March 22 – Darwin, Austrailia

Where in the World Are We?

We are in Darwin, Australia

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA
A New-Found paradise for salties

Australia’s capital of the north is a uniquely tropical city and a historically isolated outpost of this vast and
diverse country. Reaching up toward the equator, a full 2,000 miles from Sydney and Melbourne, the city
was named in honour of Charles Darwin by the British settlers who established a frontier outpost here.
With a unique history, beautiful islands nearby, and a palette of sizzling Pacific flavours, colourful Darwin is
an enchanting and exotic Australian destination.

Crocodiles patrol the jungled waterways and tropical rainforests around Australia’s gateway to the Top
End. Explore via airboat to look down on the veined waterways of the mist‑laced Kakadu National Park.
The sounds of chattering birdlife and the gentle splash of fountains and waterfalls fill the air in the George
Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens. Soak it all in before kicking back and relaxing with a picnic and a crackling
barbecue.

The sunshine and famous tropical pink sunsets draw many visitors naturally to the city’s soft sands,
especially at pretty Mindil Beach as evening approaches. The adjoining market, filled with souvenirs and
craft stalls, is the perfect place to enjoy fiery Asian flavours. Stroll the stalls, sample the food, and crack
open an ice‑frosted beer as the sunset show begins.

Although remote, Darwin found itself on the front line during the Pacific War, when the Japanese air force
bombed the city in 1942. This relaxed, unassuming city has a deeply resilient backbone, however. You can
explore the museums to learn more about the war’s impact on Darwin, as well as the devastating effects of
one of Australia’s worst natural disasters, Cyclone Tracy in 1973.

We arrived at 7:30 am and departed at early 11:30 am instead of 8 pm to avoid Cyclone Narelle headed toward Darwin. The already-massive severe weather warning has been expanded to “include the Darwin area and pretty much all of the Top End”. “The warning is for the risk of damaging winds and heavy, locally intense rainfall which may lead to river rises and flash flooding.

As a result we went into Darwin for a one hour visit in the central business district.

2:00 Enrichment Lecture with Mike Spence: “Computer Forensics. CSI Separating Fact from Fiction”.
As an independent Computer Forensics specialist, Mike will demonstrate the answer with both serious and humorous examples from his caseload of over 700 investigations and 300+ court appearances as an Expert Witness.

3:00 Enrichment Lecture with Prof. Samuel Edelman: “The Story of the Arab and Ottoman Empire Building”.
The impact of 1400 years of Arab and Ottoman colonialism continues to impact from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Dinner was in The Atlantide restaurant.