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The Beast

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Darwin is more a small town than a city - it takes roughly half an hour to get acquainted with the town centre.

That said, it is a great place to chill out, get drunk, meet fellow travellers, get drunk, buy cars, get drunk, watch perfect red Sunsets and partake of several bizarre activities including feeding the fish which appear every high tide in a gully now aptly named Aquascene.  Here giant Milkfish grab hungrily at chubby tourist fingers brandishing slices of mothers pride and rays get up close and personal to feed on tinned sardine.

Thursday evenings sees Mindil beach market come alive - here you can buy hats, whips, therapeutic potions, have a massage and taste foods from around the world off from the numerous stalls.  The sunsets here are particularly prized judging by the number of flashes going off needlessly.

Extending my Youth Hostel experience, I spend a few nights in one before deciding to move to a motel for a day or two - mistake.   I end up in a seedy motel with a dodgy pub/club beneath, a bottle shop (off license) next door and a strip-club called 'Beaver creek', or something like that...

The highlight of Darwin is its 250m paved mall within which you can get virtually nothing except tacky Australian souvenirs and book tours.  However, the grassed area at the base of the road which on one afternoon is bedecked with speakers and numerous instruments.  A local band - OnLeeUs - is playing.  A family band consisting of mum, dad, a 15 year old son and three daughters ranging from 17 down to 7.  Even the youngest plays guitar - and belts out the words to several classics during the free gig.

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