Archive for the ‘Darwin Oddities’ Category

Sight of the night for me. I just had a call of nature (as you do) and went to the bathroom. I didn’t turn the light on as there was plenty of light from the other rooms to see what I was doing. I noticed a darkish patch on the toilet seat and wondering what it was (I wasn’t sitting till I looked!) turned the light on to reveal a green tree frog. He looked a bit sad so I picked him up. He didn’t struggle so I thought maybe the indoor life didn’t agree with him and he needed some water. I opened the back door to let him free and he hopped away merrily. It is the first time I have picked one up, so was surprised it was so easy.

Last time I was catching frogs was as a kid in our ponds and they were very hard to catch!

I wonder if they ask to bare chested men flashing their man boobs to leave? Hmmmmm.

Barbara Rilatt and her husband Neil, both 28, were furious to be asked by security if they had a T-shirt to cover up her upper body or to leave Casuarina Square last week.

Centre manager Ben Gill said the incident was a misunderstanding as bikini tops were not banned in Casuarina Square.

Ms Rilatt, a nurse of Lee Point, said the incident was upsetting.

“How could you offend someone by being comfortable?” she said.

“The security guard – a woman – came up and said put on a shirt or leave.

“It is fine to wear your jeans down your crack, but not to wear a bikini top?”

Full story

Expensive tastes!

MATT CUNNINGHAM

February 7th, 2009

A Palmerston pizza shop has topped a fancy Italian restaurant to take the title of the Territory’s most expensive pizza.

Hungry Joes is selling a pizza for $301 in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day – and the special comes complete with a $295 diamond.

Owner Joe Rotumah said a couple of Romeos had already forked out the cash for the pizza.

Mr Rotumah said he came up with the idea after reading a Northern Territory News story about Il Piatto restaurant at SkyCity casino, which has a $300 focaccia on the menu.

Hungry Joes pizza usually sells for $36, but Mr Rotumah has added the diamond, which comes with a certificate guaranteeing the customer it is worth $295.

And, unlike the Il Piatto focaccia, which sources its ingredients from around the world, Mr Rotumah said he tried to make sure he used only local produce in his shop.

“All of our cheese is Australian, our flour’s Australian and our ham is Australian,” he said.

“Unfortunately, some things you have to get imported but most of our ingredients are local.”

The pizza will be on sale until Valentine’s Day.

See the “diamond pizza” here

A ROGUE crocodile has rocked a dinghy in a Territory river, frightening the daylights out of the boat’s occupants.

Kakadu park ranger Matt Dunn, his girlfriend Sarah Bentley and her sister, Megan, were left shocked by the killer reptile’s random attack.

The trio were out in the dinghy in a small tributary of the East Alligator River known as White Lady in Kakadu National Park when the monster saltie attacked at about 4.45pm on Wednesday.

Mr Dunn said the 5m croc attacked their boat from underneath.

“I knew he was around but he must have been sitting right underneath the boat,” he said. “He gave it two big whacks with his head on the side. He worked his way out and just sat up looking at us.

“Then he just slipped back into the water.”

Mr Dunn said Megan – who was on just her second fishing trip – was petrified.

“She was screaming and jumping all over the boat,” he said.

“It was a bit of a shock.”

Continued

Moonie’s mankini raises money

NADJA HAINKE

December 26th, 2008

ONE-OFF: Dean Innes and Jason Moon drove a tractor to the Noonamah Tavern wearing mankinis for charity. Pictures: NICK WELSH

JASON Moon proved he would do anything for a good reason – even wear a mankini.

The farm contractor swung his scantily-clad bum on a tractor on Wednesday to drive to the Noonamah Tavern and raise money for charity.

But Mr Moon, 35, said this was a one-off event.

“I’ve never done it before and it’s pretty certain I’m not doing it again,” he said.

The idea emerged after the Noonamah Tavern’s Jodie Ranie came second in the UGLY Bartender of the Year competition, raising $14,500 for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Mr Moon, who owns Moonie’s Slashing, wanted to add to the effort.

