Water, Water everywhere
Well, not really. This years wet hasn't been anything like as wet as last years wet. We did have a bit of cyclone scare in late December 98. Cyclone Thelma, a category five (big, big, bugger), missed Darwin by a hundred kilometres or so. Very close.
Politics
Not only have we a new Chief Minister, in the form of Denis Burke, but we've also scored a new Leader of the Opposition in Claire ("I'd like an Iced Coffee") Martin. Looks like more of the same.
Boom Town
Darwin is still growing at a hell of a speed. New unit developments are popping up everywhere. you wouldn't recognise the place anymore. Apparently we're gonna get a road tunnel into Cavenagh Street - whoa, this is big time.
Darwin Ambon Yacht Race
Very sadly for me and many, many others, the Darwin - Ambon (Indonesia) Yacht Race has been cancelled for this year. Ambon is experiencing pretty terrible religious fighting at the moment with hundreds dead and maimed. It's very sad really. Ambon was such a peaceful place and the people were very friendly. It's hard to imagine that this is all taking place only six hundreds miles away.
Statehood
What Statehood. Due to the arrogance of our former Chief Minister (and maybe one reason why he recently resigned), territorians voted overwhelmingly against statehood. The debate goes on.
Token Crocodile Story
As a community service, this site will now supply the official Crocodile Recovery figures for Darwin Harbour.
Darwin Harbour has a nomadic population of Saltwater Crocodiles which appear in inconvenient places every now and then, causing both locals and tourists some consternation (and a change in underwear). To combat these urban croc's, the Park's and Wildlife Authority organise regular patrols of Darwin Harbour to capture any croc's they discover.
As well as regular patrols, several crocodile traps are located in strategic places around the harbour. A crocodile trap resembles an overgrown rat trap with a rotting hunk of flesh hanging in place of cheese. Croc's enter the trap, pull on the bait which causes the door to drop closed thus effectively trapping the croc without causing it anything more than a slight anxiety attack and a sudden loss of appetite. Getting the croc from the trap into a small aluminium dinghy is where the fun really begins.
Last year, 1998, 101 crocodiles were caught in Darwin harbour - that's a lot of handbags floating around. The good news is that as the patrols are both professional and efficient, most croc's are caught. Captured crocodiles are sent to a crocodile farm where they see their days out as stud croc's / egg producers / tourist attractions.
