The Best Under 12s in the World – (Well Australia)

Life’s like a road that you travel on
When there’s one day here, and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind

From Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane (1991)

A long way to go – lunchtime on the Stuart Highway, NT

Darwin is a favourite of ours. It has the obvious advantage of warmth all year round which is why the city is full of sunseekers from southern Queensland and the southern states. There are so many Victorian number plates about that one wonders if you haven’t been transported to Melbourne overnight. There is also a quiet solitude about the city. Everyone and everything moving slowly. Not that there is not a lot going on. And an air of the place being very Australian. There is a real diversity here evidenced by the strong First Nation’s heritage, the areas history of mineral wealth, the fly in fly out nature of the city’s work force and its near proximity to Asia and Indonesia in particular. Uranium, zinc-lead, bauxite, gold, phosphate and manganese are all mined in the Territory, with a production value of more than $2 billion. Oil and gas fields lie offshore. Darwin is the hub and main service centre for this activity. Jakarta is 2,700 kms across the Timor Sea (Sydney is 3,900 south east) and Port Moresby in PNG a nine hour flight. The restaurants and population mix confirm this. The backpacker trail in Australia starts or ends in Darwin depending on which route you are following. In short and in the words of Blue Mink it is “a melting pot”.

Causarina Beach Darwin

But we are here to watch some 50 over cricket games. Darwin is the perfect spot for a week’s cricket tournament. Warm and dry but with well grassed fields and very well presented facilities all within a few kms of the city and each other. The Queensland team over this week were, in my humble and unbiased opinion, the best team there. After dispatching the favourites, Victoria, by 60 odd runs in the first game they were relatively unchallenged until the final against NSW. Chasing 152 in their 50 overs Queensland became a little rattled at five wickets down and 50 runs needed off the last eight overs. It is with some pride that I write that our grandson Josh batting at six guided the team through to the championship in the penultimate over. Josh was out attempting a Ben Stokes wipe with two runs to win. His attempt at glory or death bought a horrified groan from his father and grandad followed by a ticking off and lecture from Dad along the lines of “the games not finished until its finished” and lessons needed to be learned. Scout opined that this was not the Ashes and I did have to point out to Dad that an eleven year old who had nursed his team home could be excused a little over exuberance. Anyway this was all lost in the excitement of receiving medals and a large shield. In the end the lesson probably is that these tournaments exist to teach 11 and 12 year olds to experience sport at its best level.along with the life lessons of dealing with disappoinment, pressure and different personalities in a tense environment. One ponders the cricketing names that have passed through these national tournaments. If only we could have all had that opportunity.

To the winner the spoils – Josh and THE SHIELD -Steve Smith eat your heart out

Darwin Harbour – three generations of cricketers and a netballer

We left Darwin for Cairns and Port Douglas across country on the Barkly Highway passing along Overlanders Way through Julia Creek (overnight) still 600kms from the coast at Townsville then Richmond (dinosaur alley) before emerging on the coast at Kurrimine Beach. This quiet beach community north of Mission Beach is a bit of a revelation. It was a recommendation and a good one too. This coastal village is a common enough set up for Queensland coastal tourist spots. It has grown as a small holiday destination and the typical fibrolite beach baches that these places start with, now boasting two caravan parks alongside a well presented pub, some large modern beach side properties and not much else. Perfect for the “get away from it all” holiday. Now for the trip north to Port Douglas and a family reunion

Overlanders Way aka Main Street Julia Creek

The thermal baths at Julia Creek campground