Welcome to The Outback
March 4, 2004
I felt them crawling on my arms and legs. When I opened my eyes I saw them. Ants. I brushed them off
and got out of bed. I spoke to the lodging manager. He said that during the monsoon season the heavy
rains often push ants into houses. Welcome to The Outback I thought to myself as I sat in my spartan
room. I supposed that getting used to the ants would be the first adjustment I would be making during my
stay here.
Darwin is in the “Top End” of Australia and is the capital of the Northern Territory. It is known for its
isolation and indeed all the car tags have “N.T. Outback Australia” printed on them. It is so isolated that a
rail line connecting it to the rest of the continent had opened just a few weeks ago, at the beginning of
February. As I write this, Darwin is cut-off from the rest of the continent, except by air, since Cyclone
Evan had come in from the Gulf of Carpenteria to the east and flooded out a good part of the region. The
only road connecting Darwin to the rest of the continent, The Stuart Highway, is impassable south of the
town of Katherine. This seems fitting for a region of Australia that recently voted to reject a call for
application for statehood. Many “Territorians” are proud of their image as rugged individuals who regularly
deal with the wrath and fury of nature.
Since the time that I arrived here, it has not rained every day, but deluges are very common. The monsoon
season is locally known as “The Wet” and it certainly earns the name.