Back on the balcony again and the sound of the pile driver has been replaced by the trickle of the swimming pool water feature and the hum of the air conditioners on the roofs of nearby buildings. We started the day with a stroll down towards the wharf and ran into the WWII Oil Storage Tunnels. Despite their name, the war was over before they were finished and they never stored oil. Of the six tunnels built, two are open to the public. There is a common entrance passage for the two tunnels. The first you can only look in the end of through a hole in the wall, but the other you can walk right into. It is about 60m long and the walls are lined with war time photos of Darwin.
A short walk from here is Indo Pacific Marine, which bills itself as ‘Darwin’s most interesting attraction’. The curator is quick to point out that it is not an aquarium, but a perfectly balanced marine ecosystem. The water is not filtered and in the case of one tank, has not been changed for 34 years, only topped up.
Although inside, the tanks are lit naturally through tubes in the ceiling giving the creatures the natural signals and energy provided by the sunlight and moonlight. It is really a very interesting attraction and the variety of size, shape and colour of the animals is incredible. All of them have been sourced from the reef in and around Darwin Harbour. The reef is protected by the absence of commercial fishing and rumours of crocodiles and sharks.
We continued walking through the hot midday sun, hearing the locals complaining about the cold spell they were having. With the temperature in the low to mid 20s (rather than the usual 30-32) some locals had donned jumpers and I saw at least one scarf.
We finished the afternoon at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. This has a great collection of indigenous art as well as several cabinets displaying the wide variety or animals in the NT that will either kill you or put you in so much pain that wish you were dead.
There is also an exhibition on Cyclone Tracy, which includes photo and film of the event as well as a darkened sound booth where sounds recorded during the cyclone are played at great volume. It is strange how the two greatest historical events treasured by Darwinians are the times when their town was almost destroyed.
We leave Darwin tomorrow, but hope to see some of the out of town attractions as we leave.
Tags: cyclone tracy, darwin harbour, indigenous art, oil storage
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