How\'re ya goin\'?

---

We have been without a stable wifi connect for the past week, so will try to bring you up to date while we wait in the Darwin airport for our flight to Cairns (delayed until the wind and rain of Tropical Cyclone Ita have subsided). After we left Sydney, we travelled by rail to Melbourne and thence to Adelaide where we climbed aboard the Afghan Express (known as the Ghan) for the 54 hour journey across the Australian outback, 1851 miles to Darwin. Ensconced in our compartment, we spent the afternoon watching the desert landscapes pass by outside our window (photos). During the night, the 39-car train clattered on through darkness while we slept, rhythmically swaying, in our Murphy bed. In the morning, we were awakened by a knock at the door. The porter had two cups of freshly brewed tea on a tray for us! Then, hot showers in our little ensuite bathroom before we made our way to the dining car for breakfast. During the 4 hour stop in Alice Springs, we visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service outpost and also the site of the original Alice Springs telegraph station. Unbelievably, it started to rain heavily while we were in Alice Springs, a place usually so dry that they have an annual boat race in the dry river bed (the Todd River Regatta) in which the boats are bottomless and the "rowers" run barefooted. In 1993, there was flooding and the only dry river regatta in the world became the only regatta ever cancelled because of the presence of water in the river. We returned to the Ghan for a 6pm departure and our second night travelling through the outback. By the time our tea arrived in the morning, the landscape had changed from red desert to green subtropical. We disembarked in Katherine long enough for a short cruise up the Nitmiluk Gorge. It was warm when we started and quite hot and steamy with humidity by the time we returned to the train. We pulled in to Darwin around 6 pm. The next day, we rented a 4WD SUV and headed out on the left side of the road for Kakadu National Park where we spent 3 days (photo). We frequently saw Aboriginal rock drawings on our hikes as well as a great many birds and animals. Very humid (80%!)(MISSING) and hot (90+ degrees). We wore our mesh hats to ward off flies and mosquitos. We used our 4WD in places where the roads were flooded (photo), although many roads are still impassable (we are at the end of the wet season and in many places the waters have not receded). Yesterday, we drove back to Darwin in time to watch news reports of the cyclone threatening the coast near Cairns. We fear this may not bode well for our plans to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef.

---

Comments

[WmMorris]

G'Day to you in Australia
Enjoyed your blog from Darwin. Hope you get to see the reef. Wishing you safe travels. -Bill