Back to Darwin- July 26th.

Off the plane into Darwin in the middle of the night and it's balmy; unacclimatised at all it's a warm and rather restless first night listening to the gentle swishing of the palms in the breeze. August in Darwin is in the Dry season. December to May is the Wet and between the two is the build up- the prelude to the Wet when the clouds gather, the humidity becomes unbearable and people "Go Tropo" (a bit mad). It's humid enough in the dry for me and with temperatures in the shade each day of 30, hot!

It's bizzare that within one country the climate can change so dramatically. At night the temperature drops to about 17, the regional news reports the night time temperature in Alice Springs of -1, still up to a daytime of 30. But then, that's the desert!

I don't think it's an exclusively British thing to be fascinated by the weather but I'm aware when I start work here that much of my initial small talk with clients mostly refers to the weather and I have to check myself because here almost everyday is the same: perfect blue skies, hot, hot sun and a slight breeze. It would be odd to mention the weather! Later I do but only because there's a bit of a morning mist one day! As alternative small talk topics perhaps I should ask about their pig hunting and barramundi fishing (that's what you do "in The Territory" .

Still on the weather: what makes it stranger is that although I go to sleep under a thin sheet and only after dawn need to perhaps pull a blanket over me as well yet everyone is talking about "the cold weather". Because the night time temperature is 17 at lowest!! Honesty put these people in the UK and I doubt they'd survive.

The weather's not the only contrast. In Adelaide I awoke to the sound of laughing Kookaburras, here in the tropics it's drifting to sleep whilst the geckos are chirruping and awaking with the eerie cry of the Curlews. It's like another country yet it's only 3 hours from Adelaide, a bit further from Sydney. Imagine a country where if you fancy a bit of winter sun you simply hop on a plane and head North!

Every night there's a perfect sunset over the sea, the only time it's cool enough to jog or walk the dog and many locals pop along for a bit with a fold-up chair and a beer, sit beneath the palms and watch the sky change colour.