It was an early start and off to Cairns airport for our 6am flight to Darwin. The flight went well and we landed at 8am. There is a 30 minute time difference between Cairns and Darwin so it was technically 08:30 but now 08:00.
We taxi’d to the hotel, dumped our ever expanding array of luggage and set off to explore.
We came out of the hotel, where we are based utill Wednesday morning, heading for the tourist information centre.
The other half had done a bit of googling about “things to do in Darwin”. Most of his research centering around the World War 2 history and bomb sites.
Click here to find out more about the history of Darwin
As we walked to the tourist information centre we were distracted by a World War 2 army truck and got chatting to the driver. He was an excellent salesman as before we knew it, we were sat aboard having purchased 2 tour tickets!
We thoroughly enjoyed the tour around Darwin and learnt so much.
The afternoon was spent just mooching about and relaxing.
The following day we were chatting to a local lady at breakfast and she told us how there isn’t a lot to do in Darwin, what we had seen was probably about it.
Our visit to the tourist information centre confirmed the same. There are tours out to the beautiful area surrounding Darwin and the various National Parks but we will be visiting those later this week when we board The Ghan.
We resigned ourselves to a couple more lazy days reading and writing blogs…
I don’t take time enough at home to read but I do love a good book; so from Birmingham airport I purchased this very interesting read…

Val McDermid wrote Wire in The Blood a successful British TV drama starring Robson Green as Dr Tony Hill, a clinical psychologist. I have read many of her books over the years and this one didn’t disappoint. It is an in depth look at forensic scientists and the development of their tools and skills to aid the solving of crimes. The other half has read it too and it’s an infinitely interesting read!
Interesting fact: The discovery of a fly pupal case close to a decaying corpse can be used to extract DNA and help identify the body! The humble fly plays a major part in solving murders…
Back to Darwin. We had picked up a handy guide to Darwin, and its surrounding areas, from the Tourist Information Centre. The other half was flicking through it and came across this little gem…
On Monday evening they were showing Seriously Red. (Click on Red to find out what the film is all about) We both love Dolly Parton so that was an instant draw. The Deckchair Cinema is famed for its ninja possums, good quality food and watching a film under the stars. What was not to like? We booked!
As we googled to find out more about the cinema it became apparent that an early arrival was essential, cushions were required to help make the deckchairs more comfortable and each night a different local restaurant served delicious meals. We arrived in plenty of time and were chatting to a regular attendee, she came at least once a week. She told us “decide where to sit, claim your seats with cushions and then go and get food” She assured us “that’s what the locals do” So, we did what the locals do!
The ninja possums… these crafty little critters will creep up on your food, and without you realising it, sneak off with as much as they can carry, we were under instructions to NOT put food on the floor. Those of you who know me, know that food is never on the floor around me, only going from table to mouth🤣
We settled down to watch the film… do you remember me telling you about the bats. The bats the size of a Cairn? (The other half says I exaggerate but I kid you not, they are massive, massive, Cairn sized for sure!!) Throughout the film, they swooped and flew across the screen, their reflection on the screen meant they looked even bigger!! Absolutely, the size of a Cairn! I make a direct connection from bats to horror movies, irrational, yes. A fact that unnerves me greatly 😳
The night sky was also lit up by fire flys, bright little bugs danced above the audience and proved an entertaining distraction.
We didn’t get to witness the ninja possums but we had a sublime evening watching an entertaining movie under the stars of a warm Darwin sky.
The following day, Tuesday, we started to prepare for our next adventure, The Ghan.
We reshuffled our luggage, planned outfits, arranged bags and were ready for the off. What to do on Tuesday evening while we waited for time to pass was not a problem…
As part of our tour on Sunday, our guide had taken us out to East Point to visit the Military Museum. East point, as its name suggests, is to the east of Darwin and affords its visitors lovely views out to sea and back to the Drawin coast. As we drove around East Point we went past a restaurant nestled in the trees, it was, as we were about to discover, called Pee Wee’s at the Point. As always, if you want to find out more click here
The driver described Pee Wee’s as one of the best places in Darwin to eat, he said the views from the patio in front of the restaurant were some of the best!
Google was out and a table at Pee Wee’s reserved…
We booked a taxi, dressed for dinner and were soon arriving at Pee Wee’s. We approached along a winding footpath and out of the trees a low dark glass sided restaurant building emerged, a sloping patio wrapped around, inviting its guests to the views beyond.
Pee Wee’s had, as our driver told, the most beautiful of views. Our waiter showed us to our table and left us to study a plethora of menus.
Our cocktails of choice were Pimm Me Up Scottie, the other half’s chosen tiple was Captain Cook’s Mojito. We both declared them a hit!
The other half does not, I am sad to say, share my passion for sea food so the Chef’s Sea Platter for 2 to share was not going to grace our table. We did opt for the Chefs tour of the kitchen. This sample sharing board of tuna, oysters, beef skewers and chicken pate, all with various sauces, crackers and a myriad of flavours was consumed without too much hardship.
We then opted for crocodile, scallops and barmundi. Deserts of Australian cheeses and caramel cheesecake were finished off. We could not resist a baileys coffee and that proved to be the perfect end to our relaxing evening at East Point.
We returned to our hotel all the better for seeing the view from East Point. Setting our alarms for an early start we nodded off all packed and ready for The Ghan.
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