The title of this should be an utter shocker. We all know I rarely shop at home much less ‘on the road’ or should I say ‘on the ocean’. I usually buy souvenirs at art museums in order to support the museum plus I’m already there.
However, Darwin, Australia is the most northern point in Australia and is the disaster capital of Australia. At one point Cyclone Tracey nearly wiped Darwin off the coast about 50 years ago. They also have tornadoes, flooding, tsunamis and fires.,
If that isn’t bad enough, the climate is beastly. Think Houston, Texas which I’ve always contended is the worst climate in the United States. It’s also relatively isolated from the rest of Australia - not like the deep interior, but it is a long, long way from any other place.
On the plus side, they pay handsomely for any skilled worker. A policeman in Darwin has 7 weeks vacation a year the day he signs a contract. There is subsidized housing, and a vehicle for his private use. Other professions have equally generous packages.
Darwin is also closest to aboriginal communities, and because Darwin is on the cruise ship route, the art galleries and souvenir shops partner with aboriginal artists to sell their artwork. I was thrilled because in an earlier blog I stated I was so enthralled with aboriginal art. Thus, the majority of my purchases involved aboriginal art.
I got an original painting as well as an original piece of jewelry with aboriginal themes. Of course, I bought notecards and stationery (with platypus’ designs). I got two t-shirts with Australian themes, and two pairs of sox. Drake even got a shirt, and claimed one pair of the sox.
Three hours of shopping, and we headed back to the ship. I just couldn’t find anything close enough to see. There’s a National Park, but it was too far to go since the ship left at 5:30pm. We’ve learned that Holland America will wait for their own shore excursion groups, but not for anyone else’s.
This is goodbye to Australia. It’s been like trying to see the United States in ten days. It’s just not possible. I’ve said this trip is about getting the icing on the cake without ever really seeing the cake. Well, Australia has been about smelling the icing! I would hope to return, but that 20 hour flight is a big deterrent. On to Komodo Island.
I managed to get a link of Darwin photos, but they aren’t much.
1 comment:
Jan, I will be in Darwin on Saturday. I already knew that the national park, etc are too east Texas for me. But I have studied the Aborigine culture so your note says I will finish out my jewelry shopping. Jenyne
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