Bali Bar - FANNIE BAY

A Darwin local told me there are 3 nautical themed clubs on the shores of Fannie Bay, all of which are good for checking that big orange orb dipping below the horizon each afternoon.-THE DARWIN (WATER) SKI CLUB: this is the everyman’s boat club. For the average person: or to use that misleading term, the hoi-polloi.-THE DARWIN SAILING CLUB: maybe 500m further north, this is for the shakers and movers. There are many famous quotes about yachts being a bottomless pit into which to throw money. The local plumber, a proud member of the hoi-pollie, might be able to buy a MOOMBA OUTBACK ski rig, but he’ll find the stretch to a BENETEAU OCEANIS a bit difficult.-THE DARWIN TRAILER BOAT CLUB: trailer boats need a bigger towing rig and are more fully featured than ski boats, but the towing means they are necessarily smaller than cruising yachts. This makes ownership costs mid rung and thus it’s no surprise that the Darwin Club (about 150m north of the Sailing Club) is considered midway in the status stakes of the local boat clubs.But the local told me the pecking order for places to enjoy a sunset beer and meal is reversed – because of setting, space, price of drinks, entertainment, meals and the type of people themselves, the SKI CLUB is the place most locals and visitors will enjoy.SPECIFICS – the beer garden is not pokey at about 90x90m and looks out across greater Darwin Harbour. There are plenty of tables with seats and shade umbrellas plus quite a few spots shaded by trees. The bar is open sided with undercover seating for wet season downpours. I found beer prices quite reasonable. I hit the area about an hour before sunset on a Friday – the place rapidly filled: this seems to be a popular after work call in. Plus quite a few family groups were in attendance – kids having lots of fun in the small pool (note – the beach in front of the club is nothing to get excited about – very tidal, quite a lot of rocks and of course the possibility of stingers in wet season, crocs all year).I noticed quite a few people digging into snacks and meals – my friendly local told me the LITTLE MISS CHEF BISTRO here does some of the better inexpensive meals around.Sunset entertainment is frequently offered – my visit saw a very competent young lady with the usual taped backup – put up a good show for just one person. Locals told me artists vary – it is not uncommon for small groups to perform.GETTING THERE– the CLUB is just over 4km from downtown Darwin which makes for a relatively short drive. There is plenty of parking. Bus 6 goes from downtown right into the adjacent museum precinct but only runs hourly. I caught a more frequent (half hourly) bus 4 which runs along the main road near the club – jump out on EAST POINT ROAD just past the DARWIN BOWLS CLUB (this is a little over 10 mins from downtown – the bus driver will know where to put you out) and take CONNACHER ST about 100m behind the bus-stop. The club is about 5 mins down CONNACHER on the left. Of course if you are keen you could walk from town in about 50 minutes –although that didn’t seem such a good idea to me in all the heat and humidity of early wet season**.OTHER ATTRACTIONS IN THE AREA: -MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY: directly across the road from the SKI CLUB. I found this almost as good as the DEFENCE OF DARWIN WAR MUSEUM up on EAST POINT: culture-vultures and art-nerds may find it better. Admission by donation (my kind of place!). -DARWIN BOWLS AND SOCIAL CLUB: this is back on the corner of CONACHER and EAST POINT (main) ROAD. Looked okay - you keen lawn bowls types may be able to fit in a game or two before//after the SKI CLUB. Had a sign advertising BAREFOOT BOWLS for novices at certain times to encourage outsiders and newcomers to try lawn bowls. I know from experience elsewhere this can be a ton of fun. Unfortunately my dance-card was too crowded to fit it in. -EAST POINT RESERVE: at the north end of Fannie Bay, the EAST POINT extends westward into the bay and has a number of attractions such as: DEFENCE OF DARWIN WAR MUSEUM – a top attraction. I spent hours wandering around the exhibits of this surprisingly compact place. See trip advisor reviews. OLD GUN EMPLACEMENTS etc – walk around the perimeter of EAST POINT: there are a number of WW2 historical sites with explanation boards. MONSOON RAINFOREST WALK – this begins about 1km back along the road to the highway from the WAR MUSEUM (well sign-posted). About a one hour circuit. I gained an admiration of the early explorers who had go push thru many kms of this as they approached the northern coast. LAKE ALEXANDER –the EAST POINT RECREATIONAL RESERVE’S top attraction – a croc and stinger free 400m long stretch of water excellent for swimming and water craft. Some nice sections of beach. A goods kids’ playground adjacent. Plus my favourite – an outdoor exercise station with chin up bars near the north-east corner. FANNIE BAY BEACH wraps around the side EAST POINT opposite LAKE ALEXANDER and is much more attractive than down by the SKI CLUB. Still has the possibility of stingers and crocs though. MANGROVE BOARDWALK – starting near the north car-park LAKE ALEXANDER – well sign-posted. Maybe 30 min return. -FANNIE BAY JAIL MUSEUM: back on the main road corner from the reserve and 1600m by road from the SKI CLUB, this is said to be pretty good. “Said” because it was closed when I called by – restricted opening days in low season. Google will find them. Admission by donation. -SHOPPING – if you go back to the original bus stop at on EAST POINT ROAD, the next #4 will take you all the way to the huge CASUARINA SHOPPING MALL in Darwin’s northfor a genuine big city mall experience that you can’t find in the downtown area. The ride will take abt 30 mins but all Darwin bus trips cost $3 ($1 for geezers!) and any further trip within 3 hours is free. Even better weekly and multiple-use ticket deals.**EARLY LOW (WET) SEASON – my visit was in mid November. You may think this could be a bit dodgy for reliable sunsets – aint much fun sitting in the rain staring at heavy overcast. But locals stressed this was one of the better times to do the Top End - my 3 November weeks there saw 80% sunshine with rain (short sharp showers) on only 3 days. About 10 nights saw some showers and storms. Locals told me this was pretty normal for early wet season – tour guides emphasised the advantage of uncrowded sites: a beautiful plunge pool at Kakadu had only 25 people vs 250 in high season. Accommodation and tours had walk in vacancies – often at discounted rates.There are some disadvantages of early high season:-some 4wd tracks were already closed eg into the magnificent JIM JIM FALLS,-quite a few of the attractive sounding tours do not run, run less frequently or have heavily modified itineraries. And it sure was HOT and HUMID – which made that pool at the SKI CLUB look increasingly attractive. Unfortunately I didn’t have me swimmers.But early wet season is great for sunsets – there is often enough cloud near the horizon for the sinking sun to highlight undersides. This was the case when I visited (see pic). It was downright romantic – as a matter of fact augmented by those good value beers, the happier I stayed there the longer I got.Enjoy your visit gang – this is a good one.

We had left it a bit late to make our choice for dinner venue, so missed out on sunset but ended up at the ski club. The main rush had passed so we had choice of tables to catch the last of twilight. There was live music playing and nice ambience. Was happy with meal choices, what you would expect from that type of venue. Prices, size and quality of the meal were fine without being exceptional.Next time will try and be a bit earlier so we don't miss the main feature!

The location is sublime, opposite the Museum, and the sunsets are spectacular. The seating and tables scattered around the lawns look ordinary but you don't come for the architecture. The bar is well priced, and the food is very very good. Great spot to bring children.

Only came here because the sailing club was super crowded, but glad we did. The food was excellent and the setting superb. The music was a little loud but tolerable.

Got to ski club just before sunset, a couple of drinks then watched one of the best sunsets. Meals ok and you can help yourself to the salad bar