Darwin

I'm having a fabulous time, but one thing that's been with me right from my arrival in Australia and is much more obvious in the centre and NT is that it's not a country completely at ease with itself. I am in danger of over simplifying, but there is a huge schism between white Australia of the last (only)150 years or so and the ancient Aboriginal cultures. These days there is more work being done to help reconcile these cultures with very different values and relationships with the land but for one reason or another a lot of people seem to be struggling and it shows in some of the town centres. I said this to an Aboriginal woman on the plane to Darwin and she agreed. She works for a Catholic organisation trying to improve cultural understanding (both ways I think).

I'll talk about this when I get back, that's enough here, but it feels really important to me to say Australia is a complex place rather than only recording all the exciting things I've done.Read more