Civilized Darwin

From the Darwin Military Museum,
like most of the pics in this post

A big reason we went cruising was to see places different from the U.S. So I almost feel guilty writing this. But after spending so long in  areas where many people live in grass-covered huts and your choices in stores (when you can find one) are limited, it has been a nice break to spend some time in what we think of as civilization.

Indonesia to Australia

It's a bit rainy in Darwin this time of year.

We left Saumlaki on a wind forecast that was higher than we would have liked (first 12 hours was still up to 25 knots and the apparent wind would be creeping just forward of the beam).  However,  the trend was that the wind was moderating and, more importantly, there was an almost zero chance of a major low forming and turning into a named storm in the next few days. So it was time to put on the big girl panties and get to Australia.