Mr Tony goes Troppo

The forecast said "tropical thunderstorms" so I asked to sit the near the front of the plane (close to the exits eh) and by the window (for a better view). I was expecting Airplane. So when we came in over Darwin in a bit of foggy drizzle I was a little disappointed. Turns out I'd missed it. Just a few hours earlier and I could've been swimming into town.

So far I've managed to miss most of the big things in Oz - Ayers Rock, the Great Barrier Reef, the Whitsunday Islands, the pub from Crocodile Dundee. In fact I've hardly done the tourist thing at all. Apart from the Gold Coast (where Bognor meets Benidorm), which I've overdone - Laz and Shez from back home have moved there, and I've been having a great time these last few weeks, broken up with a little trip to the beautiful Fraser Island (pissed it down) and to a superb little reggae festival at hippie Byron Bay (we arrived in full wet weather gear and it didn't rain a drop - the locals, in boardies and flip-flops, spotted the Poms).

Landed in Darwin last night. It was a choice between betraying my principles and flying, or taking a four day greyhound bus adventure through the outback. I flew. It was hard not to in the end - $180 dollars for a four hour flight versus over $500 in bus fares for a 40 hour trip. So the Outback will have to wait (which may be for the best, looking at this). Meanwhile I'll spend the next week exploring the top end and this tropical crazytown.

And waiting for the next storm, of course.