To Exmouth

To Karijini National Park

XXX

To Marble Bar

Pearls and dinosaur prints

A down day in Broome

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Often, we've been comparing our travels in Australia with other travels we've done. It's something everyone does—we weren't the ones to invent the analogy that "Sydney is just like San Francisco". But some people think that Chris and I do it just a bit too much, and are too harsh on Australia, not accepting it on its own terms, and always comparing it to the US.

Perhaps. But there are three factors at work here.

The first is simple: Australia is very different to anywhere else in the world. It's sparsely settled, often hot and …

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I've come to realize that whenever Chris and I open our mouths, most Aussies mistake us for Canadians. At first, I thought they were just being polite, like the Kiwis, by asking "Are you Canadian?" But then (silly me) I realized they weren't being polite, they were being serious, and when we tell them we're from California, most seem relieved. "Ah, they say, you didn't sound like a Yank!"

I'm wondering what mischief we can get into with this... could we, pretending to be Canadians, ignite an argument over national cricket teams? Or maybe something like …

To the Horizontal Waterfalls and Cape Leveque

In Broome, WA

Getting out of the Kimberley. Enough.

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The flies in Western Australia are amazing! Here's a picture of Chris' back.

Comments

nfotxn

August 14 2002, 05:04:54

Wow, that's a lotta flies!

beardoc

August 14 2002, 06:43:25

65, in fact.

haenck

August 14 2002, 06:46:31

It looks like they are getting ready to try to spell out something.

Or, possibly do 'the wave'.

XXX

To El Questro on the Gibb River Road

Sunday in Kununurra. yawn

We wait until Monday in Kununurra

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Well... we've had our first big mechanical problem. After 35000km (at least 5000km of that on dirt roads), one of the power steering hoses went out. And it happened on a late Thursday afternoon. And it happened in the Bungle Bungles, a good six hours away from the nearest town, three of which are by a rough dirt road. We weren't going to give up our helicopter ride over the Bungles, though. It was very much worth it; the Bungles are spectacular, right up there with Uluru.

So we didn't leave the Bungles until mid morning …

Flying over the Bungle Bungles

To Purnululu NP and the Bungle Bungles

Into the Kimberley

Heading west from Darwin towards the Kimberleys

Relaxing day in Darwin

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Chris certainly hit it on the head when he mentioned in his journal about how pricey it was... and how you're not going to see anything like it on any normal tourist tour.

For me, it was when we went to an Aboriginal rock art site, and realizing that the rock on the ground in front of the wall wasn't a rock at all, but a human skull. Then, suddenly, I saw the femurs and the other arm bones against the base of the wall. They were just all pushed over there, likely by the floodwaters …

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Oh, and I might add--we walked out of a movie for the first time in four years. It just wasn't worth our time.

'Windtalkers' is a stinking piece of poo, even if you're into John woo.

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Of things. Haven't been able to update my 'real' journal with pictures and stuff since we haven't been near a phone line in a week to dial in.

- Had one of those 'oh, what are they doing talking in an Aussie accent' moments when I overheard a couple of blokes talking next to me. This was when we were shopping at Coles supermarket at Casaurina Square mall today... browsing through the Old El Paso Mexican food section. Then it was a 'duh, you're in Australia'. You tend to get those moments, particularly at shopping malls and …