Went to the Parap Village Tavern for Brenden's xmas work function. There is three sections all with different atmospheres. A function room had been booked for the party. The room had a warm feel to it even though the aircon was cold. Decorated nicely for chrissy. Food was delish. We had the lamb shank and it was melt in your mouth. All in all would rate it and id be happy to return.
My new bestie Deborah invited me to Throb night club in Darwin city centre. At first I was aphrehensive as I had never been to a gay club before but decided it would no doubt be at least peaceful and fun loving so what the heck I went and was so glad I did. Apart from the bathrooms having a disco ball and lounge which was equisite. The highlight for me was the drag show including the back up dancers called 'the pussies'. I could of watched the show all night. I wanted it to go longer. Plenty of dancing. No agro, everyone was having a good time. Even saw a guy dressed up like a xmas tree with lights and all. The only agro was spilt out on the street from the straight clubs.
Took dad out for his birthday and as we enjoyed Seafood on cullen so much before thought we would like to show dad & the family. It ended up being a stormy night but we still had fun!
In November we met a lovely couple Gavin and Jo at the caravan park and helped them out with a favour as they were moving to King Island, Tasmania and had no one in Darwin to rely on to take them to airport then drive their car to the freight company. As a kind gesture on their part they took us to Seafood on the Cullen, Cullen Bay. This was an upmarket Seafood Buffet along with everything for all taste buds. I actually didn't end up eating much seafood as the thai red curry was supberb! I don't usually dig buffets but this was clean and with each dish contained in its own bainery which opened with a wave of your hand over the sensor. My kids even enjoyed themselves. To top it off there was dessert buffet including fresh fruit to dip into the chocolate fondue stream. Plus a sunset to die for!
This is the first time i've ever let my kids participate in Halloween however I decided to mix it up and we went around the caravan park giving out lollies. Even still the girls scored with many people giving them lollies, gold coins and even handmade bracelets.
Set off on Sunday to see the amazing jumping crocs on the Adelaide river. I had already booked a tour boat which seemed to sound the best online, they were having a 25th birthday special of $25 per person. When you travel on Arnhem Hwy there is signs galore for more than one tour operator. We were following the icon sign from the internet site that I had seen then a sign said turn left now so we did and ended up at Spectacular Jumping Crocs. When the lady said $35 per person I quizzed her as the internet had said $25 birthday special. She advised that I wad thinking of another operator who was having a birthday special. Damn I had ended up at the wrong tour company. We took this cruise as we didn't have enough time to get to the other cruise. The various operators all seem to depart at the same times, 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm. We saw only a couple of crocs over the whole cruise and only small ones, the boat was worn out, it was hot even with the old aircon unit & fans, visibility was poor thru the medium sized windows, I just wasn't feeling it. We were so disappointed as everyone had told us how fantastic it was. We decided to head further down the road to the operator which we had booked originally, as soon as we rocked up the difference was visible, professional operation with gift store, cafe and under cover kids playground. After talking to the owner we decided to take his cruise. It was kind of him to not charge for our kids. As soon as we got on board the boat the difference was smack in the face, aircon was working, it was clean & comfortable the windows were much bigger with fantastic viewing, you really did feel like you could take the whole view in instead of just a slit like the other operator. Our tour guide was so knowledgable and looked like the original crocodile dundee. Ten minutes into the one hour cruise we saw more crocs than the first operator we went on. The crocs were also noticeably bigger. So the conclusion, avoid the not so 'Spectacular Jumping Crocodiles' and head over to 'Adelaide River Queen'. There is NO comparison!
