Workshop impressions, all packed and ready to go.

All the maintenance on the bike had been done so packing was the only thing that was left to do. We bought a lot of expensive gear in Australia for which we are trying to get a GST refund. However, this means that we will need to show the gear at the airport and cannot ship it with the bike. In the end, three bags were strapped to the bike while the panniers and our clothes stayed with us.

Flo set out to get the carnet stamped and drop the bike off at the shipping agency. It didn’t take long until Tig and I could pick him up. On the way back, we stopped at a motorcycle shop and I got to buy new summer gloves. Using the leather gloves for winter only makes a very limited amount of sense in this weather so I am really happy with the purchase.

It’s been a while since we have seen “so many” people gather … ahh, NZ

It was Flo’s first afternoon off since we arrived in Darwin. We, quite lazily, had a look at the public transport system for the first time as we wanted to go to the Mindil Beach Sunset Market in the evening. In the end, we hitched a ride with Liz and Borha instead, though.

The market is as cool as advertised, with us just arriving in time for the picture perfect red sun plunging into the sea beyond the namesake Mindil Beach. And what do you know, just after sunset we ran into Frederike and Lars again, who we’d almost expected to be on their way home already.

So we decided to browse the market together. Everyone found something they’d enjoy sooner or later. Nina got the recommended Borneo fusion veggie combo and a chocolate mud cake muffin, I got my croco sandwich and Frederike got an necklace souvenir that she was very happy with.

Like Christmas market at home

After two hours or so, we headed ‘downtown’ to get a beer for the guys. Having a beer together in Darwin had been discussed previously and now was the perfect time to make it happen.

I, unfortunately, was very tired but had fun anyway. Coke got be back on my feet for a while though. It was a fun evening with a bit of interruption of the adjacent 18th birthday party. 🙂 Flo and I then took a taxi home as the buses stopped running before 11pm at night. Frederike and Lars had one more day in Darwin left before flying home. Maybe, just maybe, we might see them again on the road somewhere. Maybe even in NZ.

This post is a combined effort of Flo and me. I apologize for the confusing jumps in the use of ‘I’. You are all smart people and will figure it out. 🙂