Darwin, NT

Darwin in the Northern Territory (NT) down by the sea in the tropics of Australia.

The first photo is of the War Memorial.  2nd is of the Wharf in the distance with the flower Bougainvillea in the foreground. 3rd is of Government House and the 4th of the garden outside the fence. Government House in Darwin was built to let the sea breeze flow through with a lot of shutters seen on the ground floor.

The trees above around a Government building, then canoes and a lot of yachts, on our last visit to this area in Darwin not so many plus the eating houses were no more, just one or two shops were open, totally different .

 The photo is of one of the beach areas looking towards Beagle Gulf/Timor Sea.

South Australia

On our journey in South Australia we visited the Barossa Valley where many wine grapes are grown, harvested and wine made.

Stonehaven Vinyard is the first photo then further on some scenery and the hills in Adelaide are of course hilly.

A police bike, oh dear we got pulled over because our mirrors for towing the caravan were not wide enough in South Australia (SA), we just got a warning and to acquire new mirrows at our next stop which was many klm up the road.

Then a bridge somewhere near the hills when the river was very low and an old abandoned house.

 

Orchids in City Park

A few years back we visited the Launceston City Park and discovered in the Conservotory, Orchids.

The throat of the orchid is to be deep, the legs wide, no blemishes on any orchid or leaves and a few more things.  A judge once told me all that he looks for in a good orchid. 

These photos were taken with my phone and turned out rather well for an older phone at that time.

Darwin, NT

Darwin the the Capital of the Northern Territory (NT). The population is about 82,000 people. Darwin is in the Tropics of Australia, it's hot and humid in Summer and not too bad in Winer but still humid and hot. There are several beaches and one must be careful of the Saltwater Crocodiles if you see any. We never have in the area.

We have been 3 times to Darwin seeing it change over the years and of course we travelled with the caravan behind us first and second time with our other caravan and vehicle.  The distance is on the map below from home to Darwin via the road.  There isn't a great deal to see along the way, a few towns and off the road camping in peoples paddocks is very handy with a few dollars given to the owner, no water or power.   The terrian is flat, some of it desert with the road usually very straight.

The first photo is of the Mall, or more like it just part of it.

Second photo is what was left of a building after Cyclone Tracy which arrived in Darwin at Christmas time in 1974, it just flattened Darwin and the noise of the Cyclone can be heard at the museum, just a dreadful noise as we went there and listened.

Third photo is of a Public building, the fourth one can't recall what it houses but I believe it survived the Cyclone even though it's near to the sea.

The remainder of the photos are of the caravan park, the palms, the fruit bats come to eat those in the evening and one has to make sure the vehicle is not parked underneath those trees as their 'business' stains the vehicles right through the paint.

Clarendon House

Saturday we went for a drive to see Clarendon House in our early spring.

Clarendon House is not far from Evandale, Tasmania, Australia. The house was built by James Cox about 1838. The house has servant quarters and many buildings within the grounds. The house is on the banks of the South Esk River and was used by the Cox family as a farm.
There of course is a fee to tour inside the house but it's worth it as it gives a good insight to how people lived in the 1800's especially those who were wealthy.

Evandale was known as Morvan years ago and it's in this area that my husband's late father's ancestor came from. Free settler from Wales as a single man, and he married a 19 years old when he was 50 years of age and they had many children. During his marriage he moved to another area in Tasmania.

Grindelwald-2

Views from around the Lake at Grindelwald continued.  The Chapel is sweet and I've been to about 2 Weddings there, one as a photographer for a relative (yes, photos turned out good).  There is that bridge which needs repairing and was done several years later.

Grindelwald-1

Grindelwald is a rural residential not far from Launceston, Tasmania, Australia and it's about 15 km north, slightly to the west.  Population is about 970 people.  

The late Rolf Vos who owned several supermarkets in and around Launceston some years ago, now Woolworths visited Sweden so built a village called Grindelwald based loosely on the Swiss style but to suit Tasmania.  There is a putt putt golf course,18 hole golf course,  shops, restaurants, Hotel/Motel, Chapel, retirement Chalets and a Lake within the village and so on.

 

 

Down by the River

Daylight saving here from yesterday, Sunday the clock went 1 hour forward, we do love daylight saving in this house.

These photos were taken in winter late in the evening - they are of the Tamar River which is about 70km long and is classed as an estuary.  To see the Tamar River from Launceston, Tasmania Australia (my home town/city) it's just about a 5 minute drive from the city or you can walk to it.  There are a couple of parks nearby.