Tag: wildlife

What to Do in Darwin

After a year and a half in Australia, our last stop was Darwin. The capital of the Northern Territory, it’s a small city. With a population of under 150,000 people, it’s even smaller than Cairns. This is the Australian tropics, and we felt the heat and humidity daily. Darwin is also home to lots of crocs and croc tours, and seeing the crocs is on our list of what to do in Darwin, Australia.

Arriving In Darwin

For us, just arriving in Darwin was interesting. We sailed there from across the top of Australia, with good wind pushing us west from Thursday island and east. Once we arrived in Darwin, we had to wait to get into the marina because of timing the tides. You see, tides in this part of the world are pretty extreme, with differences up to almost 8 meters. With those big tides, we didn’t want to anchor out and then wait all day to leave or return to our boat.

Instead we made a booking at Cullen Bay Marina. To get into the marina, we had to navigate a lock, which we haven’t done since the Panama Canal. It was a much shorter trip, but still stressful. We put out lots of lines and not enough fenders and got bumped and jostled. On both the entry and exit, the lockmaster was very helpful, but we ended up sweaty from the stress and the heat. Darwin is a hot place!

lock, Cullen bay Marina, Darwin
Approaching the lock exiting Cullen Bay Marina

Getting Around Darwin

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Making Fast Tracks North

We liked Port Macquarie, don’t get me wrong. But after months in that winter wonderland of rain and floods, once Go was ready, so were we. With our visas on the verge of expiring and the cold weather continuing, we started making fast tracks north. Townsville, just under 1000 knots north, was our goal, and we made it in good time.

Making Fast Tracks North: Our Route

We planned our route beforehand, and made some slight modifications due to – what else? – wind and weather. Our route was straight to Coffs Harbour, then an overnight to Gold Coast, our first stop in Queensland! From there, it was going to be an easy sail inside the islands to K’Gari and up to meet our friends in Scarborough Marina, outside Brisbane.

After celebrating Brian’s birthday over two nights in Scarborough, we moved north to Mooloolaba for one memorable night. Then we jumped to Double Island Point, Hervey Bay, and spent two nights in the marina near Bundaberg.

making tracks north from Port to Townsville, map
All the stops on our 800nm sail from Port to Townsville

After Bundy, we sailed to Great Keppell to Island Head Creek to Curlew Island, then two nights in Mackay with a quick reprovisioning and off again to the Whitsundays.

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A Week in The Red Centre

After months of exploring Australian coastal cities and towns, we flew to Alice Springs for a week in the Red Centre. Adjusting to the moisture sucking air and miles of emptiness took some effort, but visiting the Outback in Australia’s Northern Territory was a good adventure.

Outsiders’ visions of Australia include mobs of kangaroos galloping across the plains, red rocks rising from the desert, and rednecks in bars crushing crocodiles. We have been in the country for a year without seeing the desert, so when we learned we had to wait two more weeks before Go’s haulout, we booked flights to Alice Springs. A week in the Red Centre was on our wish list, and we’re so glad we made the trip.

About The Red Centre

We’ve been learning Australia’s detailed terminology for their geography. The majority of people live along the coasts, where the big cities and towns are. Moving inland from there are the Hinterlands, mere miles from the coasts but still quite different. Beyond the Hinterlands is the bush, and then comes The Outback, the most remote lands in Australia.

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