Dan Will Travel
I'm Dan and I WILL Travel
The headline is”Australian” for the rainy season in Darwin.
Darwin, the capital of the Northern territories is far closer to Jakarta, Bali, and Singapore than it is to Sydney and Melbourne. It is at 12 degrees latitude, well into the tropical portion of the world. I came here to see a different and little known part of the country and to be in position to take the Ghan train straight south to Alice Springs.
| Flowering tree in Darwin |
As far as historical structures and such, there are very few due to a devastating Christmas day 1974 cyclone that leveled 95% of all structures here. They say that they have rebuilt to withstand another one, which may explain the rather utilitarian feeling to the architecture.
There are a number of memorials to WW 2 as this is the only Australian city to withstand significant bombing. To this day, there is a major military presence.
And, it rains every day at least once in the wet season. As in any tropical place, one is amazed that it can move from sunny into a cloudburst with little notice, pour like all get out for 20-30 minutes, then clear up and the streets and all will be dry within 30 minutes.
This is also home territory to the famous Aussie salt water crocks. The warnings are all over as this thing can be up to 15-20’ long and is always in a bad mood it seems. And they are fine in salt or fresh water, sometimes hundreds of miles from the coast. Supposedly they can wash up onto the streets after severe rains, but that may be a crowd control “story.”
I saw one in an aquarium and it was really quite scary. Giant, and can stay motionless for ages.
| Friendly looking chap, huh? Nice thick glass between us. |
So, what do Top Enders like to do? (Besides drink beer, I mean) Go swimming in swimming holes in the parks and forests! Yes, they go swimming in waterfall pools and such along with the crocks in some cases. Fortunately the authorities are quite thorough in their examination of these areas for crock safety and quick to put up the warning signs.
Being a wimp, I stayed fully clothed and totally on the trails.
Being a wimp, I stayed fully clothed and totally on the trails.
| A billabong |
| Wangi Falls, Litchfield Nat. park. |
| Another view of Wangi Falls. |
| Litchfield national park |
| These are called magnetic termite mounds. They can be up to 7′ tall, and are always angled north to south as a means of regulating heat in the burrow. Looks like a giant graveyard. |
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| Located in the same area are these giant Cathedral termite mounds. Up to 15′ high, and if you get very close, they are amazingly active. |
| A cathedral mound behind a magnetic one. Good to show the scale of each. |
| Yes, it must rain amazing amounts as you see these everywhere in low spots in the Top End. Cheaper than bridges, and you know approaching it how deep it is. Note that it goes deeper than my car is high. |
This is considered one of the premier rail journeys in the world. 3 full days, travelling 2,720 miles across all of Australia by train. A train full of people that see the journey itself as the key reason not the place one is going to. And, no surprise, but to my delight, I am one of the youngest on board!
| My little roomette is above the “Pacific.” |
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| The photo is larger than the room. 3 days, but it really was very efficient. You just had to be organized, |
Within 3 hours out of Sydney, we have crossed the Blue Mountains and entered the outback. After travelling all night, we are still in Sydney’s state, New South Wales. They are giant states over here!
| Leaving the Blue Mountains and entering the outback |
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Sunset on the first night. It was a full moon so you could actually see quite a bit all night. Which is good as you do not sleep terribly soundly on a train.
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After about 24 hours, the train arrives in Adelaide, South Australia for a few hours of sightseeing. Adelaide is laid out in a very organized fashion with parks fully surrounding the city. In the brief time there it seemed very impressive and worth going back some time.
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| Univ of South Australia in Adelaide. Beautiful old buildings. |
| A cricket match in the city park. So, they actually play this game! |
After dinner, we start out for the true outback, the Nullabor Plain. (It literally means “no tree”) There is no way to describe in words the vastness and emptiness of it. It is 77,000 square miles in size, (essentially Minnesota) with just nothing there. The rail line has a stretch of the longest straight track in the world, 300 miles. It can be seen from space due to the straightness of it.
Maybe the best way to describe this area is that I awoke to it and when it got dark at the end of the day, we were still in it!
| Entering the Nullabor plain |
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| A very typical view of the plain. |
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| A dry salt lake. |
| A whistle stop on the route, Cook, SA. Unfortunately, not enough people complied and the hospital is gone. There are 4 residents left, and I saw 2 of them. totally weird place. |
| I am not sure if these are historically legit or just for the tourists. |
| This poor tree did not get the memo that there are no trees here. |
| Late afternoon sky over the Nullabor.
But, all things come to an end and we did arrive in Perth midafternoon of day three. Quite an experience with some great people, nearly all Australian. I spent much time with a wonderful woman from the Brisbane area, a few dinners with a cattle ranching family from Melbourne and a recently retired sheep sheerer from Perth.
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I went on a search for Australia, and it was not easy!
On Saturday, I departed Seattle for Seoul, Korea, and then, upon arrival 11.5 hours later, I realized that was not Australia! So, after a very weird Sunday overnight stay in a tiny room at a hotel totally within the departure area, I decided to head south. My room’s window overlooked a check in counter. (Due to jet lag, I was up and walking around the departure area at 4 AM. Giant world class airport, totally empty. Weird, let me tell you.)
So, that morning, I went south to Bangkok. 5.5 hours later, I was getting closer, I guess, but it is Monday evening now, and still I had not found Australia. Finally, I saw and boarded a 9 hour flight from there to Sydney. Success! Well, sort of.
Tuesday morning and I was now in Sydney. But, my bag loved Seoul so much it decided to stay there instead of coming with my on my journey trying to find Australia.
Now, a key part of my trip is in jeopardy as I only allowed 24 hours in Sydney to unpack and repack for my 3 day train trip across Australia to Perth. This was crucial as my bag would not be available to me on the train, so I had to rearrange and have all that I wanted with me in carry on sort of bags. But the stuff I needed was still in Seoul.
So, being Dan, what did I do with my one afternoon in Sydney while stressing about the bag? I went shopping of course! Made a list of necessities and went about getting them. Sort of enjoying the weirdness of Christmas shopping in 80 degree nearly perfect weather.
| Some sort of government building with Christmas tree. |
My hotel is only 2-3 blocks from the Opera house and harbor, so I did go over there for lunch and the requisite photos.
| Iconic Sydney shot done while having lunch. |
This morning I have word that my bag also went to Bangkok, just deciding to go a day later and now it is in Sydney. I am anxiously awaiting its delivery so that I can do the repacking stuff.
Assuming all goes well, this afternoon, I board the Indian Pacific train bound for Perth on the other side of Australia. 3 days of rather decadent travel, possibly shortened due to the fact that all beer and wine is included in the price and they may toss me off somewhere in between for screwing up their profits on my ticket purchase.
So, if all goes well, I will probably be off line for the 3 days or so.