Australia’s Top End Delivers Humid Charm All Its Own
Days 49-52, 2025 Grand World Voyage
Saturday to Tuesday, Feb. 22-25, 2025; Darwin, Australia; Komodo Island, Indonesia; and At Sea.
Once again, an early forecast of rain proved to be wrong, and we enjoyed a mostly sunny day in Darwin. A few clouds might have brought some relief from the heat. It’s summer and wet season, and we are sailing north toward the equator. You can count on hot and humid.
Darwin was our first Australian stop on the 2017 and 2018 Grand Asia voyages, as we circled the Pacific counterclockwise (or anticlockwise as they say in Australia). In 2017 I observed, “While Asia felt exotic, Australia feels adventurous.”
On Saturday, we docked at sunrise, and even from the pier it is obvious that Darwin is a modern city, having rebuilt after losing much of its infrastructure during Japanese bombing in World War II and in Cyclone Tracy in 1974. That Christmas Eve cyclone destroyed more than 70 percent of the city’s buildings.
Murals and art abound, from the cruise terminal to enclosures around traffic signal control boxes.
In my 2018 blog post, I wrote, “Some ports I visited last year [2017] were hazy in my memory until I stepped ashore. Others didn’t even look familiar the second time. I remembered Darwin down to the smallest details.”
Even after a nearly seven-year gap, the same is true again. I followed pretty much the same route as previously: the shuttle to the visitor center in town, a walk down the pedestrian mall with its shops and cafes, a visit to the Coles grocery store and a return past the waterfront. Again, I bought a few items at a shop specializing in items with Aboriginal designs that compensates the artists.
It’s always good to find aircon, and I was pleasantly surprised to still see the display of painted kangaroos in the air conditioned lobby of an office building. They are part of a 2015 Hop for Hope campaign to keep children safe from violence.
Perhaps it is because I’m nearly seven years older, but today I was less adventurous than in past visits. When I’m back next year, I should make it a point to expand my horizons, perhaps going on tours to the Territory Wildlife Park or to see the jumping crocodiles. I should know by now that the heat and humidity will sap any energy to explore further afield on my own.
On Saturday I read sad news online that Joska had crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Joska was a service dog who became famous on social media and in publications including People magazine (great article and photos). She reached Holland America status as a 5-star Mariner and earned a 700-night Platinum medallion, eventually cruising 902 nights.
Thousands of us feel we got to know her online. I finally had the privilege of cruising with and meeting Joska in Alaska last year. She had her own postcard and loved sleeping in the Crow’s Nest in the sun. She will be missed.