Went to Darwin Sky City Casino on Saturday night. Was a lovely venue, we will be having a few visits here i'm sure. When you first walk through the front entrance you will see a couple of attendants behind their desk monitors. Go up to them first thing and sign up as a member to recieve their Action Card. You will recieve discounts off food at the Sunsets buffet restaurant and specials during the week. We saved $18 off our meals that evening, recieved two free drink coupons and $15 of gaming money. The food at the buffet was of a good standard. The prawns are always a winner. The dessert part was a bit of a let down, no cheesecake! There seemed to be big pieces of cakes, heaps of jelly, mouse and cream. The soft serve machine and chocolate sauce was a winner with me. I would of liked to see some petit slices and cakes. Overall it was good. My eldest daughter Akira must of eaten too much ice cream as she wound up being sick. Luckily made it to the ladies on time! Imagine that in front of everyone dining. Ewww. We had a change of clothes and head out poolside to the duo singing and strumming away. Kids had a dance with their uncle Brenden, nan & pop. The pool area is stunning. Definately would go back.
My second Darwin Thunder storm so far and I must say I am a lot less scared this time. The thunder is so loud in a tropical storm. The rain intense then once it's done then it goes straight back to sun shine. It doesn't go on for days like in Perth. My first storm last week sounded like the end of the world. Thank goodness we got the tarp up over the caravan as we buckle down for our first wet season.
Went to Howard Springs on Saturday. Had a great time. This is a great free nature park with man made rock pools and toddler pool, very clean water and nice and shallow so no worries for the little ones and great for all ages to lounge around and cool off. There is a slippery dip which unfortunately has no shade sail so it's too hot to go down. The winner of the day was the flying fox. Kids couldn't get enough of it. There is an ablution block and plenty of parking. This is a must if you have kids or want to hold a get together.
Love, love, love the Mindil Beach Markets. The best markets i've ever been to! Watched the sunset which was spectacular, photo's just don't show how stunning it was. What blew me away most was the amount of people on Mindil Beach hustling for the best spot to take in the sight and take the perfect shot. Then on to the miriad of food stands, i've been twice now and highly recommend a vegie lasagne from The Lucky Cow stand and The Laksa from the Thai stand. Brought some lovely dresses from Birds of Paradise stand for me and the kids as well as a rainbow dress from Rainbow Babes stand, a coconut guitar for Akira, Sarong for mummy some Henna art for my hand and finished off with a spectacular fire show by a street theatre performer just near the beach behind the magic trick stand. He was absolutely one of the best street performers i've ever seen. I take my hat off to anyone that follows their passion. Highly recommend Mindil markets, Thursday night and sunday evening. I found Thursday night best. Get there around 5pm ish for a good park. Markets finish end October just in time for the wet season.
Darwin Freespirit Resort has a fantastic kids club with three activities a day. Ranging from face painting to Sherbet making and getting up close to baby crocs and pythons. Kids movie night is every Sunday 6pm includes a free ice cream. There is plenty of craft activities, the girls made a beautiful dream catcher and pretty bracelet. It's all free when you stay here and Its just a massive bonus. This is the first caravan park we have stayed at that has such a programme.
Palmerston water park is free to the public. I can't believe you dont have to pay to use these facilities. There are several lifeguards manning the pools and slides. Ablutions and a lovely little cafe. The water slides are heaps of fun. There is plenty of shaded areas too.
Brenden, Akira and Ahliyah all celebrated their birthday's on the road recently. Luckily most roadhouses sold SaraLee chocolate cupcakes for me to put a bundle together for decoration and candles.
Some friends of ours at the caravan park kindly told us that the Gyuto monks of Tibet had one last day at the Darwin Supreme Court. We headed down the following day. One of the monks was producing amazing art from coloured sand. My 3 year old tried to push her barbie doll through the doorway of this paper temple the monks had built and damaged it so they had to fix it, without complaint ofcourse. I brought some prayer beads made from the nuns, a silver ring which turns sending love to all, some symbols which chime for protecting your family and a magnet of the dalai lama. We received a blessing from the monk before we left.
Our new home for the moment is Darwin Freespirit Resort. I love it here. Not only do they have a pool that my kids can stand in which my five year old has learned to dive under the water but they make cocktails to die for and have a kids club where they do anything from face painting to handling baby crocs to learning how to surf, three activities per day and all for free! The meals either by the pool or in Elements Bistro are well priced and to a great standard. There is three pools onsite and the camp kitchens are great.
