Darwin, Australia 11/18/2025

The original plan had the ship docked at Darwin for two nights.  Before we even got off the ship, the captain announced that a cyclone was developing in the Arafur Sea and the ship would leave port as soon as all passengers were back from this day's excursions.  

My sister and I both did the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory excursion. 

The Venus docked at the Fort Hill Wharf.

Viking staff seemed the most disorganized at this stop.  Those at the cruise terminal didn't seem to be able to tell people if their bus was ready to board or not.  Granted the buses parked out of line of sight but they had two-way radios.  After waiting a while, I finally walked toward the buses and asked someone closer.  My bus was ready for passengers. 

This is an entrance to the oil storage tunnels dug into the cliffs during WWII to protect Darwin's oil supply from Japanese bombing. By the time the tunnels were completed the risk from bombing was over and the tunnels never stored oil.  There's actually a museum in two of the tunnels now. 

Yep, not in the US.

During World War II, Darwin served as a significant military base for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).  There is still a RAAF base in Darwin.  

Barefoot Bowls.  They play lawn bowls in bare feet.  Lawn bowling is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty").  

So our stop for the day was the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.  Nice combination and introduction to the area.  Like any museum, you could spend days reading all the stuff.  I take photos of a lot then read it at my leisure. 

First we went up a ramp lined with animal displays. 

Each specimen had a number by it which you matched up with a list along the side of the display.  

If you click on the photo, it will enlarge for better viewing.

Huh, I wonder if they were fined for stealing signs.

My sister took some of the photos of the art objects but not of the signage so I can't tell you anything about this one. 

Back of art piece

Front of art piece. Hard to get a photo of this one since it hangs in the middle of the gallery. 

Due to the number of people and the way the displays were designed, it was hard to get any good photos in this animal section of the museum. 

A few of the 5,000 species of ants in Australia. 

Double click on photo to enlarge for reading.

From the museum we were shuttled back to the ship.  My sister and I decided to walk into town. 

The Australian white ibis is a distinctive wading bird known for its adaptability to urban environments.  This one seems rather small.  They are 26 to 30 inches tall and weigh between 3 to 5.5 lbs. This bird is known for its habit of rummaging through garbage and has been embraced by the public as a symbol of survival and urban mischief.  They are often referred to as "Bin chickens".

The building was constructed from local materials in 1883 and housed many different institutions before being demolished by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. 

At the city center, we saw this plaque about Darwin being bombed during WWII.

Darwin has been rebuilt 4 times due to cyclones and war.

We found a mob of kangaroos in one building. 

My sister and I grew up in a family that had several VW buses through the years.  She looks for VW bus T-shirts during our trips.  She did find one in this shop. 

As we walked back to the ship, we noticed this water park.  Looks like a lot of fun for the kids.