Darwin (Part 1) & Corroborree Billabong, NT.

 We arrived in Darwin and chose the Free Spirit Resort as our base. It's close to town, close to Uncle Ian's house and it has 3 pools and a jumping pillow. Hard to go past really. A very special added bonus was Harriet and Frankie are staying here too!! We enjoyed many walks, swims and craft sessions together again. Little Wilson is slowly starting to warm to Bridie's attention and she took him for a little walk.


On our first day in Darwin we just went for a drive around because we didn't know where to start with so many things to do. We found ourselves walking along the wharf and hunting down playgrounds and swimming spots. (Yep..this is the only picture of I took in town that day!)


Our first stop was Mindil Beach Sunset Market. We met Ian and Abby here for dinner and enjoyed some retail therapy and tasty food. The kids and Kylie had crocodile hot dogs which were interesting. Then we had an ice cream, but Zara's scoop fell out of the cone. Uncle Ian went to ask the ice cream stand for another scoop, which they kindly did, and Saul's quick hands to save the lost scoop and remove the dirt, meant that Zara had a double scoop ice cream!!


The next night, Kylie went out on a girls night with Lauren and Lynsey at the Resort poolside restaurant. They enjoyed a child-free evening with delicious food, drinks and good company.


Saul and John took the kids to the beach for the evening and watched a stunning sunset and collected shells and glass that had been made super smooth by the waves.

The next day, was the day that changed all our Darwin plans - Territory Day!! It was postponed from earlier in the year and happened to be today, so we made sure we were in Darwin for the event. It is the only day of the year where personal fireworks are allowed to be purchased and lit at home. Saul, John and Ian went to the fireworks shop early in the morning and bought up big and created a very fun evening. We went to Ian and Abby's house for a BBQ tea - all different sorts of fish, salad and a mango float dessert!! Once 6pm come around the neighbourhood erupted. The sky was alight with colour and noise. It was definitely a night to remember with the kids and Kylie and Abby having go to light one.

Here is what was left at the end of the night...a big box of cardboard. The mango float definitely was not left over, just popped it in here so we don't forget it's delicousness. 

On the way home we saw a big fire not far from the caravan park. It was a bit scary to sit and watch the flames make the sky orange as we put the kids to bed. But it was under control soon enough. Apparently there were over 300 fires over that evening. 


Territory Day was also our caravan park neighbour Airlie's 5th birthday. To make it extra special for her the girls made her a card and we had a little party complete with cake and lollies and balloons.


Our next stop was Corroborree Billabong. We stayed at the Tavern campground which was a much welcomed change of pace compared to the hustle and bustle of Darwin. More spacious sites and room to move. We also saw lots of wildlife, with the wallabies not being scared of us at all and happy to sit and eat grass around our caravan. We also saw lots of gekkos, frogs, spiders and a tawny frog mouth. And we learnt that Corroborree frogs do not come from the Corroborree Billabong and actually live closer to home in NSW and ACT. The Tavern have pet buffalo, one which is an albino, a pig, 2 turtles and a fresh and a salt water crocodile. And a very friendly chicken called BBC - which stands for Big Black Chook.


All of these animals were just a taste of what was to come the next day. We hired a BBQ boat and spent the day on the billabong. We arrived early in the morning and as we were setting off a big croc swam past and caught a fish and ate it right in front of us. Amazing! See the socials for the video.


We caught a few small fish and hooked a big one that got away. We saw lots of croc, lots of birds - a few jabirus and lots of white egrets. 


Zara loved the giant lilly pads with their giant pink flowers. Saul picked one for Kylie. 


It was a long day on the boat, but it went quickly, the weather was kind to us, and we all enjoyed a drive of the boat.



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