DARWIN, AUSTRALIA

This is one of those days when nothing important seems to be happening anywhere.  My travel companion will be flying to Darwin, Australia tomorrow, so I thought I would educate you (and me) about this city.

• First of all, I don't ever plan to visit Darwin.
• However, if I did, I would consider also catching The Ghan to Adelaide.
• I am known for taking long-distance train trips, and somewhere in my memory was something about this one being unique.   So I asked Google AI:

Yes, The Ghan is widely considered one of the most significant and legendary long-distance train journeys in the world. [1, 2]

• Epic Route: It spans 2,979 kilometers (1,851 miles) straight through the center of Australia, running between Adelaide in the south and Darwin in the north (via Alice Springs and Katherine). [1, 2, 3]
• Duration: The standard journey takes about 53 to 54 hours, while the extended southbound "Ghan Expedition" takes up to 75 hours with extra excursions. [1, 2]
• 
  Luxury and Scale: Operating as a luxury experiential train managed by Journey Beyond, a typical train stretches nearly 774 meters (0.5 miles) long with around 30 stainless steel carriages hauled by dual locomotives. It offers all-inclusive gourmet dining featuring regional fare like kangaroo and barramundi.[1, 2, 3, 4]

• 
  That Alice Springs stop is purposefully long enough that you can take a tour to Uluru.  Also called Ayers Rock.
• But this monolith (specifically called an inselberg) is 208 miles away and is listed as a UN World Heritage Site.
• A drive would be 5 hours each way.  

• 
  At one time when I was younger, I thought about walking up to the top, only an elevation of 1142 feet.  Now, I'm too old to do this.  But, anyway, the Aboriginal owners avoid doing this for spiritual reasons, and now, everyone is prohibited, for there are safety and social problems.
• Thus, as I can't go to the top plateau anyway, it turns out that there is an air tour to the site.  This option allows you to return in time to get back to The Ghan.

• 
  Oh, one problem about those luxury suites:  4 days and 3 nights could cost you from $7,990 to $20,990, depending on the suite tier and season. [1, 2, 3]

The air distance between Honolulu and Darwin, Australia is approximately 5,360 miles (8,640 kilometers).  A direct flight takes a little more than 10 hours.  Darwin is 19 hours 30 minutes ahead of Honolulu and observes the UTC+9:30 timezone.

Approximately 255,000 international visitors annually visit Darwin and its surrounding region, based on data for the year ending December 2025. [1]  Add about a million tourists from Australia.

About Darwin.

• It is the capital and largest city of the Northern Territory, with a population of close to 160,000 in the Greater Darwin Region.  
• Slightly more than 10% aboriginal.
• Northern Territory is twice the size of Texas and about half that of Alaska.

• 
  Some history.
• The Aboriginal people called this area Garramilla.
• Dutch visited in the 1600s.
• The first Briton to see Darwin harbour was John Stokes of the HMS Beagle, who in 1839 named the place Darwin. This is because Charles Darwin was on a previous expedition of this ship.  Darwin sailed about Australia, but in 1836 only got as close as 1,757 miles from that city.

• 
  By 1888, there more than 1000 from China to work the goldfields.  The White Australia policy forced many to leave the country in the 1890s.  They left a few people and a China town.
• Darwin was one of Amelia Earhart's stops on her attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1937.
• On 19February1942, the same fleet that had bombed Pearl Harbor a few months earlier, dropped more bombs here than in Hawaii, killing more than 243 people and seriously damaged the city.  Chinatown was demolished.
• Finally attained city status in 1959.

• 
  In 1974, Cyclone Tracy at 135 MPH destroyed 70% of all buildings and 94% of homes, killing 70 and forcing the permanent evacuation of over 30,000 people, leaving only around 14,000 in the city.
• Adelaide-Darwin railway completed in 2003.
• A good link to Asia.

The Major League Baseball post-season continues.  Where and when to find some of those games can confuse you.  So from Yahoo Sports.

AL division series (3 wins)

• Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 3

• Game 2: Monday, Oct. 5

• Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 7

• Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 8 (if necessary)

• Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 10 (if necessary)

All ALDS games will air on TBS/truTV/HBO Max.

NL division series (3 wins)

• Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 3

• Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 4

• Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 6

• Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 7 (if necessary)

• Game 5: Friday, Oct. 9 (if necessary)

AL championship series (4 wins)

• Game 1: Monday, Oct. 12

• Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 13

• Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 15

• Game 4: Friday, Oct. 16

• Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 17 (if necessary)

• Game 6: Monday, Oct. 19 (if necessary)

• Game 7: Tuesday, Oct. 20 (if necessary)

All ALCS games will air on TBS/truTV/HBO Max.

NL championship series (4 wins)

• Game 1: Sunday, Oct. 11

• Game 2: Monday, Oct. 12

• Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 14

• Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 15

• Game 5: Friday, Oct. 16 (if necessary)

• Game 6: Sunday, Oct. 18 (if necessary)

• Game 7: Monday, Oct. 19 (if necessary)

All NLCS games will air on Fox/FS1.

When is the World Series?

The best-of-seven World Series will begin on Oct. 23 at the home park of the team with the better regular-season record.  First to win 4 games becomes the champ.

• Game 1: Friday, Oct. 23

• Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 24

• Game 3: Monday, Oct. 26

• Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 27

• Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 28 (if necessary)

• Game 6: Friday, Oct. 30 (if necessary)

• Game 7: Saturday, Oct. 31 (if necessary)

In the National Football League, the top two teams are also my favorites:

• #1  Kansas City Chiefs (4-0).  Still undefeated, but they have only barely won some games against less than sterling teams.  Taylor Swift, or Mrs. Travis Kelce, still goes to home games.
• #2  San Francisco 49ers (4-0).  The 49ers will play at the Chiefs on 27December2026.
• Minnesota Vikings also 4-0, but ranked #6.
• The worst two teams are the Miami Dolphins #31 and Tennessee Titans #32.  This is what happens if you trade away quarterbacks from Hawaii.  However, Tua Tagovailoa and Marcus Mariota are now both injured.

No hurricanes now heading for Hawaii.  However, two ocean storms are moving in the general direction of Japan.

Hurricane/Typhoon Nolo today strengthened to 120 MP, but all projections show a weakening over the next few days.

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