Fun Times at Mindil Beach Market - Darwin, Australia

Mindil Beach, deserted at 5pm

All the brochures said this was a "must do" while in Darwin so I was off to see what all the fuss was about. The market is held, as its name suggests, on Mindil Beach, twice a week during the dry season - May to October. As luck would have it I was in Darwin on a Thursday, one of the market nights.

Arriving about 5pm I wandered up to look at the beach before venturing into the market.  It is a beautiful beach but was completely deserted.  You can't swim there because salt water crocodiles lurk unseen in the sea just waiting their chance and lethal box jelly fish are also present during the dry season.  The market stretches out  behind the sand dunes along the beach. There are around 140 stalls selling jewellery, clothing, arts and crafts, many with a Northern Territory flavour such as crocodile skin products and didgeridoos.  Some stalls promote tourism activities and they make for great entertainment.  It was fun to watch a champion whip cracker and to stroke a baby

Baby crocodile, note the black tape on its jaws

crocodile, thankfully its jaws were firmly taped shut.  I enjoyed strolling the stalls but as it neared dinner time started to feel a bit peckish.  Well talk about being spoilt for choice!  There are about 60 food stalls selling street food from many different countries including Thai, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Turkish, Indonesian, French, Japanese and many others.  The food on every stall looked delicious and I wandered up and down trying to make a decision.  In the end hunger got the better of me so I settled on an enormous okonomyaki from the Japanese stall and a  tropical smoothie, crammed with every tropical fruit you can think of, from the fruit juice stall.  I was well satisfied with my choice but would have so loved to try others.

An hour later the beach fills up with sunset viewers

The thing to do at Mindil Beach is to watch the amazing sunsets.  The sun drops right down into the sea opposite the beach, so, after eating my dinner, I walked up to the top of the sand dune and sat waiting.  Bit by bit the previously deserted beach filled with spectators to the point that it was packed with thousands all waiting for nature's spectacle.  It was an amazing transformation.  I enjoyed the relaxed banter with people around me and, yes, the sunset was glorious.

emdee performing at the market

Back at the market I was captivated by a couple of buskers. emdee consists of a

didgeridoo player and a drummer who have a very modern take on the traditional Aboriginal instruments.  They have played their unique music at the market for around 17 years and are tremendous crowd pleasers.   I  studied ethnic music at university, and have always loved it, so I was entranced and watched them for a long time as darkness slowly descended and the lights came on throughout the market.  Some local Aborigines danced to the music adding even more colour to a great performance.
 You can watch emdee perform here:  https://youtu.be/bn8-6PJVYk8

 I agree that Mindil Beach Market is a "must see".  The atmosphere is happy and relaxed, everyone is friendly, the food is superb...it's a heap of fun!

Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia - a sparkling, modern, tropical city

Fishing harbour

Until you visit a place your impression of it is naturally based on what you have seen
in the media or from conversations with people who have visited before you.  Since I have never really spoken to anyone about their trip to Darwin my mental image of the city was of the news items from the time when the catastrophic Cyclone Tracey hit the city on Christmas Day 1974.  Although that is a full 40 years ago those terrifying images were seared firmly into my brain, so, despite researching the city a bit before visiting, I was still expecting to find a small, dusty, outback town with old fashioned houses and little infrastructure.  How wrong could I be?

Cullen Bay

 Darwin is a lovely tropical city, modern, fresh, clean and sparkling in the sun shine.  For my few days there I stayed at Hotel Mantra on the Esplanade with a sea view from my room and a large, verdant park/reserve right opposite. The reserve was the perfect place to stroll among the huge, fragrant, frangipani trees early in the morning or to watch the sunset filtering through the palms at the end of the day. Mitchell St, the main street, and a stop for the Hop on Hop off bus, is through a short arcade behind the hotel. The bus costs $35 for a day pass and, with an excellent commentary, is good value.  I took the bus early one day visiting the Museum/Art Gallery which is some distance from the town centre. I particularly enjoyed the Aboriginal art and the display of unusual South East Asian boats but the most interesting thing to me was the Cyclone Tracey exhibition.  It is a wonder anything survived that maelstrom!  Winds of up to 240kms an hour ripped the city to shreds, destroying 70% of all buildings and killing 71 people.  There is a small darkened booth where you can hear sound recordings of the storm. It is terrifying to say the least but it is thanks to Cyclone Tracey that Darwin is now such an attractive city, it had to be virtually rebuilt.

