Last day in Darwin, what to do?  We decided on the Oil Tunnels.

During WW2 the navy changed from coal to oil power so they had to store the oil in huge tanks near the harbour, but when Darwin was bombed by the Japs in 1942 most of the tanks were blown up. They then decided the oil needed to be underground, so they got a heap of men together to start digging underground tunnels through rock. Big job. Some were up to 170 meters long & 5 mtrs high. They lined them with steel; like huge sideways drums & put pumps in to keep the water out. It was a huge job; all done by manpower.
 

Then, when the war ended, they just decided not to use them so just closed them down which really upset the workers; they'd put an awful lot of hard work into them. So they just sat rusting for the next 50 years until they decided to open them up to the public as a tourist attraction to commemorate 50 years since the end of the war.

It was interesting to see & there were heaps of photos to look at. Also interesting to see that no one in the photos was overweight in those days too!
 

After that, we went across the road to the Harbour Precint. That's where I'd live if I lived in Darwin! (If I could afford it!) It's lovely; big parklands, trees, an enclosed swimming area (safe all year round - no crocs or stingers!),  a wave pool, hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, shops. Very nice. We had a drink at the Irish Bar - you should have seen the size of the bottles of Jameisons & Guinness! Wouldn't mind a couple of them.

 

 

After that we went & had a look at the Skycity Casino. It's right on the water with a grassed entertainment area, restaurant & large bar overlooking the water. Quite a nice area for a drink at sundown. The casino areas aren't very big & the pokies aren't any good; they take all your money!
 

Time to head home to the van & have happy hour with the neighbours then watch the footy - what a life! But someone's got to do it!