Darwin - 22nd-29th September

Darwin has a population of about 80,000 people, which I'm pretty sure makes it Australia's smallest state capital. Naturally, as such and as capital of Australia's most rural administrative area, (Northern Territory is a Territory, not a State, thus the convoluted nomenclature,) it has a different character to the cosmopolitan, latte-sipping cities I've experienced so far. On facebook, I may have commented that there was a certain irony in naming the most backward Australian capital Darwin, but that's something I take back. Darwin being so small, the transient backpacker population here is proportionally larger and more visible than other cities I've seen so far, which is bound to make people seem a bit ape-like here. To make a sweeping generalisation, backpackers are drunken, sex-crazed morons, and while I approve of the adjectives in moderation, the noun is not something I'll tolerate. All of the proper Territorians I've met in Darwin have been charming, friendly people, and most keep their knuckles well off the ground.

I visited the Botanical Gardens and the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery on my first day here, and wandered back through Mindil Beach where the famous markets are held. With the exception of the excellent Cyclone Tracy exhibit in the museum, all were pleasant but unremarkable. This is more than I can say for the weather on both counts. It hovers at about 34C, and never less than 40% humidity at this time of year, which was all a bit much. Most of the day was spent trying to find air conditioning, or sitting in the shade. The photo on the left here is of the witchety grub, and its resulting moth, from the museum. They're much bigger than I thought - you could probably get a decent meal out of two of them.

Cyclone Tracy is one of several major events that have shaped Darwin's history. Having established itself as a decent sized town, Darwin received more bombs from the Japanese than Pearl Harbour, in February 1942. this destroyed much of the town, and it was assumed it was a preamble to a land invasion. The events were actually kept relatively quiet from the rest of Australia, for fear panic would do much of the Japanese forces' work for them. The land invasion never came, and by 1974, Darwin was thriving again, only to be hit by the strongest winds ever recorded on mainland Australia, in the form of Cyclone Tracy. Winds of 217km/h were recorded at the airport, before the anemometer broke (which I think deserves another 10km/h or so for effort). The museum has exhibits dealing with much of this, particularly the cyclone. The most striking part is the pitch-black room, where you are played the sound recording of the cyclone. Sweetheart the crocodile drove home exactly what you'd be dealing with if you swam in the wrong place in Kakadu too.

One thing you shouldn't miss in Darwin is the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets. Lots of food stalls, beautiful sunsets over the Timor Sea, arts and craft stalls and entertainment too. As well as various digeridoo based bands (usually white guys) and a couple of aboriginal guitarists playing Bon Jovi tunes (the wrong way round, surely?) there was a juggler who was more of a stand-up comedian. "Juggling" he said, and juggled three flaming clubs. "New Zealand juggling" he said, putting the clubs on the floor, and swapping them from side to side. "Oh, sorry, that's not fair on any Kiwis here is it?" he conceded. "I'll do it slower". The finale was him doing a backflip off the roof rack of his van onto the tarmac below. "Oh shit...Normally I do this on grass" he told us "but this morning I ran out". Pause for laughter. "No, I'm just kidding. I never run out".

This morning, I checked out of a hotel (I treated myself) and asked if they minded me using the hotel pool and TV lounge, as I'd done everything I wanted to do in Darwin. He said that was fine, but also commented "The pub opens in twenty minutes". Having seen most of the town on the first day here, that's pretty much how I've spent the rest of the time in Darwin, and it seems to be the most popular pastime up here. Apparently the average Territorian drinks half as much again as the average Australian, and to be fair, the average Australian likes a drink or two. I now have 12 hours to kill in Darwin, so I imagine I'll be dropping into a bar or two later.