Darwin is a pretty cool place and until I met the Aussie I had never really heard of it or about it. I was thinking about all the things I love about the area and what I will be able to show friends and family who visit me so here are the 10 things I love about Darwin/Australia:-
1) Being with the Aussie – having a long distance relationship is tough but we hoped that we would manage to end up living together in one country or the other. My discovery of the working holiday visa meant we could give it a try in Australia which resulted in my arrival in August last year. It was strange getting used to living with him to start with in some ways but also very lovely to live in the same country let alone house!
Apparently for him it feels more like 9.5 years than 9.5 months! Must find out if that’s a good thing!?!
2) Visits from family and friends – 38 days, that is all!!!
3) The dry season – I am very excited about the dry season as not only does the weather improve but also all the wet season events like Mindil Beach Markets, the Noonamah Rodeo, Darwin Show, Deckchair Cinema all open amongst others.
4) The Outback – surrounded by beautiful open spaces where the only sound is the wildlife, amazing animals like Kangaroos, Bandicoots, Geckos it is a great place to visit and often cool place to live.
5) The Aussies – not just my Aussie but all of them are so friendly, warm and welcoming. People ask how you are and actually want to know the answer.
6) Year round sunshine – who doesn’t love the sunshine? It really is lovely that it doesn’t get cold or that even when it is rainy and overcast it’s not dark and dreary, its still nice to be out in it and often you still need your sunglasses!
7) Making friends – I love that I have met a lovely group of friends who I can go and have lunch with, go out for drinks or dinner here or just chat nonsense with. It was tough to start with only really knowing the Aussie when I got here and then it took ages to get a job which didn’t help. I began meeting the Aussie’s friends who are very welcoming to me but was looking forward to meeting my own and I did that through my old job here.
8) Getting a bit of confidence doing things on my own – its strange that I moved in with the Aussie and got some confidence to do things on my own as well. I was always fairly independent at home and to be honest I really like getting out and about with my family and friends. Since I arrived in Darwin I’ve joined the local camera club which I always put of in the UK for some reason, I am quite happy to go to places on my own now like the movies or for a walk which I probably wouldn’t have done in the UK as I always tried to get someone to come with me and am quite content to spend a few hours on my own wandering around a museum or go shopping. I also like that I am not wholly reliant on the Aussie for doing things as it means we get that time on our own if we need it but love spending time together.
9) Sunsets and sunrises – my favourite time of day is the sunset as they are always stunning. It is rare not to have a beautiful sunset and I bore my friends and family and instagram followers probably, with a photograph of the same scene with just a different sunset! The sunrises are also lovely but usually we are driving to work so I don’t get to enjoy those so much. One day I will try and drag myself out of bed to go take some sunrise pictures, one day!
10) The seaside – when me and the Aussie were at Nightcliff Foreshore on Thursday I was singing the song “I do love to be beside the seaside”, badly of course and it’s so true I love being there with the sea, sand and sunshine. A good sea breeze makes it perfect. I also love that the sea means going sailing as I have discovered I quite enjoy that and am looking forward to the Aussie fixing his boat up so we can get out on the ocean waves and all that.