Hello once again! Im currently writing from Cairns on the north east coast. I last wrote here from Broome, and I have since been to Darwin. Check the map to see the kind of distances that have been covered! My last couple of days in Broome were good fun- chilling out on the beach, drinks in the evening, an unexpected visit from Mince and an hour long ride on Leyla. A Camel. The camel ride was good fun, and it was also good to be reunited with Mince, albeit very briefly. I have previously mentioned the strangeness of the locals on the isolated west coast and this was a trend that continued. On a comfortable mid afternoon stroll to the super market to buy my weekly ration of instant noodles, it was commonplace to see 3 or 4 aboriginal men lying face first in the fields or by the side of the road passed out from the previous nights boozing. On a night out with Mince one of the more delightful aboriginal men staggered over to us, put an arm around me and introduced himself in the following manner: "I dont care if you're a punk or if you're not a punk, I've taken people bigger than me... Do u have a dollar?". None of us gave him any of our money however, and this charming fellow disappeared into the night, taking his considerable body odour along with him. He did briefly reappear while we were in the club, putting one hand on minces shoulder, and the other hand on minces drink, trying to pry it from him. Poor Mince really brought out the best in the locals, as another Australian man of about 40 came over to him, kissed him on the forehead, and insisted they dance together! He wouldnt go away, and even after we all formed a protective circle around him, the australian man still stood at the bar eyeing him up!! A couple of days later I left Mince in Broome and Im yet to hear from him. I can only assume he has eloped with one of the charismatic locals, and is begging for beer money right this minute. I flew from Broome to Darwin, where the focus of my week long visit was two fold. First visit Kakadu national park. Second, watch the opening of the world cup! Kakadu is a beautiful national park, about 100km in length and 200km in width, and its Aboriginal owned, as is 49% of the Northern territory state. I was, and still am, eager to learn more of the original Aboriginal culture, because it is in stark contrast to what many people in the cities see. While the Aboriginals in Broome were a constant source of amusement and intimidation, I also had a profound feeling that something had gone terribly wrong in this country with regards to these people. Current estimates say that the Aboriginies have been living in Australia for about 50 000 years... 50 thousand! In fact some of the aboriginal rock art that i saw in Kakadu (photos when i get to a decent comp) were up to 10 000 years old, maybe as old as 20 000. For all this time these people had lived in harmony and unison with each other and the land. They have gone from a proud people living in their own country, to nuisances in someone elses. When the Australians felt guilt at the way they handled the indigenous people, they did what the western world does best. They threw money at the situation. The Aboriginals now had money but no jobs, and in their society the men especially get their status and self worth from working to provide. Stripped of this, they turn to alcohol as a comfort. To make matters worse, Aboriginal people are biologically less tolerant to alcohol than the rest of us. Its not surprising, it hadnt been in their society for 50 000 years prior to the colonisation. What this all adds up to is a problem which i really find quite sad. Kakadu, however, shows that it can be managed properly. The national park is free from western influences, aside from the tourists, who were relatively small in number. We camped for 2 nights under the stars and had to trek to get to the best places as they werent all accessible by road. We went to see some beautiful picturesque waterfalls and at certain view points we could see endless forrests stretching to the horizon. On one of the nights we camped we also learned how to play the didgeridoo! Its really difficult but also really fun! I want one! After Kakadu it was back to Darwin to watch the world cup. Now, while im travelling time differences have been constantly changing, and ive had to be aware of them to catch football games whether ive been in vietnam or Perth. But Darwin is, in terms of time difference, the silliest place ive ever been in my life. It is 8 hours and THIRTY minutes ahead of london! How pointless! I think its the only region in the world which has a half hour time difference! Anyway, we caught the opening Germany game and England's opener (KO at 10.30pm in Darwin) before i jetted off to Cairns, where I am now. I only got here yesterday, and pretty much spent the whole day sleeping! 2 nights camping then a nite of no sleep (england game, few drinks, then my flight at 4am!) had taken its toll on me. Today will be a different story, however. J is flying in shortly, and its world cup month, so its all about partying down the east coast! Thats all for now, ill get some photos up soon. In the meantime keep posting and stay in touch. Take Care Si