Heat Wave, or the Beginning of the End of Summer

Yesterday, it was sunny, clear, and 30C. Today, it's expected to be sunny, clear, and 36. That's 86F and 97F, for those in the States. Plenty warm. In fact, Brisbane is likely to be among the hottest places in Australia today, on par even with Alice Springs, in the middle of the Central Australian Desert. The local newspapers described this as the end of Summer, though I'd put it as the beginning of the end of Summer. I think it's likely we'll get more rain in the next month. But it's awfully nice to have some warm, sunny weather again, after months of gloom and rain. I remember posting about water running in the streets sometime in November, I think. Well, I've seen plenty of water running in the streets since January. In fact, I saw and drove through a tropical rain that resulted in flash flooding, and forded a stream nearly half a meter deep that hadn't been there two hours before. Water running in the street...if I'd known then what I know now, I would still have been happy, but not hardly as impressed. Once it gets raining down here, it really rains. There's a saying: Australia is a desert interrupted by floods.

I'm continuing my house-hunting, and also hope to get out of the city for a little four-wheeling in the Defender.

And speaking of Defenders, I seem to work in an office park with a nest of them. Including mine, there are three Defenders, all roughly the same era, all the same general model, and all with the original paint. It's awesome! And, this week, I've seen a few more on the road, including a model 90 and a model 130, all in great shape. The 90 is the short-wheel base version, and is coveted as the ultimate off-road version of the line, while the 130 is a HiLux (king cab, in the States) typically with a pickup bed or drop-down tray for hauling.

It's absolutely amazing to see so many Land Rovers, of all kinds, on the roads, especially of my own most-favorite model. I've finally sorted out there don't seem to be many import restrictions on Land Rovers in Australia, and it does seem there is the general belief that Landies are well-respected for work in the Outback. Whereas in the States, I've come to understand the company only exported 500 North American Specification Land Rovers per year ... for many years. So, necessarily, Land Rovers in the States are rare vehicles, on par with Ferraris and Lamborghinis, at least the older models. Not so, here, and in fact, they seem to be wildly favorable amongst the tour companies based in Brisbane.

Whatever the reasons, my Defender is really enjoyable, and for all it's bulk and age, gets pretty good mileage, at least as good as my light pickup built in the same era, and the Landie weighs nearly twice as much as my Dodge did. Go Turbo Diesel with direct injection! Once I secure a new place to live, I am very much looking forward to tricking it out with a snorkel and a roof rack and taking some serious trips into the bush.