Waterfront Darwin

It's not a big city and having being destroyed twice, not much has been preserved. Darwin was bombed by the Japanese in 1942 and was again destroyed in Hurricane Tracy on Christmas Eve in 1974. So with that in mind we walked along to the city taking in the old and restored Court House which is now an administrative centre and the existing Governor's house which has one of the most beautiful bougainvillea hedges I have ever seen. 

This is the land of the Larrakia people 

The territory had two important groups of migrants, the Chinese and yes, you guessed it the Greeks. A Greek church and Chinese temple still exist to this day. Here are two photos of the Greeks who arrived here explaining they were pearl divers and then builders. Paspaley is the biggest pearl company existing to this day in Australia and it was founded by the Paspalis family in 1919. 

The Esplanade is very long. One one side apartment blocks and hotels. On the other side parkland and paths. We walked about 10 kms and took in the view, no beaches here, mangroves and many trees which are home to many birds. We loved the double barred finch which was playful and plentiful in the trees and on the ground. We also enjoyed watching the orange footed scrub fowl walking around in a very comical fashion. The lovely pied imperial pigeon and many kites swooping overheard, plovers and crested terns. 

The vegetation is lush and the colours pop out - but it is also quite dry at the moment which reflects the general lack of rain across Queensland and the Northern Territory. 

We walked to Stokes Hill Wharf seeing the cormorants silhouetted in the sunset and enjoying the swopping seagulls and crested terns. 

Oysters, fresh prawns and barramundi, the order of the day, to finish a beautiful first encounter with the capital of Northern Territory.