Our agenda changed from the original plan for an afternoon flight to a morning one. So we used our Opal cards (pre-paid transport) one last time in Sydney for train access to the domestic airport terminal.

Security entails a more streamlined process than what we go through in America: no shoe removal, and only aerosols, sharps, and laptops removed from bags. Many of the airport shops seemed familiar–McDonald’s, Bath and Body Works, and even Victoria’s Secret! Boarding the plane was much quicker than we see in the States. The first half of the assigned seats go through the jetway and into the front door, and the last half of the assigned seats walk down and out onto the tarmac, then up a stairway into the rear door. We last experienced this system in Argentina. It makes sense if the weather is good.

The very smooth flight lasted four hours. We essentially crossed the continent from south to north. It really is a “sun-burned country” as Bill Bryson wrote. Kilometers upon kilometers of no civilization. It struck me how few plants and water could be seen–and no clouds in the sky. Much of the landscape appeared to be leftover from an ugly paint gun battle, with huge splotches of tans on a red-orange base. I took several photos from the airplane window. As we drew closer to Darwin, clouds began to appear in the sky, and greens began creeping into view. By the time the plane began its descent across the Timor Sea coastline and back around into the airport, bright greens and blues of the water stood in contrast to the small city buildings. I’ve attached two photos to show the contrast of the bush country and the more tropical setting of Darwin.

We rented a small hatchback, and what fun we had going clockwise around several roundabouts! I’m not sure I will adapt to “opposite” driving. The hotel seems nice, but not much time could be afforded to explore. I did take two photos–one outside our room window that looks across a park area to the community wave pool (beaches around here are not safe for swimming with all the dangerous/poisonous creatures), and one photo of a magnolia-type of tree by the sidewalk. We had to run to Woolworths before sundown. It’s the only grocery store in the area, and John has to carry a sack lunch the next four days to the job site or he will starve. I had to take a few photos of the unusual food products–one being a tuna-bean mixture.

The alarm is set for four a.m. the next four days. Fun!