All geared and loaded up, the exit out of Kakadu was just as hot, sweaty and sticky as the entrance…and just as enjoyable. Now, I could be fluffing just a bit, because, by the time I arrived in Darwin I was miserably hot and bothered. We decided to ride straight to the BMW dealership to go over the work order on the bikes before looking for a place to stay. After discussing servicing options on the bike we set out to find accommodation that was in our budget. Darwin is quite expensive, and, what you get for your money can be very little. The closest caravan parks were booked out, so we decided to just wing it and ride towards the city to see what we could find. We came across a budget motel in a place called Fannie Bay… a little seedy, but clean, nevertheless! I unstuck myself from my bike seat and walked into the motel office. A middle aged, greying, blonde haired woman dressed in a very low cut black tee and short shorts, wearing a pair of reading glasses that were skew whiffed on her nose from missing one arm, rose from behind an old 70's style wooden desk! I chuckled to myself, obviously sporting a smile at this interesting scene in front of me, and was cheerfully greeted with a friendly "G'day!" This place definitely has character…maybe more than I need, but after inspecting a room was satisfied enough to complete a transaction. Kev and I needed to remove the panniers and gear off the bikes before the service and felt that having a room would be the safest way to store our stuff! Boy…What a character of a place! Very nice owners, very interesting occupants, that happened to be in quite a magical spot!

That evening we crossed the road and enjoyed a drink, dinner and watched an amazing sunset at the Darwin Sailing Club. The pale blue turquoise waters of the Timor Sea slowly darkened as dusk fell. I have to tell you that I don't think that I have seen a more spectacular sunset in all of my life! The colossal fireball slowly fell into the sea sporting flaming reds, burnt oranges, yellows, then magenta's pinks, purples, indigo's, and blues. The spectacular show continued for 45 minutes. The night sky actually becoming paler after the sun had disappeared beneath the horizon before reversing back into darkness! A sight that I will never forget!

The alarm was set, and we were up and out and headed over to the dealership for our bike service by 7:30am. The rest of the day was spent aimlessly wandering around the dealership fingering through their miscellaneous stock that was for sale, drinking shop coffee, frequent trips to the loo, awkwardly dozing off on their well worn, slant foam cushioned couch and watching the clock calculating the cost per hour in labor.