2009 June « Lost and Found

To Do List

It is exactly one week today until I return to Sydney. It’s funny, I have been here for months but there are still a few things I want to do. I have been keeping a mental list of things to do before I leave. I managed to tick two off last night. I went to see Max and Mary at Darwin’s outdoor cinema, The Deckchair Cinema, and then had mud crab for dinner afterwards. There is a real art to eating it, but the colleagues I was out with were experts. Not I know what the nut-cracker thing is for!

I still want to get back to Mindil Beach Sunset Markets, plus a visit to my favourite restaurant Char. No doubt I will also end up at the super suave Sailing Club for sunset drinks.

My project manager colleague arrives today from Sydney and will return on the same flight as me next Thursday night. It will be good to have some company during my final week, to have someone to go out with.

One thing I am not looking forward to is the Sydney weather. I have been watching it on SMH online and it looks appalling. Very different to the 30 degrees we are getting here every day.

Mr Barra

I am a huge fan of Barramundi and being in Darwin there is no shortage of it. It is caught all year round by hobby fisherman, but the commercial fishing season starts in June/July, and lasts about 5 months.

Whenever I am in a restaurant and I see something a little bit unusual containing Barra, I always buy it just to see what it’s like. Doing so I have discovered some very unusual combinations:

Barramundi Pie (Kakadu National Park)
Barramundi Malaysian Nonya Style (Noodle House Darwin)
Barramundi Springs Rolls (East West Thai Restaurant)
Barramundi Soup (Casuarina Mall)
Barramundi Sushi (Zushi Casuarina Mall)
Salt and Pepper Barramundi (Darwin Sailing Club)

Of course on a number of occasions I have had the obligaroty Barramundi ‘Fish and Chips, but I have to say that the Spring Rolls have been my favourite to date. A really interesting snack.

The Big Issue

June 16, 2009 at 12:18 pm | In Books, Life Observations | Leave a Comment

I mentioned some time ago how much of a fan I am off The Big Issue. A brief reminder, it is a totally independent street press magazine which assists homeless people and the long term unemployed.

It originally started as a very small venture but is now available in almost every capital city (except Darwin unfortunately, and I miss it greatly). This week the magazine celebrates its 13^th anniversary. This article in the Brisbane times has highlighted something to me. I always though I was just providing income for the vendors I purchased from, but it is very much more than that. It provides an opportunity for the less-advantaged in our communities to socialise and communicate with their somewhat better off peers, and helps to build their self confidence.

The magazine itself is also a good read. Being totally independent it is not forced into conformity, and can often share some harrowing and compelling stories that would otherwise not see the light of day.

I strongly urge you not to be one of those who walk past their local vendor. Take the time to have a chat and buy a copy of the magazine. I can assure you that they will really appreciate it and you will be a better person for it.

The Misinformed

June 12, 2009 at 5:39 pm | In Darwin, Darwin Observations, Life Observations | Leave a Comment

Recently I was at drinks with a number of people from the Health industry. This included Nutritionists, Dieticians and other health professionals. A conversation came up about the recent increase in anti-social behaviour and violence along Mitchell Street Darwin, the local nightclub strip. A number of people jumped to the conclusion that it was related to Indigenous Australians.

The truth is that a lot of clubs won’t even allow Indigenous people in. I have been witness to it myself, making up all manner of excuses to not allow sober, well dressed and well mannered Indigenous people in.

There was an article about the Mitchell St situation in the NT News last week. A magistrate was discussing how two out of every three cases she was seeing were related to anti social or violent behaviour, and that three out of four of these involved young white males. We also need to remember that Indigenous people make up only 20% of the Darwin population.

What bothers me is that people automatically assume that this type of behaviour must be related to the Indigenous population. Of course there are some problems with Indigenous people, but obviously not as many as people like to think. I took it upon myself to correct what the health professionals were saying. They turned away to exclude me from their conversation.

Outback Dave

June 9, 2009 at 5:09 pm | In Darwin, Outside Darwin, Travel | Leave a Comment

I now feel like I am officially Australian. It’s hard to believe, but in the more than 30 years I have been alive I had never really been ‘out bush’. That all changed over the long weekend. We flew from Darwin into Kununurra which is about 800kms, 40 minutes flight time. The Bungle Bungles are in Purnululu National Park, 180kms south of Kununurra. We took a 2 hour scenic flight (in a four seat Cessna plane!) to have a look from the air. It is difficult to describe just how beautiful the area is.

