Finally some rain, but still not enough to declare a break. But it would appear that hopefully the season is on the turn.
There were some handy falls and some not so flash. The incredible amount of dust on Monday is a fair indication as to just how dry it really is.
This year being the driest on record in many parts of the state. It is also rather amazing to see the floods interstate and watching water pour into Lake Eyre.
In past seasons, when the Lake has filled, it has heralded a wetter than average season, let’s hope this year is no different.
Long service leave
Because it is my 60th birthday year and our 30th wedding anniversary, Jillian has organised for me to be chief bag carrier for a few weeks as we embark on a European adventure.
First stop was the Middle East and a two night layover in Doha, Qatar. I would strongly recommend this as it gives you a chance to attempt to adjust your body clock, I say attempt as I still woke up at 4.30am both mornings, but at least we had no chance of missing the plane.
Qatar Airlines are currently the world’s number one airline and I can concur with that, 14 hours flying was not too bad to bear (we may have managed to sneak into business class though).
About Doha, it is a country I knew nothing about but I can tell you it is a capital in the desert, which is dripping in wealth and opulence. The city is basically brand new with the majority of buildings being no more than 25 years old.
It is clean and beautiful, Qatar’s wealth comes from oil and gas and the Qatari royals do not mind sharing it about, health care is free, electricity is basically free and Qatari locals are set up once the become of age and marry.
With free land for a home and low interest housing loan. If you are a male it does not matter if you marry a foreigner, ladies on the other hand are generally encouraged to marry locals or they will miss out on much of the benefits. Oh and Qatar nationals and expats pay zero tax
Qatar’s city Doha is built on sand literally, and with an average rainfall of just three inches it was bewildering to see so much green. Around half the cities water comes from the sea and the rest from an underground aquifer.
We did a couple of tours, one was a 4WD across the desert to their inland sea. In a 300 series Land Cruiser, just as well it was about 44 degrees celsius.
This is their playground and there were dozens of them roaring about. In the winter it is hugely popular with locals camping out in the dunes and playing all day in four wheel buggies of various variants.
We did the dune buggy as well, it was hot and fun. We followed up with a traditional dinner in the sand after a terrifying drive through the dunes in the land cruiser (the picture makes it look way more fun than it was, still about 40 degrees and a bit breezy).
The next day we also checked out the latest newly created island Gewan with its crystal mall, which ran for about 500 metres and was fully air conditioned despite being completely outdoors.
The mall floor is covered in crystal stories and displays imbedded in the paving with workers constantly cleaning them as people just walk over them.
That evening we went on a sunset cruise overlooking the city, which was substantially less hectic than the previous day. One last thing on Doha, it is not an expensive city to visit the hotels, despite being opulent are generally cheaper than home as are the taxi or Uber services.
Most people in the hospitality areas are generally expats (they come from all over for six months at a time from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka to name a few). The service is next level and they often speak at least three languages.
Next week I will be reporting from Greece, I certainly hope we have had substantial statewide rain by then, or at the very least some on the horizon.
