It's really hot so yesterday we decided to go to the beach. We went for a lovely long walk along the water's edge but we only had a short dip in the shallows 'cos there are signs at all the beaches to watch out for box jellyfish. There've been croc sightings lately too so we weren't about to take any chances. It got too hot so we jumped in the air conditioned car & drove around the coastline to check it out instead. It's nice but it doesn't compare with Queensland of course.

The van park we're staying at is in Hidden Valley; the suburb where the raceway is. The track is used for V8's, drags, mud racing, motocross & go-karts. There's motorbike mud racing  this Saturday night but we're heading to Singapore! We went down to have a look & we got right down into the pits & onto the track. I was going to get onto the grid & take off but I was missing my motorcycle!
 

Last night we went for a drive along the pier at Darwin Harbour where there are food outlets, a restaurant & a bar. One outlet had crocodile, camel, kangaroo & buffalo on the menu. We planned to eat at the movie later so we didn't have any but we might have to go back before we leave!
 

So instead, we grabbed a drink & just sat & enjoyed watching the sunset & the boats coming & going. It was just lovely. A guy came & sat near us with his little daughter & they were throwing chips into the air for the seagulls.

 

 

There's also a display on the pier about the bombing of Darwin during WW2. I had no idea it had been raided so many times! There were the two initial strikes but another 62 followed over the next 18 months. It's so hard to believe. These photos were on one of the plaques, look at the ship laying on it's side beside the pier. 

Next we went to the Deckchair Cinema to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. The movie was a bit hard to follow but the cinema was great. It's outdoors alongside the waterfront below the city. It has a bar, meals available & heaps of old layback deck chairs with cushions to relax on to watch the movie. They reminded me of the old Chermside cinema with it's hession seats when I was a kid. (now I'm showing my age!)

The first thing I did today was get my hair cut. It's been driving me crazy. We don't always have power for me to blowdry or straighten it & it's been too hot so I said to Phill the other day that I might just cut it all off. I asked him what he thought & his wonderful reply was "You used to look younger when it was short". Well, I said to him; that's because I WAS younger; it's been 4 or 5 years now since it was short!

Phill's been working on the van most of the day, doing a bit of updating putting in an extra power point & stuff so we didn't get up to much else but tonight we went to the Mindil Beach Markets. We couldn't believe how popular they are. The carparks were all full, with overflow all down the streets & it was like walking around the ekka; people everywhere. They're good markets; lots of stalls with the usual jewellery, clothing, pictures, souvenirs & that but talk about food! There were so many food vendors, all different nationalities; too many to choose from so you just have to eat lots! Yum!