We stayed at Emma’s Gorge which is part of the El Questro resort, a working pastoral lease. The accommodation was in walled tents (see photo below) which were ludicrously expensive for what they are. Now I know why there are no photos on their website.

Driving to and from Emma’s Gorge was about 90kms, 50 of which were on unsealed, and very corrugated, roads. Luckily my Fiancée had booked a ‘real’ 4WD for us, none of this toy Rav4 crap. We saw countless Boab Trees, wild cows and horses, and even a water monitor. The icing on the cake was a place called Zebedee Springs. It is a series of natural thermal pools that really look like an Oasis. It was almost like a scene from a movie. A truly memorable experience. I am very glad we made the decision to go.

Back to Darwin

June 5, 2009 at 6:23 pm | In Darwin, Sydney, Travel | Leave a Comment

In an hour or so I’ll be at the airport ready to board my last flight to Darwin. My contract is nearing completion and I will be back in Sydney permanently from Friday 3rd July. It’s hard to believe that eight months have past since I first went up there.

At least the Sydney weather decided to see me off in right fashion. The sun decided to come out for the first time this week which makes a nice change from all the rain we have had. We even managed to get a nice sunset.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts my fiancée is travelling with me to Darwin for the first time. Early tomorrow morning we fly to Kununurra returning to Darwin for dinner on Sunday. I am really looking forward to seeing the Bungle Bungles. Yet another aspect of our beautiful country.

I Thought I’d Seen Everything

June 4, 2009 at 6:40 pm | In Life Observations, Sydney, Sydney Observations | Leave a Comment

Last night my fiancée and I finally got to see Samson and Delilah. It is a remarkable movie, even more so when you learn that neither of the lead actors are professionals and that it was the first movie Warwick Thornton has directed. It gives insight into the problem of petrol sniffing indigenous youths, and the day to day battle they face to overcome their addiction. A must-see in my book, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

When we left the cinema we were walking back to the car along King St, Newtown. I am used to seeing purple hair, pierced faces and studded vests along there, but this took the cake. A couple were walking two goats on leashes down the main road. Not something you see every day, certainly not in Darwin.

Driving in Australia

June 3, 2009 at 4:50 pm | In Darwin, Darwin Observations, Outside Darwin, Travel | 1 Comment

When I was at dinner on Sunday we were discussing various driving distances in Australia. I was explaining to the three others that the distance from Darwin to Alice Springs is almost the same as Melbourne to Brisbane, but my fiancée didn’t believe me. What does one do in these situations? Straight to Google. And here are the stats.

Melbourne to Brisbane: 1,692km
Darwin to Alice Springs: 1,498km
Alice Springs to Adelaide: 1,530km
Darwin to Adelaide: 3,027km
Sydney to Perth: 3,942km (including a stretch of 1,700km on the Eyre Highway)

I got to playing with Google Maps to see how far the greatest driving distance would be across Australia. From the south coast of NSW near the Victorian Border to Port Hedland is about 5,000km via the most direct route, or more than 5,600km via Central Australia. It’s hard to believe that it is all one country. Even more so when I fly from Darwin to Sydney during winter and it drops from a tropical 33 degrees to a wintery 9 degrees, as it did for me last Friday night.

Weekend in Sydney

June 2, 2009 at 2:23 pm | In Life Observations, Sydney | Leave a Comment

As with most weekends down in Sydney I managed to pack quite a few things in. On Sunday my family got together for lunch which was a lot of fun. My two nephews who are now 2 and 6 and seem to have endless energy. We spent some time after lunch running around a park with a soccer ball. It’s been years since I did that and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sunday night my fiancée and I caught up with an old work colleague and her partner for pizza in Waterloo. There isn’t much choice for pizza in Darwin unless you want Dominos (which I don’t even classify as pizza really) so it made for a nice change. Our friends brought along a sensational bottle of Henschke wine which was superb, truly a highlight.

Tomorrow night we are going to see the movie Samson and Delilah. If you haven’t already heard, this movie is being dubbed the best Australian movie of all time. It is based in and around Alice Springs and documents the daily life of a petrol sniffing youth and his girlfriend. Friends who have seen it say it is highly emotional and intense. Definitely looking forward to it.

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