Report No 29 - Dated 9 January 2008, Katherine Australia , 20,829 kilometers

The Tiger Airways budget flight to from Singapore to Darwin was great. The basic cost was $40 +++. It was a new A320 and dinner was served at the time I specified and included canned wine etc. They fly all over South East Asia and to Melbourne so it might be a cheap way to get from New Zealand to Asia.

I had an extended stay in Darwin because of Cyclone Helen. The hotel I was in was pretty solid so I didn't have to go to a shelter. But I prepared my emergency kit as instructed. This included torch, radio, passport, biscuits and a bottle of wine. The winds were in the 100 to130 kilometer range and a lot of trees were uprooted. It was a bit of a fizzer compared with Typhoon Rose I went through in Hong Kong in the early 70's.

There was flooding south of Darwin and when I cycled off the internet reports were saying the Stuart Highway was impassable. However, I had no problems except for the heat and humidity. It was around 40 in the shade but more humid than anywhere else so far. On the first day I just cycled on as I always do until my body got out of sync and was telling me to stop. So I limped in to the Adelaide River pub with severe leg cramps, a raging headache and nausea thinking why am I doing this? It probably was dehydration although I was drinking more than usual. Now I am slowing right down. The trouble is that it is not very pleasant resting on the way as the flies and ants drive you nuts.
Katherine is 325 km south of Darwin on the way to Alice Springs (population 11,000) but I'm turning off here towards Western Australia. Katherine is on flood alert as the river is very high. I asked the motel owner about an escape route and he said I could get up on the roof with him and have a few beers.
Apart from this I'm seeing lots of wildlife including pelicans, a huge variety of other birds & wallabies. There are also loads of road trains.
It is 500 kilometers to Kununurra near the Western Australian border (3,000 kilometers’ north of Perth) and there's only one tiny town on the way.
I probably won't do another report for quite some time.