Top End Flora

More about the Northern Territory sojourn last week. Flights into Darwin seem to be most frequent in the middle of the night and mine was no exception. After a delayed departure from Sydney I finally arrived in Darwin about 12.45 a.m. Driving the rental car into the city about 1.30 a.m. I was struck by the abundantly flowering frangipani trees repetitively and rhythmically caught in the headlights along the roadway. Remember of course that for me this is winter - and our frangipani tree is a bare branched thing with just a few surviving leaves. I just did not expect to see flowers blooming - especially not at 1.30 a.m. Then again the temperature in the middle of the night was hotter than in the noontime sun in Sydney! Of course I didn't stop and take a snap of the blooms at that time, but did find this tree in Batchelor later in the week.









Then over the following few days I was delighted by the range of vegetation we observed, including these pretty wildflowers and the brownish fruit (I have no idea what it is!).

Banksia is one of my favourite Australian natives and the orange flowers were also abundant on our walks each day. There was something quite energising about experiencing such different weather and such different plant life. It reminded me of an April in London (autumn in NZ of course and spring in the UK) and my delight in daffodils which were such a surprise at that time of year. It is amazing to be living in this vast and multifaceted country and to have the opportunity to explore its riches.