Hey guys! Hope you're all well!

As Vassilis mentioned in his blog entry we are now in Darwin at the Top End of Australia. We did a 2-day tour in Kakadu here, which was quite nice. Unfortunately though because it is the wet season at the moment (i.e. 40+ degrees, extreme humidity and tropical showers) the majority of the important sites are closed off, plus the animals are hiding away to escape from the sun. So we didn't get to see much, we just got the general idea. We did see some vicious crocs (crocodiles) though, among them "Hannibal the Cannibal", 6.7m long, 1.5m wide. I am glad I was watching him from a 2 meter height distance. We also saw sea eagles and kites these amazing, big birds of prey. Some nice waterfalls and aboriginal rock art (this is paintings on rocks :D). It was a nice trip although it was extremely hot and humid. The last day we were rewarded with a nice tropical shower in the evening it was really cool, this is when I realized what they mean by "wet to the bones". I really enjoyed walking under the fierce rain unlike Vassilis who was carrying our bags with the cameras etc in it and was cursing all the way through ha ha!

We reached Darwin on the "legendary Ghan" (short for "Afghan", the Afghan camels they used to have to transport goods and people in central Australia until they were replaced by the train). People say it's an amazing experience, I don't know what's so amazing about it, it's just a train, perhaps this comes from people who have travelled on the "Gold Kangaroo" seats, i.e. luxurious cabins, posh restaurants etc. We travelled in our humble 120 dollars reclining seat :D. The landscape of course is beautiful, although we did not get to see much of it as we travelling overnight. The train stopped in Katherine for 4 hours, really a place in the middle of nowhere, where the hairdresser comes every Thursday and weekends :D.

We travelled together with some very nice people we met in the Uluru-Kings Kanyon-Kata Tjuta tour we did from Alice Springs. I loved this tour, both for the tour itself (people we were with and a really good guide) and the places we visited. To me this is definetely the highlight of our journey in Australia. We had a really good time, slept under the stars in "swags" for 2 nights, did not take a shower for almost 3 days (thankfully we were all so smelly so we couldn't smell how bad it must have been :D), we ate kangaroo and the witchetty grubs Vassilis mentioned, and we did some beautiful hikes in Kings Kanyon and the Olgas. It was really-really great and the cheapest tour in town, Mulga's adventures for only 250 aussie dollars. It is defnetely a place worth visiting in Australia! The flies were indeed relentless as Vassilis mentioned, I looked so hot in my fly net :D. Vassilis of course refused to wear it :D.

I also liked Alice Springs, I thought it is a very special place. This is where the first telegraph station in central Australia was built, we visited that original setting and it felt like a time travel back in late 1800. We also visited the "School of the air" (http://www.assoa.nt.edu.au/" title="http://www.assoa.nt.edu.au/" target="_blank"http://www.assoa.nt.edu.au/), which I found amazing, it is basically a "virtual classroom", a system whereby children that leave in remote areas, cattlestations etc attend school over the radio waves. It was really really cool, I was so impressed and moved.

Tonight we are flying in Melbourne where we will stay for the weekend. On Monday the 28th we embark on our long journey to Dublin and then Athens. I can't believe we are already at the end of our journey :(. We do feel a bit tired but I will miss travelling so much. We're already contemplating our next journey (you get so many ideas by fellow travellers :D). Once you start, you can't stop!

Take care guys! Oh, and by the way, Vassilis goes beserk at the sight of a single, tiny leech! Jumping up and down, screaming etc. How I wish I had a video camera with me :D!

Pinelopi