Northern Australia

Crabmeat! I'm hankering for a plateful of this rare delicacy and the only place that has it in abundance is northern Australia. probably the largest continent on our planet, Australia covers six time zones and has every type of climate the world has to offer! Our destination will be the northern area so pack your winter duds because it must get pretty cold. The area is known as Darwin, named after Samantha Steven's husband on Australia's most popular TV show, "Bewitched". My friend Norv has a "thing" for Samantha Stevens. I'm keeping it for him in my RV and he plans to present it to her when we get there. Although the show seems to have been cancelled in the early forties here in Canada, it continues to flourish in Australia after being introduced there during the Korean war.
But more history later. I'm down for some crab! Naturally, since we're headed north, Snow Crab dominates the ocean floor. The Aboriginal peoples have been feasting on this aquatic mammal for centuries in a very unique way: Since there is constant volcanic activity along the shore (watch out for those lava floes!) they herd the crabs into the underwater volcanic fissures and vwala! instant cooked crab! I can't wait to try my hand at herding crab; just keep in mind that you will be walking under the ocean so watch out for the barnacles!
Now any gourmand knows that if you're going to gorge yourself on crabmeat, you'll need to wash it down with some kind of tasty brew. Despite the cold weather, the Aussies have learned to cope with climate and still produce a great drink. They call it "Ice Wine" which is made by fermenting Ice Cream. The most popular flavors are vanilla and chocolate with pistachio not far behind! The Aussies drink copious amounts of this beverage so they have to import large quantities of raw ice cream from Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer.
What about the night life? I'm glad you asked. Northern Australia boasts the highest per capita. In other words, there's lots of bars. Aussies like to drink and talk loud. Although they speak english it's kind of hard to understand them. You can buy phrase books and dictionaries that translate their english into english. Luckily, the Aboriginals taught the original settlers sign language and the practice continues to the present day. Aboriginals teach it to young children in primary schools so that the whole population can communicate in this way. Sociologists believe that this is the main reason why Australian english is so primitive. They never felt the need to improve it since they can express themselves with signs.
Although Darwin is a beautiful area with wonderful,warm and friendly people, I have to warn you that traveling alone may be a bit dangerous. Gangs of youths abound because of the lack of jobs or capital punishment. The most recent youth problem is being "gecko high". The Aboriginals introduced more than signing in the schools: they taught the age old practice of Gookoowalla which is the keeping of a small gecko in the mouth (like a chaw of tobacco) and getting high off it's sweat. It's best to travel in groups and not make eye contact with these troubled kids.
I'm not going to go into detail on the cuisine of the area because all I care about is the crab! I will tell you that there are great places to stay - especially if you are a skier! Keep in mind that even though northern Australia has over one hundred and twenty volcanos, not all of them are active, so when the snow comes, it's skiin' time!
There are many hot springs and geysers so expect to find spas and resorts of all kinds.
Well, I'm all excited about the trip and Norv can't wait to meet Samantha!
Keep on travelin'!

Blitz