From Cairns to Darwin we saw a lot of burnt land. The fire above left we saw for many kms as we drove. We could actually see the flames rising up in the distance. The road on either side of us was burnt, some termite mounds still smouldering. The aboriginals cause controlled burns of the brush as they have always done, to encourage green re-growth. The land is so dry in the dry season that dead plant life doesn't compost, it just builds up. Some fires are started by lightening storms, especially if the land hasn't been previously burned.

The roadkill doesn't compost for a long time either and it's so far from anywhere that no one bothers to remove them from the roads. We see many stages of decomposition. Sometimes just the bones are left, other times more and Mercedes likes to report on the color and amount of 'meat' she can see. The wild pigs are the worst, we try not to breath for awhile when passing pig roadkill. Australia's interior has had a 7 year drought. Some farms have suffered greatly and the government has just recently pitched in to help them.

The wet season in the north starts in December and goes to March or April. The post you see in the first picture lets you know how deep the water is that floods over the road during the wet season. You see these quite often. We were out of the north by mid-December and only experienced a few rains. It's amazing how much you appreciate the rain after several hot days driving through the desert. We all cheered the first time it rained in the desert, just past Katherine, near Darwin.