I arrived in Darwin late last night. The four-hour flight was surpisingly empty and I had a doubleseat to myself, so I slept most of the way. A glass or two of red wine helped, of course.

When Iarrived at about 11.20pm local time. I was expecting it to be a lot warmer than it was. Although it was warm and humid
when I arrived, it wasn’t unbearable. The place I’m staying, a serviced apartment, has air conditioning in all rooms, which is a welcome boost. The apartment has a bedroom, spa bath, lounge-room, kitchen and washing and ironing facilities. In fact, it’s bigger than my apartment back home.

Curiously enough, there are several non-English language channels available through the television, including Sahara TV (Middle Eastern/Arabic I think) and a Chinese language TV station. After browsing the channels, I hit the sack.

My first day at work has been fantastic. Everyone has been very helpful – nice to see familiar faces – and I’m on a steep learning curve. A few things have been organised for the next few weeks, including a visit to the Country Music Festival in Katherine this weekend, about three hours south of Darwin.

It was also great to see Penny today, now I’ve finished writing this, I’m heading off to her place.