In Darwin, our kids get four weeks holidays in the dry season in the middle of the year and six weeks holidays for the Christmas break.

You’ll understand why Darwin is the home capital to the best thongs in the world, when you learn that during our dry season the temperature is a glorious 30-32 degrees Celsius every day and the wet season is hotter.

In the Slappa’s Thongs household, we exploit this to the full – and plan a few school holiday days – by chilling at the Darwin Waterfront.

Surrounded by lush, green parkland, the Waterfront has a fantastic wave pool lagoon, along with a safe recreation beach that is free from crocodiles and stingers (jellyfish).

The beach is half natural and half man-made and it’s my preferred choice when I’m entertaining four kids.

The Waterfront features a large hotel car park where you get two hours free or pay $2 for three hours.

However, when its school holidays and our plan is to stay as long as possible, my tip is to park under the Darwin Convention Centre which costs $5 for the whole day. Bargain!

There are restaurants, bars and cafes all around the parkland but you can also bring your own provisions and have a picnic.

In my experience, this is the easiest way to organise school holiday days, get some peace of mind, keep the kids occupied, and road test some new Slappa’s Thongs out under the glorious Darwin sky.

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Mindil Beach Sunset Market is a great supporter of home grown music. Every Thursday and Sunday from the Sound Shell you can sit down at the tables set up by the markets, enjoy your dinner and a few drinks while listening to something different each week ranging from Reggae, folk, rock, jazz and country. Some of the local bands and musicians that have performance this year are Bridey Rose, Dave Garnham and his band The Reasons to Live, Reggae Dave, Skarett, Kormilda College Band, Darwin Army Band, After The Rain and recently brother’s Livi & Aaron VanderAa who have just returned from 2 years touring overseas.

It was great to listen to The Kormilda College band which was only created this year and is made up of talented junior music students, performing modern, classic soul and r’n’b inspired songs. Featuring upcoming diva Stevie Kyriacou, winner of the Darwin Schools Pitch Perfect singing competition, the band exhibits some of the most exciting young musicians in Darwin. So great to see so many young talented people in Darwin!

Performances from the Australian Air force Jazz Band, Darwin Army Band and the Australian Army Band draw in the crowds and are always extremely popular.

But the music which is best known at Mindil Beach is eMDee who play each week at the Casino End of the markets. You will experience the amazing sounds of extremely fast drum and didgeridoo laying at its best. They have even performed at the Sydney Opera House!

So if you are coming up to Darwin for a holiday or moving to Darwin this is just a taste of what is on offer when it comes to live music.

To see where all the live music is happening, you can look up the local Gig Guide either in the NT News on Thursday or the website www.darwinlive.com.au or their face book site.

Pictures courtesy of Mindil Beach Sunset Market

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Wow what an amazing year it has been for Slappa’s Thongs. New colours, New website, New branding, New stockists and lot’s, lot’s, lot’s of New Slappa’s clients.

The year started with a very quick trip to China to see the new shipment be produced, packed up and sent to Darwin ready for the start of the Mindil Beach Sunset Market season. I was very excited as the new colours Red, Orange, White, Olympic Blue and Purple/White looked fantastic and I couldn’t wait to sell them and of course wear them.

The first market of the season was on ANZAC Day, so it was an early start for us as the kids and I always attend Dawn Service. The markets fittingly started with one minute’s silence and the Last Post was played to remember all of those who serviced our country and fort for what we have now. There was such a great vibe to the market as I think everyone was so excited that Mindil Beach Sunset Markets were back on for another year of food, fun, entertainment and new things to buy. The crowds were fantastic and it was so good to see all my market friends again. The night ended with fireworks and lots of cheers to mark the opening of the 2013 season.

The year saw lot’s of travel for me to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide to meet potential stockists, trade fairs and arranging the New Website.

I teamed up with Janette (Dusty) Symonds from Squiggle Graphix and Phil Peet from Phil Boss Designs to design & implement the new website and branding for Slappa’s Thongs. What a huge job for all of us especially Dusty and Phil. We managed to get it launched just in time for the Christmas rush. What was even more exciting was the site was not even fully launched and we started getting orders. I would like to thank Dusty and Phil for all the hours, late nights and patience on achieving such a wonderful result. The website is so professional, easy to navigate and works a treat. Just perfect, perfect, perfect. I would also like to thanks my photographer Mark Hamilton from Mark Hamilton Photography in Darwin and Laura Bradley – model for the fantastic photo shoot. The photos are what makes this website. Also Donna and Ashley for being brave and enduring their first ever modelling experience and Darwin Waterfront for allowing us to photograph in such a great location.

Slappa’s Thongs were also very proud and happy to announce new locations where Slappa’s could be purchased. Slappa’s can now be found in South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales.

In South Australia Slappa’s Thongs are located at The People’s Markets West Lakes Shores Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In Victoria I have three people selling from markets in Echuca Moama, Bendigo, Geelong, Laverton, Docklands, Oceangrove, Torquay and Portalington. All dates of markets are posted on Facebook. Indulgence Gifts in St Helen’s, Tasmania is the newest stockist and I am very excited to say Sole Therapy, podiatrist’s at Ramsgate Beach a suburb in Sydney are stockists.

Slappa’s Thongs has also teamed up with Barefoot Fishing Safaris, The Fish Grips Australia and 2nd year sponsors to the Waratah’s Juniors Football Club.

We have also donated over 1000 pairs of thongs to the refugees at the Darwin Airport Lodge and over 500 pairs to the Filipino Australian Association of the NT to help the people affected from Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

Slappa’s Thongs is a continued supporter of Cystic fibrosis SA with donations of thongs and money.

So a very successful and busy year for Slappa’s Thongs in 2013 and with lot’s of new things on the drawing board we are certainly look forward to 2014.

Thankyou everyone who has supported Slappa’s Thongs. It is great to meet lot’s of new people at the markets and see familiar faces who keep coming back with their friends and family to buy Slappa’s.

Special thanks to my lovely friend Jeannie from Natural Wonders Darwin and her family for looking after Slappa’s Thongs for 2 weeks while we were away in December. You are amazing!

A very Happy, Happy New Year and may 2014 be a wonderful, prosperous year for us all.