I have often said while travelling that I have a bit of bad timing,
especially with the weather, and today was no exception.
Having already done most of the things that I wanted to do while in
Darwin, there were just a few things left for me to try and visit, one
being the feeding of the crocodiles and the other being a visit to see
the deckchair cinema. So, with a day and a half left of my stay in
Australia I decided that I would take a walk on down to the wharf area
and check out the whatever it was that was described as the deckchair
theatre.
As it was a yet another humid day, I chose to try out my flipflop feet
again and happily left the socks and trainers behind me while I went
for a walk down the Esplanade which would lead me onto the area where
the outdoor cinema was shown on the map.
Now I am not sure if it a common design fault or I just have ill
shaped feet, but the flipflips straps appear to be made of a thick and
hard rubber which in these humid conditions both stick and rub against
my soft feet causing blisters each and every time I wear them, but
unlike new shoes the rubber never seems to soften up or break so the
phenomenon is forever reoccuring.
By the time that I reached the steps leading down my feet were already
smarting and so I could not go much further without taking them off,
and I could not walk far without any footware so it was almost a
relief when I passed a local and he informed me that the deckchair
cimena was down the long flight of stairs but, you guessed it, there
is nothing to see with it being the rainy season and all.
Giving up on that idea I settled to have a snack for lunch, having
decided that there are no cheap places to get breakfast in the city
limits, and so instead I would go to Crocosaurus Cove where they would
be feeding the biggies in less than an hour.
For an entrance fee of AUD $28, or $25 if you but it elsewhere of
bring a 10% vouchure available at most tourist places, you get to
wander around the miniature water park and learn all about the
crocodiles, plus see them feed.
Being keen on the educational aspects I learned that the human jaw is
one of the weakest bites in the meat eating world and the crocodile,
pound for pound, has the highest, greater than a lion, shark or even
what a Tyranasaurus is believed to have had. Other interesting facts
was that they can launch themselves into the air of almost their full
length, are very light sleepers, have great night vision and can run
at up to 17 kph if they so chose.
The place was a crocodile lovers paradise and the raised tanks bottom
had vision domes built into it so that if you crouched you could
actually put your face right up to a crocodile and see them from
underneath. I tried to take some photos up close but the hardened
plastic was scuffed and scratched making my shots very blurred.
I even got to meet a genuine the world famous star, Burt, featured
crocodile in many documentaries and also shown alongside Paul Hogan in
the first Crocodile Dundee movie!
While I waited for the feeding time I took a moment to watch the
miniature movie about Darwin and it was here that I learned that the
Japanese bombed the city over 60 times during the second world war,
leaving only a handful of building standing. Then when Hurricane
Tracey struck almost twenty years later it again left only around 400
buildings standing with a remaining population of only around ten
thousand people, which is much of the reason why it is still so small
these days, it has had a very turbulent past.
Around 2:25, barely five minutes before the big feeding was due to
start, the rain started to fall and in less than a minute it got so
bad that you had to stand at least two meters away from the edge of
the roofs as the rain was coming in hard, fast and at an angle.
With no idea of how long the storm would last the croc handlers said
that they could hold off the feeding for a minute or two, but they
could not do it for long as the crocs have a keen sense of time and
they didnt want to upset the routine.
At 2:32 with the rain at its worst the keepers decided that enough was
enough and rain or no rain they were going to feed the crocodiles, so
on mini fishing lines they dangle the chopped up fish or meat above
the tanks and watch them jump, mainly for the tourists but also to
give them a bit of exercise.
I got a few shots but didnt want to get too drenched in the rain, and
my timing was perfect as by 2:45 the rain had stopped. Tell me its
just a coincidence that the only time in the entire week that the sky
choses to rain down bucketloads during the middle of the afternoon is
when I decide to go to an open air display!
Anyways, after avoiding the rain, I decided to but my mum a little
souveneir crocodile keyring, and a little known fact is that as a
tourist I need to obtain a tiny permit ( free thank god ) to say that
the souveneir was obtained from a managed farm, as opposed to me going
off into the wild with a hunters rifle I guess!
With permit in hand I left and headed on over to the rock and country
music to listen to some great music, have a drink and play some pool.
The best thing about sweet cider is that if you throw it in a chilled
glass with ice its THE MOST refreshing drink you can get, IMHO of
course.
The best thing about playing pool in a rock and roll, er I mean
country, pub is the great music that they play in the background.
The worst thing about playing pool in this humidity is that even with
a fan on, your hands get sweaty, the cue swells up, the table cloth
stretches and warps and trying to get a graceful and fluid playing
motion is like trying to run through treacle.
The first game was not too bad and I managed to get off a few shots
but by the third game I could barely play a shot unless it was using
the side cushion as support, and I would probably have faired a lot
better playing one handed than trying to persever with the cue
sticking like glue to my hand as it did.
Although it was only around 6pm the place was totally dead, me being
the only person inside a bar that can hold fifty with ease and so I
asked the barmaid why it was so quiet and why they closed around 9:30
last night, only to be told that they close at 9pm sharp ever night
during the wet season.
Giving up on trying to meet any locals this way I headed off to grab a
pizza and bring it back to the hostel and munch my way through it
while watching television.
What surpised me was not that a large pizza, a bottle of coke and
stick of garlic bread cost less than a breakfast around these parts (
being only AUD $17 ) but that the pizza delivery place only sold
pizzas in one size, large.
So despite me being just one person, and most likely I will end up
throwing some of it away, I was left with the choice of large pizza or
no pizza, and being hungry and in no mood to try someplace else I went
with the option A).
Back in my hostel the receptoin, tv room and computer room were all
empty too, so there was not even anyone to offer it to and be
sociable, so I ate til I was no longer enjoying it then threw the rest
in the bin, sat back to watch the end of the B&W original version of
The Day The Earth Stood Still and then went to bed.
Despite the lower section of my back still being in some pain the top
half and shoulders started peepling, so I can expect the rest of my
back and my legs to follow suit any minute.
For the last time I went up to a quiet dorm room in Australia and
wondered how much it would cost to post a didgeridoo and a boomerang
back to the UK with all my normal travel stuff before I left
Australian shores.
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