Meet Dinky

Dinky is the world's only piano playing and singing dingo. We stumbled across him (well, not really, he is something of a tourist attraction in these parts) in the outback. I think you'll agree he's a very talented chap - hence the post of his own.



For those tuning in for interesting facts, then here's one for you - the chap next to him with the beard is Jim Cotterill. His dad, Jack Cotterill bulldozed a road from Adelaide to Alice Springs and is widely regarded as the man who opened up the heart of Australia.



Join me next week for more interesting facts. in the meantime, enjot a singing dog.

Maternal love

Whoops.

My blogging skills are still clearly a little rusty. When i said Nadia had 'this encounter' below...I obviously meant this encounter here!

Welcome to the rock

So, it has been an action packed few days.

The good news, is the wildlife count is up. As it stands we are looking at:

2 x cockroaches

5 x wild horses (Brondby's)

Numerous camels

A LOT of Kangaroos (one of which Nadia 'nursed' - more of that later)

2 x Dingos (one that plays the piano and sings - again, more of that later)

1 x Sand Iguana

The past 3 days have seen 3 pre-5am starts. The potted version goes something like this:

Day 1 - following a 5 hr trek from alice springs to Ayers Rock National Park we visited the big rock - otherwise known as 'Uluru' with, possibly the oldest bunch of tourists we've ever encountered. Highlights included watching one trying to descend the rock as quickly as possible (but still at a snails pace) whilst the bus driver was threatening to pull away. We then visited the Olga's (no connection to Nadia's mum) which were an equally impressive rock formation before heading back to Uluru for sundown. All in all, quality, but we could have done with the average age of our party being below seventy five. Then back to the Uluru lodge for an evening packed with cockroach encounters and midnight trips to the toilet

Day 2 - was quality and saw us conquer the Kings Canyon Rim - a 6K 3 hr hike (with a youthful party this time) with some amazing views, water holes and hidden delights along the way.

Day 3 - back at Alice springs started with a hot air balloon rise over the desert at sunrise (awesome - thankyou nadia for this kind b'day gift) followed by a champagne breakfast. you can't argue when you're hangover is kicking in before 9.30am. On returning to Alice Springs we then visited the Kangaroo sanctuary where Nadia had this encounter.

We're now in Cairns. Chilling for a day or so then heading for Port Talbot, Cape Tribulation and Cooktown. Stay tuned.

Why does it always rain on me?

Sometimes, some things don't change, no matter how far you go. 11,000 miles, 36 hours (oh, there was a 10 hr delay in Singapore), 3 continents, several airports and god knows how many cab/train/plane rides and its....still...raining.

What started out as a beautiful day on Rottnest Island, off the west coast of Fremantle (nr Perth), ended in a torrential downpour with ninety mile an hour gales (exaggeration) and horizontal sheets of rain. Perfect day for a sunny bikeride (i was actually going to post a nice picture of nadia in her bike helmet soaked to the skin in front of a lighthouse - keep your eyes peeled in case i figure out how to do that).

On a brighter note....the Sun has actually come out to play a fair bit since touchdown. We had a very pleasant trip on day one to Kings Park - one of Perth's natural beauties and have been amusing ourselves each evening with wine, beer and live music in the Northbridge district.

We also managed to discover the only Pizza restaurant in the southern hemisphere that begins ejecting its patrons at 8.30pm. we took it as a sign to leave when papa italia started putting the chairs on the the tables and turning out the lights (no exaggeration)

Just arrived at Alice springs - have a 2 day tour to the big red rock tomorrow. more to follow, with pics.

By the way, animal encounters have so far been at a premium. We have seen:
1 x peacock
2 x little bear things
Numerous cockatoos and brightly coloured birds
some MASSIVE ants
No spiders
No crocodiles
No kangaroos...I live in hope!

testing, testing...

so how do you put photos on this thing?

if only i was jonny rosemont.

3 months off...

...and a matter of days before departure.

have to say i'm a bit new to this blogging lark and everyone i work with will know how Web 2.0 I'm, errrr, not. Still, we'll see how i get on.

Anyways, 3 months, 3 countries, 10,000 miles. You'd best hope enough happens to keep me writing or these could get reaaaaaaaaaally boring.

Roll on 19th August