The Ghan - Darwin to Alice Springs

After a day in Darwin to do laundry and rest, we boarded the Ghan and set off for Alice Springs. Didn't take many photos in Darwin - but here's a shot of sunset from our hotel room:
















The view as we left Darwin - remember, Darwin is actually a tropical area - quite similar to Florida in some parts:









Termite Mounds - seen throughout much of the Northern Territory...





We stopped in Katherine for a few hours with an option to take a tour ... here are some shots from our tour of the Gorge:



















A few more shots from the train journey, continuing to Alice Springs:

Australia Zoo

We've been on the move ... left Sydney early Wednesday morning to fly to Brisbane, then drove to the Australia Zoo - of Steve Irwin / Crikey! fame. It was a really good day - much better than we expected. We flew to Darwin on Thursday - catching the train on Saturday to Alice Springs, where we'll then fly to Uluru/Ayers Rock for several days. Internet connection has been difficult, so here's just a few of the photos from the Zoo. Will update as we can.

Sydney Highlights

Daintree Rainforest

We took a private tour of the Daintree Rainforest - about an hour's drive north of Port Douglas. Peter, an expert on the rainforest, and an interesting guy who was raised in Kenya, managed plantations in Papa New Guinea, and now runs a touring company, took us on a great day's adventure. The photos don't really do the justice to the rainforest - apparently one of the oldest in existence.






Peter and his Land Rover prepare a proper Morning Tea:




More photos from our day:

































Peter showed us many of nature's tricks - this caterpillar rears up to mimic a branch when it detects motion (didn't fool us, but it might work for a bird or other predator). I think Peter was disappointed we didn't try the ants, which he found quite tasty :)





It was a great day - we definitely do better when we're not touring in a large group!





We made a quick stop at the beach on the way back to Port Douglas -