Lap of Oz: Day 51 Darwin

Day 51

Today we went into Darwin itself. We had a little drive around the port, 

before eventually finding a car park near the Darwin Waterfront Precinct. 

(Below is the floor number we parked on. We took a photo, so we wouldn’t forget where we parked the car.)

First we went to the WWII Oil Storage Tunnels. Built during World War II, these tunnels were opened to the public in 1992 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the bombing of Darwin. Only tunnels 5 and 6 are open for the public to see. There are a couple of other tunnels, that are not open to the public but as the tunnels are numbered in order, it can be quite confusing.

It was amazing to think that these tunnels were supposed to hold oil during the war. They were huge, so it would take a massive amount of oil to fill them.

Being a Sunday, everyone was out and about, relaxing at the free saltwater Recreation Lagoon or in the Wave Lagoon. We spent some time here before heading off to spend the afternoon at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. This was a free Museum and Art Gallery and was full of amazing things that our boys loved!!

There were lots of fossils and animals,

and a whole section on Cyclone Tracy.

In this dark room, you could listen to the sounds of Cyclone Tracy and it hit many years ago.

A section all about Betty Joan, 

and the saltwater crocodile, “Sweetheart”.

There was also a kids area where they could touch some creatures, build a tower or draw a picture.

After spending most of the afternoon at the museum, we headed for a quick swim at the Palmerston Water Park before heading home.

I had to take a photo of this 500ml coca-cola can when I saw it. Have you seen a can this big before?