The sun is setting on the Aussie part of our trip.  We got the sleeper train down to Brisbane and arrived this afternoon to torrential rains.  The experience could not have been more different to the Chinese sleeper trains we were on.  We had our own compartment for a start and it was air conditioned to a very pleasant temperature.  The places we passed were also a stark contrast - vast swathes of unpopulated landscape and the towns we did come across looked like they may have had one horse at some stage, but those years are now behind them.  The Lonely Planet (this version of which sounds like it has been written by the Aussie Tourist Board) describes towns of 10,000 as "major centres".  There was much of the stereotypical red Aussie soil on show.

Tomorrow it'll be time to fly to Singapore for the last couple of days before touching down very early on Sunday morning (4.50am) at Heathrow.  The good news is that I hear is unseasonably warm in London at the moment, so it should be a smooth transition, oh no, hold on...

The Whitsundays

After the first day of the Ashes, it was time to jump on a place up to Hamilton Island.  We stocked up on provisions in Airlie Beach and made our way out to Whitsunday Island to camp for a couple of nights.  The campsite, which was a couple of yards from a pristine beach, was made up of a bit of flat land and a composting toilet - felt like the edge of the world.  The campsite was only really accessible by boat and there was only one other couple there.  Along with some bushwalking, the highlights are the wildlife - wallabies, iguanas (good news I'm told because it means that there aren't any snakes in the near vicinity), various birds and the loudest insects I've come across.  Oh, and the turtles popped up for air near the beach.  We had a great time, but two nights was well judged - we were ready for a warm shower and fewer insects!

We returned to good news from the Gabba - despite the fact that it was a draw, the Aussie press have slaughtered their team.