I\u2019m finally heading back to Darwin, after nigh on ten years away \u2013 returning home.<\/p>\n
When I left, I told everybody I\u2019d likely be back in about six months.<\/p>\n
I meant it too. But maybe it was just my subconscious way of avoiding the pain of saying goodbye \u2013 I had a seed of suspicion about that at the time.<\/p>\n
\u2018Yeah mate \u2013 now worries, I\u2019ll probably be back in a couple of months anyway\u2019, a quick handshake and brush it off as a matter of course.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I was always gonna return \u2013 I love the place, and I have some great mates there.<\/p>\n
But over time it mysteriously transformed into a sacred place in heart and mind \u2013 I have no bad memories of Darwin.<\/p>\n
I left a good job in that city \u2013 woikin\u2019 for the man every night and day\u2026.Oh no, sorry \u2013 that was John Fogerty.<\/p>\n
The reason I left was complex yet basic.<\/p>\n
When I first headed up North, I did so with the intent of one-day returning.<\/p>\n
Returning to my family, who I knew I\u2019d miss and couldn\u2019t live without.<\/p>\n
After ten years, and writing this down right now \u2013 it just dawned on me that I did the same thing back then. \u2018See ya later \u2013 I\u2019m moving to Darwin! But I\u2019ll be back\u2019.<\/p>\n
I never once considered living there forever \u2013 perhaps this too was simply my subconscious mind protecting me from painful emotions? Hmmm.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Anyway, when I finally decided to move to the Gold Coast, my NT mortgage was costing me about 70% of my weekly wage, and I couldn\u2019t see things improving.<\/p>\n
Funnily enough, once I resigned from work \u2013 interest rates began their all-time record plummet!<\/p>\n
So when I left, I loved Darwin town, it\u2019s people, my house, the weather, my friends, the NT vibe and I even liked my job!<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t running away from anything or escaping from somewhere I hated \u2013 I just had the need, a yearning if you will, to ride off into the sunset and see what fate awaited me.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I was looking forward to living much closer to my family and getting to know my nieces and nephew much better. And I\u2019d always liked the Queensland weather \u2013 not as rugged and impressive as the Top End\u2019s extremes, but a lot more comfortable to live in.<\/p>\n
Somewhere along the line, returning to Darwin became more than just going back to a place I\u2019d been before. It\u2019s hard to put my finger on it \u2013 kind of like traveling back in time.<\/p>\n
Maybe best explained by Doc Emmet Brown and his warning to not interrupt the space-time continuum, for fear the repercussions will affect all aspects of later life.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve often daydreamed of returning \u2013 surprising the boys by popping up Karaoke night and singing \u2018The Gambler\u2019, or some such thing, then getting on the grog.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve countless realistic dreams of being back there \u2013 only to wake up all deflated.<\/p>\n
Yet in my head there was a persistent reluctance to go back.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Down here I\u2019ve got a great house (I\u2019ve finally paid off), a better car, a rip-snorting boat, live in a happy little village and have excellent relationships with all my family, which I truly treasure. I\u2019ve certainly grown up some as well.<\/p>\n
So I decided one night at the pub, that I\u2019d return for my mate James\u2019 fortieth birthday, in June 2018.<\/p>\n
I had attended his thirtieth not long before I left the NT, and thought this worthy justification to finally fulfil my promise.<\/p>\n
My plan was to organise a surprise visit with his sister Rachael.<\/p>\n
But James and I got drunken-chatting one night on the dog\u2019n\u2019bone and I told him I was coming to Darwin in June!<\/p>\n
So that was it.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m booked in to fly up there with Tiger airlines on Friday night.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m edgy. Not just because it\u2019s Tiger Airlines \u2013 but because it\u2019s been ten years. What if the magic has gone? What if everything has changed so much that I no longer feel at home?<\/p>\n
I sometimes take a mental tour \u2013 recalling the normal things: footpaths, fences, favourite pub tables, various signs on the wall, steps, puddles, cabs, a letterbox, certain trees and cracks in the concrete, an overgrown frangipani tree here and an Oldman Mango over there\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
They say time and tide wait for no man, and I expect no such favours \u2013 but I sure hope the old town returns my love when I step out into the balmy, tropical night in three days\u2019 time and once again inhale the heady, floral aroma of the Great Top End!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This time tomorrow night I\u2019ll be commencing my decent into Darwin airport \u2013 and I\u2019m pretty damned excited about the prospect!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m finally heading back to Darwin, after nigh on ten years away \u2013 returning home. When I left, I told everybody I\u2019d likely be back in about six months. I meant it too. But maybe it was just my subconscious way of avoiding the pain of saying goodbye \u2013 I had a seed of suspicion … Continue reading DARWIN 2018 – Going Back<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5K3B8-7n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=457"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":471,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457\/revisions\/471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewallaby.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}