Straya

Tuesday morning I’m off to Oz to ride The Ghan. The Tour is Ultimate Australia and the Ghan for Great Rail Journeys, and the map below shows where we’re off to (We’ve had to reshuffle a couple of days due to various things not running on the promised days) but it shows the route plan pretty well.

If you want to follow me round this extraordinary country, I’ll be blogging every day as usual. Just remember that due to the time change and flight direction, although I leave on Tuesday I won’t get there until late on Wednesday, which is actually early on Wednesday if you’re in the UK but still Tuesday if you’re following me from the USA. So don’t expect any blog posts until Thursday, or Wednesday for Americans. Coming home will be even more complicated – I’ll either have about nine Mondays or the shortest Sunday ever, or Tuesday will just disappear completely – or something like that.

Expect several long-distance trains, Kangaroos, Koalas, Penguins, Walkabouts, Dunnies & Barbies. And Beer. And Jet-Lag. I may get a bit spiritual at Uluru.

My primary concern on Tour will be not being poisoned, stabbed, bitten or eaten by the apparently endless supply of local creatures that are out to get you. I’ve had a pretty sheltered life in the UK with regard to animals. I was once trodden on by a horse, and when young was chased by a very cross pig. This is not good preparation for the Geographer cone snail (predatory and poisonous), Box jellyfish (poisonous and excrutiatingly painful), Blue-ringed octopus (no antidote but looks cute) or Inland Taipan (world’s most venomous snake), all of which could ruin my day. And then there’s the sharks, stingrays & Dingoes)