Back to Civilization

Greetings readers!  It has been quite some time since an update.  I don't know how much time I have at the moment so if I end this abruptly I apologize in advance.   I'm currently in Cairns along the NE coast of Oz.  In the past week or so my friend and I flew to the Top end of the country to Darwin.  We rented a vehicle and proceeded to make our way through the outback towards the East Coast.  We stopped in several National Parks and saw some amazing sights.  Look up Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks to get an idea of what I'm talking about.  The hiking was spectacular, the mosquitoes and heat were not.  Our first night in one of the national parks we slept in our vehicle.  I sweated 15 pounds off, lost 3 ounces of blood from the mosquitoes, and ultimately slept what felt like 15 mins.  What was most troubling was the noise the mosquitoes created.  Imagine the worst sounding orchestra and you might be getting close.  We've been travelling fairly cheap.  We rented a station wagon (Ford Falcon that we've named Natalie), so we typically pull over at rest stops and throw down the back seats.  Not a bad gig.  Travelling across the outback took about 3 days.  It can't be crossed much faster because it is ill advisable to drive at night.  The Roos are literally the 2nd layer of pavement on the road.  They come out at night and make it very dangerous to drive.  The other thing you need to know about the outback is that gas is extremely expensive.  173 cents per liter.  Someone do the math on that for me in terms of gallons (please).  Ok, like I said, my time is up for now but expect another update around the 18th this month.  That's when our car is due back in Brisbane.  And James, sorry no speedo picture yet, but I have all month.  It's going to be a hard selection this month as I've gotten plenty of excellent shots.  Hope all is well on the home front!

Not sure how well this will turn up on your screens, but this is a night shot of Jordan and I in the outback reaching towards the amazing night sky.  Turn out the lights, it may or may not help.