POTTED FROG

Best served alfresco*. Adapts to a variety of different pot types.
*Serving suggestion only

MAGNETISM


While termite mounds are a pretty common sight across the Territory, there are only a few spots where you can see the more unusual magnetic termite mounds. These occur only in open treeless plains and are aligned on a north-south axis to minimise their exposure to the harsh Australian sun. I've seen a few on private properties around Fogg Dam but the best place to get a viewing of these architectural marvels is in the very popular Litchfield National Park (about 100km south of Darwin, a popular recreational spot for locals and tourists alike).

CEDAR MANGROVE

A somewhat unremarkable tree that can be found in estuarine regions of northern Australia.
I was quite taken by the fact that the flowers smell like a mixture of red wine and ciabatta bread.

Honest.

MARKET STAR

Star apples, also known as cainito or milk fruit, belong to a special food group that I like to simply refer to as Vitamin Purple.

Being something of a novice consumer of this tropical delicacy, I can confirm that eating the flesh too close to the rind will result in close encounters of the sticky latex variety. So unless you're the type that enjoys a dose of PVA-like gloop with your fruit then take care. As the skin is also inedible, to serve they should be sliced open and the halves scooped out.

Only very subtly scented, this refreshingly sweet treat from the West Indies tastes very similar to a lychee, though its texture is more akin to a very ripe apricot. Available from now until November, they keep quite well out of the fridge (a welcome asset in the tropics!) If you get hold of some while they're still a little green, they can keep over a week at room temperature (yes, for the tropics this is a long time). Ready to eat once they're soft and dark purple.


SPOTLIGHT ON SPECIES - THE APOSTLEBIRD

One of the great things about camping in the Australian bush is the general tendency for local wildlife to crash join your party. Well, I think that's what often happens...maybe it's just me. While this 'hi, what you doing?' habit is less welcome if it's say, something that can kill you (and as every enlightened tourist knows, Everything in Australia Can Kill You), sometimes your nature bonding companions are nothing more than a charming mob of very precocious birds wearing prepare-to-die expressions.

RAPID CREEK MARKETS

Rapid Creek markets are Darwin's only undercover setup, and specialise in a cornucopic variety of fresh produce and prepared food. While all of Darwin's markets have a number of takeaway food stalls, Rapid Creek mostly focuses on fruit and vegetable produce, trinkets are pretty thin on the ground here.

DAYBREAK AT THE MARINA


Early morning at the Cullen Bay marina. Before the coffee rush.

TURKISH DELIGHT



One of nature's main signposts that heralds the onset of cool clear dry season days is the abundant and vivid florescence of Calytrix shrubs, colloquially referred to as Turkey Bush (after the bird, versus the country - despite the somewhat misleading title of this post). There are several Calytrix species across the Top End, with the larger, pink-hued flowers of Calytrix extipulata (pictured above) being the most visible. Common along roadsides in the less horticulturally manicured areas in and around Darwin, their scraggly overall appearance belies an exquisitely delicate spray of feathery blooms.

MINDIL BEACH MARKETS

Historically, markets have always been something that Darwin does pretty well. Of the 4 main markets held every week during the dry season (Mindil Beach, Parap, Rapid Creek and Nightcliff) the Mindil Beach markets are far and away the most popular with visitors. Although they rate highly on every Darwin tourism publication out there, and despite the fact that as a local I tend to only visit them about 2 or 3 times a season, they definitely still bear mentioning as a must-do for any visitor to the city.

(SP)ICED TEA WITH A CITRUS TWIST

Darwin's year-round temperature profile is essentially varying degrees of 'warm', so I'm always on the lookout for healthy refreshing drinks that I can consume by the jugful without paying a consequent small fortune in dental bills in a few years to come.

This is a recipe I stumbled across many years ago. It's an iced tea drink with a twist -  halfway between a chai and orangina. Perfect for hot weather days, this recipe also puts some of those pot pourri spices mouldering on the spice rack to good use.

A LIFE IN BOXES

miracle makeshift box!




















They've arrived! Quite a lot later than originally quoted and with a whole bunch of port handling fees that I wasn't warned about, but they arrived! Even the sad, desperate makeshift box made it intact (but only barely).
Considering the fledgling state of renovations in my downstairs studio however, I suspect it will take a fair bit of time before it can be unpacked as much of it doesn't yet have a place to live.

But my stuff has arrived, untouched and intact. Aside from the final hurdle of getting myself into full time employment asap, I can finally start to relax.

POSTCARDS FROM THE BEACH


THE BOAT SHED


Good food, good coffee, great coffee art. I'll be revisiting the best in what Darwin coffee has to offer over time but for now The Boat Shed in the uber trendy Florida style marina of Cullen Bay (which, despite all apocalyptic geoengineery claims to the contrary, doesn't appear to have sunk yet after all) rates a mention simply for these barista masterpieces...

THE GIFT OF THRIFT


Op-shops, charity shops, thrift shops, secondhand shops...a vintage rose by any other name takes some sniffing out. My love for the op-shop treasure hunt probably started back when I was a poor uni student a couple of...*cough*...a while ago.

THE FRANGIPANI FACTOR


To my mind the heaven-scent frangipani is the unrivalled champion of the typically tropical flower. Its clean, simple structure and subdued colour palette outcompete even the most showy of tropical blooms while its fresh and delicate fragrance is reminscent of a soapy lemon perfume. Clearly a firm favourite with Darwin's local council also, almost every suburban street is festooned with blossoming frangipani trees running alongside the footpath.

NEW BEGINNINGS


Ah blogs, I've known a few..but then again....
To start somewhere around the middle and work outwards from there; after a long stint over on the opposite hemisphere, I'm back in Australia with a head full of ideas, a series of abandoned blogs (parts of which I will eventually integrate with this blog), a suitcase full of inappropriately warm clothing, my long suffering dog (who I keep dragging around with me to new countries) and a new eye for my old hometown’s charms. So here I am again, back sitting out on the sandstone rocks staring out over Australia's northern Timor sea...for now.

Picking up from where I left things, I'll be shifting the focus of my posts to be mostly about local highlights, travel, green living, nature, food and conservation. I'm hoping it'll be a mix of the old and the new - all the things I know and love about this part of the world, as well as an exploration of the things I haven't got around to yet.

D-DAY (PART 2)

So here it is. I've made it back to Australia. After my final two weeks in a little hire car, gradually shedding the last of my possessions at friends' places, saying a lot of goodbyes, and even taking my dog on a tube ride through the heart of London, I finally rocked up to Heathrow airport with 2 suitcases and a crated spaniel. I'll be spending most of the first month squatting in Melbourne and having my heart broken twice a week by visits to the quarantine centre. However, the hound has done remarkably well and is coping admirably (unlike yours truly). I really like Melbourne, though my old home town of Darwin is going to be my base for the next little while, I'm thinking it's likely I'll move down south within a year or two. Melbourne is high on the list of potential destinations...

D-DAY (PART ONE)

The day has come. Not only is this my first proper blog post in years but, after 8 years away from Australia, I'm returning home. I made the decision in December last year, as work had been stagnating for a good 18 months and I felt I had reached the top of a very short career ladder. I spent a lot of the latter half of last year applying for other jobs without much success. With rapidly rising fuel costs, life has steadily become more expensive in the UK over the last couple of years - and my salary hasn't budged in 3 years now -  and while once I had a little spare change at the end of every month to stash away in nest egg fashion, it is reaching the point where I'm having to budget for basic car journeys.