Mindil Beach Night Markets are a Darwin institution. On any given Thursday/Sunday night, it seems like all of Darwin (and about the same number of ring-ins) is there.
There’s an interesting mix of food stalls, nik-naks stalls of all kinds there. It shows you the true breadth of Darwin society, which certainly is impressive.
There were also some interesting entertainment options, too. It being the Territory, there had to be a bit of wildlife involved.
Well, we’re at the start of a very long journey through the Northern Territory, folks, although in reality the whole trip was only a fortnight. I must say that it’s the most invigorating as well as enlightening holiday I’ve had since Japan.
I began in Darwin, where I touched down after a long 4.5 hour flight. God, Australia is big! After crashing on the hotel bed, the next thought I had was of food. I’d heard about Char, and since it was only 2 blocks from my hotel wandered down on a balmy Darwin evening.
Now this is what al fresco dining is all about! It was good to defrost after the chilly Sydney winter weather. It was also good to taste the pork belly and scallops, served with an apple peanut salad and chilli caramel sauce. I was tempted to try this after watching George cook up a pork belly/scallop dish on Masterchef. The skin of the pork was nicely crisp and the scallops were cooked perfectly. The salad and nutty sauce (along with a glass of Riesling), and it was a lovely dish for a tropical climate.
I followed it up with a Mango Panna Cotta with passionfruit cream. The panna cotta was lovely and light, but I think they went too far with the passionfruit here, which was too bitter for my taste.
The restaurant seemed to be popular with locals and visitors alike and got very full, even for a midweek dinner. I’m just impressed that Darwin has such a sophisticated dining option.
Our final stop on the tour was Hat Head Hill, for a different perspective of the Grose Valley.
The soft winter light, Antarctic winds, and persistent showers made it quite an exhilirating experience.
That’s it from the photo tour. Yes, we covered plenty of territory and it was certainly worthwhile. Next time I’ll begin posting about NT.
Next stop was the Newnes State Forest and Blackfellows Cave, a large rock overhang featuring some Aboriginal rock art that was a nice precursor to my trip to NT.
The area had some interesting flora and rock formations that reminded me of the Bungle Bungles, both the result of sandstone weathering over time.
The most unusual place we visited had to be the old Blast Furnace in Lithgow, which was where the first iron and steel in Australia was cast. The furnace was opened in 1886 and closed in 1928 when production was moved to Port Kembla.
The shell of the buildings, along with the dramatic lighting, produced some really striking images.
In the afternoon, we ventured down the stairs to take photos of Leura Cascades.
I had been here before, but it was good to be able to take the time and experiment with apertures and shutter speeds, as well as different angles. It made for a fun time.
Apologies for my absence. I’ve been on holidays for two weeks in the Northern Territory. Consequently I’ve got a ton of photos to organise, which will take time, but I can assure you that the results will be worth it.
In the meantime, I’m going to catch up on my trip to the Blue Mountains only a few days before I departed for NT. I went on a 2 day photo safari with Craig from River Deep Mountain High, and despite the cold and less than ideal light conditions, it was worthwhile.
The first place he took us was to the end of the long Mt Hay Road, to a place called Butterbox Canyon. Its heath country again on the edge of the Grose Valley.
Apart from magnificent views there was also interesting rock formations and flora around.
Static and Silence 