An attractive colonial style house near my hotel

  With a population of around 140,000, half the total population of the vast Northern Territory State, Darwin is home to the Aboriginal Larrakia language group of people and includes ex-patriots from many countries. It is a city of culture, boasting its own symphony orchestra, holding occasional opera performances and supporting an annual sculpture exhibition. The large ex pat population also ensures plenty of ethnic restaurants to choose from.

The new Anglican Cathedral attached to the
original porch

After a complete circuit of the city on the bus I followed the City Walk map for a closer look at points of interest.  Many of the original old stone buildings, destroyed in the cyclone, have been rebuilt. The Anglican Cathedral is very modern but has retained the original stone entrance.  The attractive Governors Residence is a charming, shuttered, colonial style house which escaped the cyclone.  Parliament building, 
across the road, is large, square and ornate.  The local joke is that it is a wedding cake....white, beautifully decorated and full of fruit
and nuts mixed with alcohol.

The Governors Residence

There is a recently developed marine bay with modern hotels and restaurants and a popular wave pool for swimming, easily accessed by an over road walkway from the city centre.  NB: you cannot swim in the sea due to salt water crocodiles all year and the lethal box jelly fish which frequent the waters October to May.


Later in the day I once again boarded the bus.  The afternoon route includes a trip out to the Military Museum through the wonderfully named Fannie Bay to East Point Reserve.  It is a beautiful trip, past glamorous tropical houses, through the very pretty reserve and past a fresh water lake free of crocodiles and jelly fish, a popular swimming spot. 

The rest of my time in Darwin I spent strolling, swimming in the hotel pool, it was a hot 34 degrees, and relaxing.  One evening I went to Mindil Beach Market, fantastic fun which I will write about next time.

So, I am pleased to say that my old mental image of Darwin as a dusty, run down, outback town has disappeared and been replaced with the reality...a modern, sparkling, go ahead, tropical town, one I liked very much indeed.

Some of my favourite travel quotes

Village in Namibia

I blame, or I should say, I thank, my parents for my life long travel bug.  When I was 14 years old they took me and three of my brothers, to the United Kingdom to live for six months before setting off on an eight month tour of the UK and Europe.  It was the trip of a lifetime and I will be eternally grateful to them for the experience and the endlessly itchy feet I have had ever since.  I love to travel.  Apart from the joy of discovering new destinations I have a deep and abiding fascination with the different peoples, cultures and cuisines of the world. There is so much to see and so little time!

Portofino, Italy

Today I thought it would be fun to make a list of some of my favourite travel quotes:

"I travel not to go anywhere but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move" Robert Louis Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes

"Not all those who wander are lost" J R R Tolkein, The Fellowship of the Ring

"If you reject the food, ignore the custom, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home" James A Michener

"Travel makes one modest.  You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world"
Gustave Flaubert

"I heard an airplane passing overhead. I wished I was on it" Charles Bukowski

"Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote and I know I shall be happily infected until the end of my life"  Michael Palin

"The world is a book and those who don't travel only read one page" St Augustine

"Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going" Paul Theroux

"The life you have led doesn't need to be the only life you have" Anna Quindlen

"Once a year go somewhere you have never been before" Dalai Lama

....and I am taking the Dalai Lama's advice and heading off on an exciting adventure next week.  I  will have plenty to write about when I get back in a couple of weeks time.  Happy travels everyone! 
(photos on all my blog posts are my own unless stated otherwise)

Miyajima, Japan

Auckland - Coast to Coast Walk - Highly recommended

This Easter was glorious, as it often is in Auckland, and just the right weather for me to fulfil my ambition of walking the 16 kilometre Auckland Coast to Coast trail. With an early start and a small pack on my back holding water and a map I set off from downtown Auckland happily full of the joys of autumn.

