Today we took #4 bus to Parap and enjoyed a wonderful selection of Asian food, washed down with home-made ginger beer, at the weekly market there. When enjoying our delicious lunch, we met a couple from Calgary, (husband is originally from US), as we were all sitting in the shade at picnic tables under the trees at one corner of the market. They very kindly offered to drive us to the Museum and Art Gallery of the NT, after everyone was ready to leave the market, around 1:00pm.
Wonderful collection of Aboriginal art as well as a very moving, permanent collection dedicated to Cyclone Tracy and its devastation of Darwin from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day,1974:
Tracy killed 71 people, caused $837 million in damage, (1974 AUD), and destroyed more than 70 percent of Darwin's buildings, including 80 percent of houses.Tracy left more than 41,000 out of the 47,000 inhabitants of the city homeless prior to landfall and required the evacuation of over 30,000 people. Most of Darwin's population was evacuated to Adelaide, Whyalla. Alice Springs, and Sydney, and many never returned to the city. After the storm passed, the city was rebuilt using more modern materials and updated building techniques.
Went to the Deck Chair Cinema that evening. Gates open at 6:30pm so we packed a picnic lunch, (Coles' bbq'd chook, sliced tomatoes, carrot sticks, gluten-free crackers and Tassie Camembert, washed down with a Clean Skin Marlborough SB, (hidden inside a Gatorade bottle!), and headed for the venue, enjoying the sights and scenery along the way. Situated just below the Parliament, Off the Esplanade, we walked down a long set of stairs to wait in line for about ten minutes, chatting with couple in front of us. Next thing we knew, the others ahead of us were walking away, grumbling. The sound system had packed it in and film was caneceled!
Mightily disappointed as we were looking forward to The Women on the 6th Floor, France, 2011, we decided to have our picnic on the grounds anyway. Did just that and found a lovely spot with a view of the harbour. Had started in on our delicious chook when a woman and her daughter asked if they could sit at our table, many of the others being already taken. Pleased as punch to meet some locals we agreed on a $5 charge. They offered to sing and dance instead and so I said that the charge would now be $7! Once they'd seated themselves we started to chat and one thing lead to another and we recounted the Tont Tom-Tom Fiasco. In the course of so doing, I mentioned that I had talked to the neighbours beside #6 Real Street who had confirmed that neither Greg Carpenter nor Claire Runciman had ever lived next door. At this point the woman asked me if I had, in fact, said "Claire Runciman" and when I confirmed that this was so she declared that she worked with Claire!
Woman in question is Jenne Roberts and she was along with Saveeta, her daughter. Funny thing is that we probablt would never have met them if the film had been shown. Furthermore, Jenne wanted to leave when they discovered the showing had been cancelled but Saveeta persuaded her to stay as she had never been before. They had atteneded a Moslem Food Fair just before coming to the Deckchair Cinema but most of the food there was gone by the time they arrived so Jenne decided to eat at the Cinema. A highly regarded local restaurant, Hanuman's, I believe, provides dinner at very reasonable prices.
Delighted by the chance encounter/meeting, we continued to visit and when it was time to go they very kindly offered us a lift back to the hotel, stopping en route to show us the nearbye working wharf wwhich boasts a number of family, food court style restaurants. Place was filled with people sitting at tables all along much of the wharf, enjoying the harbour lights and the breeze. Relative humidity was only about 80% acoording to Jenne, so hardly woth worrying about! Who needs to go to a spa when all you have to do is walk outside to enjoy a free sauna! Not much exaggeration either!!! Back to hotel and many thanks.
Last night we walked down to the Deckchair Cinema, again, with another picnic dinner, to watch a delightful, moving film, Africa United, about a group of five youngsters who make their way from Rwanda to Johannesburg for the 2010 World Cup. More of a fairy tale, (cartoon graphics illustrate stories Dudu, main character, tells en route), but with important messages regarding safe sex, (Dudu makes a soccer ball out of a condom, plastic shopping bag and string), HIV, child soldiers, prostitution and the importance of education. Gorgeous scenery and charming characters. Lots of hilarity but enough very nasty bits to bring home the terrible situations people, children in particular, face across this incredible continent.
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