No chance for Mairead to succumb to jet lag … we are off and running around Darwin. One of our first stops is the Royal Flying Doctor Museum at the Stokes Hill Wharf, where two iconic stories of Darwin are portrayed.

The first story is the Royal Flying Doctor Service, affectionately known throughout Australia as the RFDS. Founded by the Reverend John Flynn, it began its aero medical operations in the Northern Territory in 1939. 

The second story featured is the Bombing of Darwin on 19th February 1942. The bombing of the harbour brought destruction to the city of Darwin, and many of the experiences and stories of what happened that day are told in the museum. This includes a Virtual Reality experience of just what it would have been like to be caught in the savage first day of attacks by the Japanese Air Force.

Siobhan’s sister has arrived in Darwin after a very long 40+ hour journey door-to-door from Dublin.

We finally move to our proper site in the caravan park which will be home for 5 more days. Our pesky battery problem is also solved by Steve, a really helpful guy from Outback Batteries. See photos of before and after. Took another small site seeing trip and some final shopping before Mairead arrives tomorrow.

So we saw the practice for the changing of the colours for the 5th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment yesterday. Today we watch the real thing with the guest of honour being His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd), the Governor General of Australia.

There is always one AFL game per year at Darwin and it was today. Bob has never been to a live AFL game and the experience was enjoyable. The game was between Melbourne and the Adelaide Crows. The Crows won by 2 points. Conclusion – unless you have 20:20 vision and can see details of the play at 150 metres plus, stay at home and watch the game on the telly !

Off to the Darwin Military Museum – originally established as an artillery museum by the Royal Australian Artillery Association (NT) Inc (RAAA) to exhibit photographs and artifacts from Darwin’s history during World War II. The Museum now has a large exhibit of items from the war, including Navy, Army and Air Force items from Australian, US and other armed forces. It is set amongst concrete gun emplacements and other fortifications in an area that was one of the most heavily fortified parts of Australia during the war.

During the war, Darwin was bombed 64 times over almost two years, with the first two raids alone on 19 February 1942 resulting in the deaths of an estimated 243 people.

We were doing the touristy thing wandering around Darwin minding our own business when we heard a military band and men shouting things like ATTENSHUN ! Turns out it was a rehearsal for the changing of the colours for the 5th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment with the main event being the following day.

Next we head for the cathedral – St Mary Star Of The Sea, the main place of Catholic worship in the city. During WWII, the church of St Mary was the seat of the garrison of the military chaplaincy for Australian troops in the city. After the war it became necessary to build a larger structure. The first stone taken from Rum Jungle, the site of the first uranium mine in the territory, was blessed by Bishop O’Loughlin on 13 July 1958. Construction operations continued until 1962, when the cathedral was blessed and opened for worship by Bishop O’Loughlin on 19 August 1962 and consecrated on 20 August 1972.

More wandering around the city and outskirts and on to the beach for a spectacular sunset.

Our original plans were to spend some more time free camping at Lichfield National Park before heading to Darwin. However, we discover a couple of maintenance issues with the caravan and decide to make haste straight to Darwin to make sure we get things fixed before picking up Mairead next week. The Darwin caravan park we had booked in were full but they managed to fit us in early … on a road in between some unused cabins. Beggars can’t be choosers.