Most of yesterday was spent at a local waterhole called Berry Springs. Berry Springs is a natural spring that was modified during WWII as a recreation spot for the soldiers. Since then it has remained a very popular spot with Darwinites, apparently our family has been visiting since the early 80s, although to be honest I don't remember all of those. Over the years Berry Springs has undergone numerous changes, but the basics are still the same, crystal clear, warm spring water flowing over a small water cascade and through a series of large pools. It is a spot that has undergone years of use by the general public, but there is still something a bit special about it.
For us the magic of the spot was the fun that our kids had, swimming, diving, chasing fish, etc, they had a ball. We have a theory that a week up in Darwin improves a child's swimming ability about the same amount as a term of swimming lessons in Perth. They are just so immersed in swimming (pun intended) that they can't help but improve. It is an effect we certainly saw with our daughter when we lived in Darwin, and this week has we have same the same effect with our son. Today they have been swimming twice, because, well, why not.
Today we had plans for a bit more touristing, but after the efforts of yesterday we just weren't up for it. Instead we went and had a great family play at the Darwin Botanical Gardens, climbing trees, playing in sand, crawling through man made tunnels, all the usual stuff. Once again the kids were having a ball. The simple pleasure of being outside and playing in nature. This sort of play is possible anywhere, but one thing that I have always loved about Darwin is that nature seems just that little bit closer.
Exercise wise it was a riding day yesterday and a running day today. The plan is for tomorrow to be another riding day. Riding yesterday was a bit of a trip down memory lane as I went and visited a lot of my old favourite cycling routes around Darwin, through the hills at Cullen Bay, up and down East Point, along Dickward Drive, it was like a cycling greatest hits compilation.
The run this morning was less fun. An hour of running for just under 13km. About 25 degrees and nearly 100% humidity. It wasn't necessarily a lot of fun. Of the various forms of exercise available in Darwin, running is the one I have struggled with the most. It is just hard. I know that if I was up here long term I would acclimatise to the weather more, but I know from experience that running up here is always an effort. One thing I have liked about Perth is learning to enjoy running over the years. I would be interested to know whether I would be able to reach the same level of enjoyment here in Darwin. I like to think I would, but I suspect it would just be a hell of a lot slower. In the end I have found that tend to be the key to running in Darwin.
Tomorrow is another riding day, but really the main activity for the morning is heading down to the local endure format triathlon for a spot of spectating. I briefly considered actually racing, however I know from experience that the enduro format is particularly conducive to pain. In my experience the 200m swim, 5km ride, 1km run x 3 is a recipe for high heart rates. I thought it I would be better to protect myself from myself and avoid racing all together. Racing might be a bad idea but going down to watch should be a lot of fun.
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