M-whY

Throughout the night, we made stops at various towns, presumably to let on more passengers, though I didn't see or hear anyone get on board. At 8:00am, we made a stop at the town of Katherine, where we were allowed (actually, forced) to step off and stretch our legs. The pit stop lasted four hours, during which some passengers took a tour of the Katherine Gorge. I passed on this experience. Unless you have extremely deep pockets, you pretty much had to pick and choose what you wanted to see. I was more interested in the national parks up north, and decided to save my money for that.

I hopped on a shuttle bus to town with the rest of the passengers that hadn't booked a tour. I saw pretty much everything there was to see (there was nothing) within an hour. Feeling a bit ripped off, I returned to the train station and patiently waited until we were allowed on board again.

The train started moving again at noon. Overnight, we had crossed from the desert Australia to tropical Australia. Traveling by day was far more enjoyable than by night. Though I told myself that I should be working on my blog, I spent most of the time staring out the window, at these huge mounds that protruded out of the ground everywhere. (Later on I would learn they were termite mounds.)

We arrived in Darwin at 4:00pm. I alighted from the train and immediately felt the humidity. The temperature probably wasn't any higher than temperatures from the desert, but definately felt warmer. From here on out, it would only get worse, as I progressed to more tropical countries.

Outside the station was a YHA bus. For a fee of AUS$5, it would take us into the city. The five dollars would be refunded to anyone who checked into the YHA hostel that evening. YHA hostels are usually nicer and more expensive than other backpacker accomodations, but factoring in the free transportation that was being provided, it made staying at the YHA worthwhile.

At reception, I ran into a German girl who had been on the Outback tour with us.

"Did you just arrive too?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just got off the Ghan half an hour ago. I didn't see you aboard, how did get here?"

"I took a three day tour from Alice Springs to here."

"How did you like it?"

"It was horrible. The tour guide was boring, the rest of the people weren't that fun. I couldn't wait for it to be over."

We both agreed that after hanging out with Steve and our busload of wonderful people, everything would be a step down. Taking a tour is really like rolling the dice. How much fun you have is really dependent on the tour guide and the sort of people you get on board.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!