The Journey continues..

Today we took a drive down to the old Stokes Hill wharf area about km from the city centre.  The Stokes Hill wharf is now a bustling multi-use area that is in the process of being restored and offers restaraunts and cafes, recreational fishing platforms, harbour cruises and shopping. At the moment they have added a 'Convention Centre' and are in the process of building a 'Wave Pool' , Apartment blocks, a 'Sandy Beach ' and an enclosed waterway.  It should all be finished by 2010. It will be a fantastic place when completed. We drove all the way on to the wharf and walked around the shops and cafes.  Food prices were quite good considering it is a tourist area. 

After a coffee and some chips for the grandkids we went to the nearby WWII Oil Storage Tunnels which were constructed  to protect Darwin's oil supply from the wartime bombardment. Now inside Tunnel No:5 and 6 there is a photographic display of wartime Darwin and the Top End.  The kids loved running up and down the tunnel yelling.

We then drove around to Cullen Bay and looked at the small boats coming through the lock from the sea.  Cullen Bay has a nice marina that is surrounded by shops houses and restaraunts and gets very busy at night.  We also found the location of the 'Deckchair Cinema' which is an open air theatre right on the beach below the Darwin CBD.  We might go there one night to take in the 'ambience' of the place.

We then took a slow drive back to Palmerston and had lunch at 'Hungries' before arriving home for a rest.

Convention Centre from Stokes Hill Wharf.	Kobi, Geraldine, Me, and Hunter having a break.
Christine, Hunter, Kobi and Geraldine at  Stokes Hill Wharf.	Inside the WWII Oil Tunnels having a scream.
The entrance to the Tunnels.

Today James had a day off so we headed to the East Point Military Museum near Fanny Bay.  This museum is set in and around some WWII bunkers and gun enplacements in the East Point Reserve.  The artifacts were interesting and provided some excitement for Kobi and Hunter.  The disappointment was that the museum is privately run and lacking money needed to improve the displays.  You would think a display about the bombing of Darwin during WWII and the the military buildup as a result would be of interest to the NT Govt. and they would contribute money towards the upkeep. 

Afterwards we took the kids to a large playground and let them tire themselves out before going home.  In the evening we tried to find a club that wasn't booked out for dinner, but we ended up getting Asian takeaway and having dinner at home.  You need to book on Saturday nights.!!

James, Kobi, Hunter and Geraldine at the  Military Museum.	Kobi and Hunter reflected in a large search  light reflector.
The East Point shoreline.	The shoreline looking towards Nightcliff.

06 Jul 08  Day 36.

Today was a lay day as Sundays should be.  A sleep-in and clean up aroundthe home was the order for the day.  In theevening Geraldine and I went to the Wharf Precinct for dinner .  The place was packed, obviously a popular spot on Sunday nights to watch the sunset , feed the fish and eat out.  Near the wharf there were large Batfish that were being handfed by the public wh were eating dnner there.  We sat down to wait for our food and I mentioned how long we would need to sit there before seeing someone we knew!!  Lo and behold within a few minutes we saw our old neighbours from Alice Springs, Owen, Ann and their son Chris.  They had come up from Price SA where they now live to watch the V8 Races that were on over the weekend.  We spent some time talking before our dinner arrived.  We met them again later and hung out till it was time to go home.  We had a memorable night out.

Happy Birthday today Tim!!