the cities of Broome, Exmouth, Fremantle, Perth and Albany.
Join us again, soon, as we continue the journey!!!
Wishing you, too, a boatload of happy!!! Cheers!!!
4 thoughts on “Exploring Oceania: Australasia, the Australian Continent’s Northern Territory, and the City of Darwin”
What?? You went shopping instead of feeding the ‘Jumping Crocs’ on the river? And you had a New Zealand wine in Australia?? And plain ole mussels instead of saving yourself for ‘green lipped’ mussels of NZ?
Sounds like you have your priorities in order… shop, eat and drink no matter where you are! Looking forward to hearing about the next 3 ports…we’ve not made it to those towns! Have a Good(Libation) Day Mates! K&J
Good to hear from you!!!!
And yes, shopping, eating, and drinking are at the top of our “to do” list. Before too long, we will start the “wine tasting” tours in earnest!!!
And we will keep you posted!!!
Ah, Darwin. Heat and humidity! Been there and done that! It was quite a while ago and here is another town that has grown up a bit now. Your photos are a treat. When we were there it must have been 100 F and 100% humidity. The shuttle dropped us off at that open mall of shops as in your photo. So, we wandered to the nearby parkland, what, no shade!? Back to that mall, which was without that beautiful canopy at that tme. Just by walking along we could feel cool air flowing out and going into each shop was heaven! We saw some sites, escaped to … MacDonalds for two massive Cokes and then melted our way back to the shuttle!
Can I note that you two are looking great? No doubt about it: a wonderful cruise and you are in your element. Enjoy!
The next series of ports will be new to us and we are looking forward to the new sites. The towns are relatively small so walking around sounds like it should be doable. We are, however, concerned about the heat!!! We’ll have to wait and see if shuttles will fill the need. We may be using a lot of taxis!!! Time will tell.
RovingRaconteurs.com 
What?? You went shopping instead of feeding the ‘Jumping Crocs’ on the river? And you had a New Zealand wine in Australia?? And plain ole mussels instead of saving yourself for ‘green lipped’ mussels of NZ?
Sounds like you have your priorities in order… shop, eat and drink no matter where you are! Looking forward to hearing about the next 3 ports…we’ve not made it to those towns! Have a Good(Libation) Day Mates! K&J
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Good to hear from you!!!!
And yes, shopping, eating, and drinking are at the top of our “to do” list. Before too long, we will start the “wine tasting” tours in earnest!!!
And we will keep you posted!!!
LikeLike
Ah, Darwin. Heat and humidity! Been there and done that! It was quite a while ago and here is another town that has grown up a bit now. Your photos are a treat. When we were there it must have been 100 F and 100% humidity. The shuttle dropped us off at that open mall of shops as in your photo. So, we wandered to the nearby parkland, what, no shade!? Back to that mall, which was without that beautiful canopy at that tme. Just by walking along we could feel cool air flowing out and going into each shop was heaven! We saw some sites, escaped to … MacDonalds for two massive Cokes and then melted our way back to the shuttle!
Can I note that you two are looking great? No doubt about it: a wonderful cruise and you are in your element. Enjoy!
LikeLike
The next series of ports will be new to us and we are looking forward to the new sites. The towns are relatively small so walking around sounds like it should be doable. We are, however, concerned about the heat!!! We’ll have to wait and see if shuttles will fill the need. We may be using a lot of taxis!!! Time will tell.
LikeLike