DARWIN AND SURROUNDS

We rolled into Darwin from the Arnhem and Stuart Highways arriving about 10:30 to stay at Shady Glen - well it was somewhat shady, dusty, noisy from the flights to and from the nearby airport, but the noise and dust from 6a.m. to 6p.m. from the Sims Metals plant across the road was horrendous.
Anyway we set up the annexe, washed, bought groceries, attended the famous Mindil Market, ate the biggest piece of Barramundi, and a beautiful fruit salad. Then on the Tuesday it was time to deliver John to the airport for his trip to Perth to attend a dinner at Capricorn, and Kev & Carol and I went to explore the waterfront. Guess what - more Barra eaten, exploring Stokes Hill Wharf, fish markets - a pearl shop had me drooling (I love pearls).
We explored the sky walk, read the histories of WW2 way more huge than I had realised.
188 aircraft on the first raid 19th Feb 1942 - hundreds of people killed and injured - major damage to the city of Darwin, USA aicraft and Naval boats - RAAF planes - then a second raid 2 hours later - by another 54 aircraft - army sources estimate 1,100 people killed.
The raids continued from February 1942 as our allies helped us fight back - it ended 12th November 1943.
During this trip we have seen many of the airstrips fashioned alongside the Stuart Highway, just grassed long strips, as they were trying to build the highway to get the personnel and supplies up to the North, so the Japanese were trying to bomb them.
Thousands of personnel were sent to the North during this time, one of them was my father and during this time I was finding out what a horrendous this time in Australia's history this was, my father was at the forefront of my mind and then I remembered the entries in his diary which I have at home where he spoke of his joy at my birth "My Joannie has had a baby girl, I think we will call the babe Ila Joan"
Explored Darwin city - marvelled at the cliffs around the bay which had been pounded by the seas over the years and the marvellous colour of the rock, beaches where the tide was out 1&1/2 kklm and another visit to Mindil Market.
Eventually John came back from Perth and we continued to tour round, then found we could not extend our stay-so we moved to another and far nicer park a little further out and prepared to move on.