We moved
on up to Darwin on the 29th July. We enjoyed Darwin and ate
out most nights. Seafood on Cullen had been recommended to us so we
tried that the first night we were there. They serve a lovely seafood
buffet overlooking the harbour and an amazing sunset. We ended up going
there twice. We ate at the Mendil Beach markets one night and also the
Stokes Hill Wharf. While we were in Darwin we met up with Tony and
Helen again and had a buffet lunch at the casino. Tony had not had any
more luck with the barramundi once we left Shady Camp so we hadn’t
missed anything.
While in
Darwin we decided to do a cruise out to the Tiwi Islands and were really
glad we did. The Tiwi Islands are home to a large population of coastal
aboriginies. Although their culture is similar to the mainland
aborigines their outlook is quite different. As a people they look more
like Papuans or Fijians and their artwork reflects that too. The
islands were settled by the Dutch many years ago and the Dutch still
have a great influence in todays society, having supported the
communities with logging and other business enterprises employing the
local people. They are, as a people, quite independent and do not want
to
be relying on government handouts. They value education and after
attending primary schools on the island most attend secondary school in
Darwin or further afield. Our tour guide was educated in Melbourne.
The boat trip took about 2 hours where we were met by our local tour guide for our tour of the islands capital. We visited the museum, an open air church and several art and craft galleries. We also visited the church that was used in the movie “Australia” and a local cemetery where he explained a little about their funeral ceremonies. Our guide was very informative and talked a lot about the culture and history of the islands and its people. After the tour we returned to the boat for a buffet lunch then set off for the 2 hour trip back to Darwin.
I would recommend a trip out to the islands to anyone visiting the area.
Heading East 2009
Part Four - DARWIN AND THE TIWI ISLANDS
