Spending time with my sister outside of Darwin at a small town called Batchelor.  The time has been a welcome respite from driving all day. Chris has been the best hostess and her dogs, Bruce and Poppie have made us welcome by knocking down my door on the first morning, rushing in to greet me and hustle me into the day.The familiar sounds of the tropics, the barking lizards, the smell of frangipani, the thick heat and the coll of the dark house shaded with vegetation right up to every door and window. The slow and relaxed outdoor living on verandahs under fans slowly moving the air. Darwin, on the other hand is a big town. Surrounded on many sides by sea, which lies like a turquoise scarf along her neck.

Darwin sunrise from the wharf.
Everywhere , the streets are marked out by the tall straight palms which grow everywhere. The warm, tropical smell, languid tourists and the bustle of the locals at work in air conditioned bubbles make Darwin a crazy mixture of languor tempered by a young city striving to assert itself.