He made a deal to drive to the tavern in a tractor, wearing nothing but a mankini.

“I raised $2105 – it worked out really well,” he said.

Source

Only in Darwin

This saltie – easily big enough to kill a man – is on the loose near a popular Darwin playground.

The 2.5m croc was seen basking in a drain about 1km from Leanyer Recreation Park yesterday.

Darwin residents have been urged to stay away from the area.

Newsbreaker Lee Abraham, 21, of Millner, spotted the sizeable saltie on Tuesday about 5.30pm.

He said the reptile was within only 20m away from him and not far from the water park and the skate park.

“I took my dog down there for a walk,” he said. “On the way out we saw the croc.

“It wasn’t worried by us at all. It sort of just sat there.”

The born-and-bred Territorian and keen fisherman said he had seen many crocs before.

Just how big can crocs get? Check out pics of monster crocs

“But I thought it was big enough to report it,” he said.

Parks and Wildlife rangers were trying to capture the saltie yesterday.

Croc catcher Tommy Nichols said rangers put up spotlights on Tuesday night to monitor the intruder but failed to locate it and traps were set up in the area yesterday.

The croc either came out of Buffalo Creek or the top end of Mickett Creek through the mangroves system on a high tide, he said.

 More here

Why doesn’t this happen when I am out walking! Oh it was 6:3o am, a couple of hours too early

EARLY morning joggers were shocked by an unexpected eyeful yesterday when three young men stripped off and frolicked naked.

The Darwin trio – two aged 18 and one 17 – allegedly bared all at the Nightcliff jetty before “shaking their genitals at each other” and jumping into the sea, police said yesterday.

But the nude act did not put a smile on NT surf life saving chief executive Tony Snelling, who said the trio were lucky to be alive.

“Jumping into the sea at this time of the year is absolutely stupid,” he said.

“Coastal waters at this time of year have swarms of box jellyfish – one of the most venomous creatures on the planet. These jellyfish can kill and have caused more than 60 deaths in Australia over the past 100 years.

“They are difficult to see in the water because the main body of the jellyfish is colourless, but they have 40 ore more tentacles, each of which may be up to 2m long,” Mr Snelling said.

A male passer-by reported the incident to police about 6.30am. The trio received an on-the-spot fine, worth $110, for the nude dash.

Continued here

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“Tough love dad” Sam Burt made headlines last week when the story of him and his five-year-old son, Jack, making a two-and-a-half hour trek to school each day emerged.

Jack had been kicked off the bus for five days after hitting a bus driver in the head with an apple core.

They both had to rise with the birds at 5.10am to make it from Herbert to Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory in time for school.

Mr Burt was widely applauded for his unique take on discipline and there have even been calls for him to be named father of the year.

Now “The Sam Burt TOUGH LOVE Appreciation and Support Group” has sprung up on Facebook.

It has only been up and running for two days, but already has 100 members.

Obviously some people are up in arms about it, but it has certainly taught the boy a valuable lesson in consequences for actions.

Deck the Halls Exhibition by Jasmine Jan, Natalie Jenkins, Cecily Willis and Jillian Thompson is on from Wed 03 Dec – Mon 15 Dec 08,  daily from 10.30am – 8pm at Darwin Entertainment Centre Gallery Mitchell St, Darwin

Wonderful opportunity to purchase a unique and special Christmas presents from Top End artists.  A gallery full of exquisite and high class art works of quality.

Esther Honegger was “horrified” when she found the baby snakes in her Fannie Bay home.

“I thought ‘Oh my God, how many of them are there?’,” she said.

“I hate snakes and as I walked backwards and forwards I would see another one.”

“They were everywhere – there was one curled around my bedhead, another around the bottom of the chair, and when I went outside there was one in the hallway, another on the (stair) railing and another on the step.

“It was like I was having a nightmare.

“Everywhere I looked they just kept popping up.”

Fully story here