I had better get accustomed to return trips to Darwin as I have another 2 dental maintenance trips to do over the next 3 months.

The usual way to Darwin is via AirNorth flights in a 30-seater Embrauer Brasilia turboprop aircraft which takes around 1.5 hours.

On the way to the airport, I mentioned to the other half “I wonder how many people we will know at the airport ?”. Answer : about half a dozen. Yep, Dili is a small place.

The flight also included a small group of Timorese WW2 veterans heading off to Melbourne for Anzac Day. I had read all about them already. Check out the following link at the Melbourne Age – The Age 25 April 2006

Anyway, having copped the raw prawn * courtesy of my rear molar, it only seemed fitting that I arrive in Darwin a day before a cyclone warning. It was looking like the biggest cyclone to hit the north coast on record and bigger than Cyclone Tracy which obliterated Darwin in 1975.

Fortunately, it drifted south and missed Darwin and I only spent one extra day in Darwin while the city went into lockdown. I was told not to bother going to the airport to get my scheduled flight out as all other airlines had cancelled flights and someone even told me the army had taken over the airport for emergency measures.

I couldn’t contact AirNorth or the airport which was closed, so I didn’t bother going to the airport for my original return flight.

Now tell me why all the other airlines cancelled flights and little old AirNorth actually flew out at my scheduled time ?

* cop the raw prawn – receive something disagreeable, often hot and steaming