Day 58 20/05/2011 Darwin sightseeing.

Day 58 20/05/2011 Darwin sightseeing.

At last I had managed to make and keep an appointment at the beauticians!! 9 weeks on the road without a wax was just well, to long!!  With self-care completed the children and I headed off to the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery.

I really enjoy taking the kids to museum’s and art galleries because it is not something that we can do regularly at home and it is great to watch them buzz from one exhibit to another, they tend to stick together and try to outdo each other on with their newly learnt information. We started with the Museum and the kids had a great time looking at the bones and recreations of pre historic animals and wondering how they could outrun giant birds.  There were stuffed birds and fish and many other displays.



Fishes of the sea.



Then we moved onto the Art Gallery, this I have to admit wasn’t as engaging for them. The main exhibition was “Portraits of the 1900’s” and included some beautiful works from Tom Roberts and Sydney Nolan.  After looking at many portraits Callum walked back to me and stated “Mum I thought I was a good drawer but these people are really good!!” he seemed surprised!! Then standing in front of the Sidney Nolan portrait of Ned Kelly Callum exclaimed “See Mum this Sidney guy he even drew Ned Kelly, how good is that!!”  I had to stifle my giggles…..we were in an art gallery after all.

We spent a lot of time in the Aboriginal Art section and I was simply gobsmacked with the beauty of the art that was on display.  There were primarily bark paintings from the 1920’s to the 1960’s and they were amazing and captivating.  They also had on display painted didgeridoo’s and other ceremonial pieces.  I think it was this section that the kids enjoyed the most.  We have seen some beautiful Aboriginal Art during our travels and I certainly have gained a new appreciation for it. The talent that existed in a culture that was frequently described as “uncivilised” by early Australian settlers is humbling.

The completed jigsaw puzzle in the backgound

The kids found the children’s hands on section and had a great time looking at insects under microscope, drawing pictures and playing with bones.  The even had a giant jigsaw that the three of them worked together to complete!! Almost without fighting…

We then headed to the Darwin Waterfront Precinct for a quick look at the harbour and potential fishing spots.  We had planned a swim in the lagoon but as we had spent so much time at the Museum and Art Gallery that we ran out of time so we headed back to the caravan for dinner and a swim in the pool.

Peter spent the day trying to work out how to get our battery in the caravan to charge when we are connected to 240v?? it was all very technical and involved an auto electrician so we happily left him to it.  I think he enjoyed a peaceful afternoon.