The Waitemata Harbour from St Heliers Bay

Auckland's Maori name is Tamaki Makaurau which means the spouse desired by a hundred lovers.  It is an apt name for a city which is built on rich volcanic soil, has sheltered fishing sites, commanding views in all directions and is blessed with two magnificent harbours. At it's narrowest point Auckland, and indeed New Zealand, is less than two kilometres across, from coast to coast.  This was strategically important to the early Maori enabling them to portage their canoes from the Waitemata Harbour and Pacific Ocean on the east coast, to the Manukau Harbour and Tasman Sea on the west.  Today that is not a walkable route due to motorways and industry slicing through the middle of it.

University Clock Tower aka
The Wedding Cake (photo Colin Rose)
 

The official Coast to Coast route now, which is much more interesting anyway, starts at the downtown Ferry Building, on the shore of the Waitemata Harbour and ends on the foreshore of the Manukau Harbour at Onehunga. It winds it's way through varied and beautiful scenery and some pretty suburban streets.  At first I was clicking my camera furiously at everything I saw but after a while decided there was just too much worthy of photography and if I didn't keep walking I'd never get to the end. Most of the route was very familiar to me however I did travel streets I had never seen before, even after a lifetime in this city.

Spain meets Auckland at Auckland Grammar School

There is so much to see and enjoy from the flamboyant clock tower at Auckland University,  opposite the Victorian
gardens of Albert Park and grand old merchant houses, to the vast expanse of central city parkland and duck ponds of the Auckland Domain. Then there is the  Spanish deco architecture of Auckland Grammar school and the stately, opulent homes in Epsom. 

View of downtown Auckland and the Waitemata Harbour
from Mt Eden (Maungawhau)

For fit walkers it is worth climbing Mt Eden. At 196 metres it is Auckland's largest volcano, and one of the 5 extinct volcanoes along the walk.  The views from the top are stunning and a must for tourists to the city.

Monument and Ancient terraces
on One Tree Hill

A few kilometres on and you come to Cornwall Park and One Tree Hill Domain, a working farm.  Gifted to the city in 1901 by the successful Scottish businessman and mayor of Auckland, Sir John Logan Campbell,  the 220 hectares are a magnificent slice of pastoral beauty slap bang in the heart of the city. This is where city children can see sheep and lambs grazing and picnic amongst them.  It is, nevertheless a fully functioning farm. Sir John's early home, Acacia Lodge is within the park.  Built in 1841 it is Auckland's oldest wooden house. Climb to the top of the hill, through the farmland, to get another breath taking 360 degree view of Auckland.  A tall obelisk monument stands at the top alongside Sir John's grave.  As
per his wishes the monument is not to honour him but to honour the Maori people who lived in tiny settlements on the slopes of the hill in pre European times. The 170 terraces covering the hillsides are the only remaining evidence of their gardens.

Whew!  After all this exercise it was time for refreshments.  Frolic Café in Manukau Rd at the gate to Cornwall Park is a great little café and that is where I stopped for a welcome cup of coffee and some lunch before making the final push towards Onehunga and the Manukau Harbour. Funnily enough I especially enjoyed the next part of the walk, not because it is particularly scenic but because the suburban streets of Royal Oak were unfamiliar territory to me. I knew I was getting close to the end of the walk when I came to Jellicoe Park in Onehunga, a pretty little reserve housing some historic buildings and a blockhouse built in 1860 to protect the residents of Onehunga from

supposed attacks by Maori. 

