Friday 9th February 2007. Darwin, Northern Territory.

This morning it is another day of farewells. We all head off to the internet and then to brunch to say our goodbyes to Rob and Phillipa.

And now there are three...Carly, Paula and Will.

It was a really sad farewell today. One month ago I never knew any of my tour group and now we are all e-mailing each other and even extending our travels (where we can) to see each other again along the route.

I have had a great time with the lads and Rob and I have been sharing a room now for well over four weeks and it is still a blast!!

This afternoon I head down to the Esplanade and get talking to a group of locals...of the indigenous kind.

More than a quarter of the population of the Northern Territory are indigenous Australian's, a far greater percentage than anywhere else in the country. That said the population of the Northern Territory is only about 1% of the total Australian population.

It is fascinating to get the take on life of a local, most of whom are criticised for spending their life in an almost perpetual stupor. However these are ostricised people who feel that they have no part to play in the modern Australia.

Take fire as our example. To the aboriginal a bush fire brought no threat. As a hunter-gatherer nation fire was simply a part of nature that replenished the land and allowed for new growth. The materialistic white man builds great monuments on the land and then he fights to protect his buildings when natural disaster strikes. The aboriginal lives in harmony with and not in a constant fight against nature!

The concept of Terra Nullius (that there was no legal system in place and no owners of the land) evoked by the British on their arrival meant that English law prevailed in its entirity. It was as recently as 1992 that the High Court finally overturned this concept. With the 'Mabo Decision' there was a major step taken towards reconciliation with modern Australia's past...just sit and think awhile, the world has many and varied lessons to teach us all.

Tonight I will finally break from the tour and Paula and Carly are hosting my farewell dinner at Lizards Bar and Grill on the Esplanade before I head to the airport and down to Melbourne.