London - First Impressions

Well, we have arrived in the UK and it is very hot. When we boarded the plane in Singapore the pilot told us (a bit incredulously) that it was warmer in London than Singapore. On top of the heat, I am having problems downloading photos from the camera to the laptop - so this is a rather non-representative selection.

Jenny has been acting as tour guide. One of the first stops was for afternoon tea where we were joined by Sophie.

This is Noreen and Jenny posing by the fountains in Trafalgar Square.

There is quite a variety of wild life in St. James' Park - squirrels,

demented ducks,

coots,

swans and cygnets (and ugly ducklings),

pelicans that were a present from the Russian ambassador in 1664 and have been breeding here ever since

and flustered tourists (that's the London Eye in the background).

 

We saw most of the sights - the Houses of Parliament (Big Ben on the right)

and St. Pauls.

En route - Singapore

On our trip back to the UK, we have just spent a week in the Northern Territory with Sam and Bex. We have a day in Singapore awaiting the flight to London. I'm taking advantage of the fast wifi to post a sample of pictures from the last week.

We went on a two day jaunt on a house boat along the Mary River.

There were of course crocodiles,

and Sam got some fishing in (but caught nothing edible).

We ate (and drank) well

and observed many species of bird. The big one is a Jabiru.

The area abounds with Wallabies.

We went on a helicopter ride into Arnhem Land.

There are lots of these termite mounds, some much bigger than this

and large expanses suggesting the monolithic stones at Carnac.

I'm pleased to report there were trains, but not in a particularly good state.

And of course we did lots of sightseeing. This is overlooking the start of the Katherine Gorge.

 For a hot area there was a surprising amount of water and the countryside was quite green. 

This lovely kingfisher was perched on a fence in Darwin.

More to follow ...