The Manukau Harbour foreshore, Onehunga



 From there it was a walk down the hill to the recently refurbished foreshore of the Manukau Harbour at Onehunga and a sense of elation and fulfilment before catching a bus back to the central city and then home.
This great walk has been listed as one of the ten best city walks in the world. For any tourist to Auckland who loves walking and has a spare day I highly recommend it.  Maps are available from the downtown Auckland I-Site at 137 Quay St, Princes Wharf,  or online at  www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz  search- Coast to Coast walk. It is safe and easy for anyone who is reasonably fit but make sure you take a sunhat, sunblock also water and a snack, as there are long stretches between shops.

Time to Celebrate! - 25,000 views of this blog!

 Celebration Time!!!


Sometime, during the night while I was sleeping in the land "down under", this blog had it's 25,000th viewing and I am delighted, thrilled, and proud!  A great big thank you to each and everyone of my readers, you make the effort I put in to writing it so worth while.



I enjoy blogging for a number of reasons.  Here are some of them in no particular order:

•   I love to share the places I've been and the things I've done. 

•  Having a blog makes me get out, do things and explore this wonderful world in order to have things to write about. 

•  It is greatly satisfying to present the wonders of New Zealand,  from time to time, to readers all over the world

•  I enjoy writing

•  I also enjoy photography

•  The connection to people in all four corners of the globe is stimulating and exciting

•  I hope that my blog is helpful for fellow travelers and adventurers

Those are the few I can think of right now, there are sure to be others.

A blank page, already to go!

So thank you again and to show my appreciation I have two small gifts of New Zealand speciality chocolate to give away.  One to the first overseas reader to send me their details by email and one to the first New Zealand reader to send me their details by email.

  My email address is: jmdunningham@xtra.co.nz

I love feedback so please feel free to post comments at the end of any posts you read.

 In a few weeks time I am off  on an exciting adventure which I will, of course, blog about. 
 Happy travels everyone! 

Feijoa - Autumn's delicious bounty. Plus some easy recipes

Feijoa harvest

Autumn is my favourite season.  In New Zealand it brings still sunny days, mild temperatures and, in Auckland,  a stunning glass like harbour reflecting a clear azure sky.   It is perfect weather to be out walking, admiring the russet and golden leaves falling from the trees and, above all, for eating feijoas.  I love feijoas so anticipate their season with relish each year.  I gorge on them, make jam, chutney, sauces with them, or simply scoop out their flesh to freeze  ready for lots of warm wintery crumbles to be eaten with ice cream or custard.  Hmmmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Jelly like in the centre and slightly gritty around the edge

The exotic flavoured feijoa, sometimes known as pineapple guava, is a native of South America which thrives in the New Zealand climate.  Few New Zealand children grow up without a feijoa tree in their back yard and a ready supply of free fruit just waiting to be eaten.  Feijoa fruit matures in autumn and is ready to eat when it has fallen from the tree. When ripe it is about the size of an egg with opaque flesh in the middle, which becomes jelly like when ripe, and a slightly gritty outer flesh near the skin.  The most popular way to eat a feijoa is to cut it in half and scoop the flesh out with a spoon. It is perfect on cereal for breakfast and handy and compact in a lunch box, although as far as I'm concerned one feijoa is never enough.

My Roasted Feijoa Chutney and clear, golden, Feijoa Jelly

I have spent the last week in my kitchen cooking up a storm.  I have made feijoa jelly, roasted feijoa chutney and feijoa sauce.  I have also frozen pulped feijoas and, of course eaten heaps along the way.

If, you are lucky enough to have any feijoas here are a couple of very easy recipes:

FEIJOA SAUCE

 

INGREDIENTS

 

500gms feijoa

1/3 cup of sugar

2 tablespoons of water

50 - 75gms crystallised ginger

2 teaspoons cornflour

2 tablespoons of sherry or ginger wine

 

1. Place first 4 ingredients in a microwave proof bowl, cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring well after 3 minutes

2. Mix cornflour with wine and cook another 2 minutes to thicken.  Total cooking time 7 minutes

This is delicious over ice cream and can be frozen for later use.

