My friend Cathy was born and raised here in Darwin. We shared a house together in Brisbane in the 80s, but she has only recently returned to the Territory.
She has some incredible history with the city; she missed Cyclone Tracy by just a few days as she was down south visiting her grandparents at the time. However, she was back here only a few months later because her father was an important figure in the rebuilding effort.
Being a local, she is not much of a tourist, and although she knew how to get there, she hadn’t actually been to the Humpty Doo Hotel since she was a child. We headed out there today.
It is a quintessentialy Outback pub, famous for for its rough-and-ready charm, featuring iron-clad walls and a wide verandah that has seen decades of history. While it has a bit of a tourist spark these days with plenty of merchandise like t-shirts and stubby holders for sale, it still captures that rugged spirit of the Top End.
After lunch, we wanted to visit a wetland viewing area, but many spots are still flooded or closed at the tail end of the wet season. We ended up at Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve, which is an incredible place for birdwatching where the monsoon forest meets the open wetlands.
We observed a huge amount of birdlife gathered where the water was crossing over the road. It was a beautiful experience seeing the natural cycle of the fish being brought over the spillway with a whole range of birds, including herons and jabirus, waiting on the other side for an easy feed. The sight of the vast, lily-covered floodplains stretching out toward the horizon really puts the scale of the Northern Territory into perspective.
Later in the afternoon, I met up with a fellow amputee from a Facebook group and his wife. I really love catching up with others who have lived experience with limb loss; we have so much in common despite our different stories. We spent a few hours chatting and sharing our experiences, which was a really great way to spend the day.
Afterwards, I wandered back to Charlie’s of Darwin, a great gin bar and distillery tucked away in the city. I spent the rest of the afternoon on their balcony, which has these massive fans that make the Darwin heat much more manageable—definitely something I’ll factor in when my niece Michelle comes to visit next week.
Cathy has kindly offered to take us out next Saturday to the Parap Village Markets. We’re looking forward to browsing the local arts and crafts and perhaps grabbing some of their famous laksa. Afterwards, we plan to head to Crocodylus Park just outside of town to see the wildlife and get a bit closer to the local reptiles
I regret not visiting the pub at Humpty Doo when we were in Darwin. I remember Fogg Dam where we saw a crocodile grab a bird and take it underwater.