Feijoa sauce in the jug

 

FEIJOA JELLY

 

1.Scoop out the flesh of a pile of feijoas (no set weight but try and have at least a kilo)

2.Simmer  gently in a pot until very soft . You do not need to add water as they are juicy but make sure you have the heat very low to start with.

3.Pour the pulp into a muslin cloth and hang to drip into a bowl overnight.  Do not be tempted to squeeze the bag at any stage as this will make the jelly cloudy.

4.The next day measure the juice from the bowl into a pot and add one cup of sugar for every one cup of juice.

5.Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached.

6.You can tell if it is at setting point by putting a teaspoon of the jelly onto a saucer and letting it cool.  Then drag your finger through the middle of the jelly. If the surface wrinkles it is ready.

7.Pour it into jars you have sterilised in the oven for half an hour at 120Degrees C

The lids can be sterilised in boiling water. Seal while still hot.

 

Enjoy!!  Now I must go and have my morning treat - feijoas, of course!!

 



 



Namibia - A hike up Dune 45

In 2010 I had the adventure of a lifetime in Africa, visiting South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia.  I recounted this trip in www.myafricanadventure.blogspot.com and have decided to make occasional revisits to it here.



Among the spectacular sand dunes of the Namib desert

The Sossusvlei area of the Namib desert, in Namibia, is famous for its mountainous red sand dunes which stretch as far as the eye can see. With the ever changing play of light and shadows  across their folds and planes they are a photographer's delight.  Dune 45, at 170 metres tall, is not the tallest of the dunes  but is one of the few tourists  are permitted to climb.  Climbing to the top to watch the sunrise over the spectacular landscape is a "must do" activity needing an early, and, uh oh, it's the desert after all, a freezing cold, start.   By 6am we were sitting in our bus, bundled up like Michelin men, raring to go. Then, at what seemed like breakneck speed, we were off on the 40 minute drive  to get to the Dune and climb it before sunrise.  Like a bunch of over excited school kids we cheered and whopped when our driver overtook a couple of tourist buses on the way, encouraging him "Go, Ronney!" ...everyone was making the mad dash, it seemed. It was still eerily dark when, along with around a hundred other people, we started the silent climb.  Sweet, we thought, how hard can it be to climb a dune?  Very hard as it turns out! Every step sank deeply into the soft fine sand which soon filled my boots and I felt increasingly like a fat, unfit, life long smoker as I huffed and puffed my way up the steep ridge.  Note: Some people recommend climbing the dune in socks



Our group hiking in the Namib amongst the sand mountains

Boy was I grateful when someone up ahead stopped every so often for a breather giving us all a chance to catch our breath, rather nonchalantly,  of course, pretending that we could carry on if that person up front didn't keep stopping!  Finally we got there and sat with our legs dangling over the sharp ridge waiting for the sun to rise.  I noticed a group ahead of us facing in the wrong direction and called out to them.  It was amusing to watch their mad scramble to turn around without slipping down the slopes.



I did it!  The tiny specs at the top are people.  It's quite a climb!

At last an enormous red sun  appeared slowly from behind the mountain range, unfortunately rather muted for us due to heavy cloud cover but still spectacular nevertheless.  Then it was time to head down again and after plodding for a while we decided to just go for it and run and slide down the slope. We arrived at the bottom euphoric - proud to have achieved the climb and bubbling with the exhilaration and fun of the descent.




At the bottom Ronney had set out a delicious breakfast for us which we munched on contentedly while watching other people, like so many tiny ants, climb  and descend the dune.  Ronney, our guide, a Namibian born and bred,  had a wonderful knowledge of the wildlife and terrain of Namibia so  I asked him during breakfast how many times he had climbed Dune 45.  He smiled and told me he had never climbed it "Because it looks too hard"!   


A welcome breakfast in Namibia...I'm seated 4th from right