I have just been afforded a moment's respite. While I can't say that this is the first opportunity I've had to rant since I left, it's the first time such a moment has coincided with me being sober and un-hungover enough to write.

I am currently sitting on Schmee's parents' dial-up connection in Esperance. Having driven all day and had a few acclimatising home brews and a hot shower, I thought I'd steal a moment before heading off to the pub or the beach or something to peg a pinion into the rocky slopes of the Internet to mark my location.

The number of people remarking sorrowfully on my recent lack of rants has been amazing. Including my girlfriend the current tally is at one, but I expect my mum to have a go any time soon.

A few notes on long distant traveling: tunes, tunes, tunes. You can't make yourself play games to keep awake - unless these are spontaneous, you'll end up putting yourself asleep. One must stay amused through a carefully nonchalant regime. Mine involves either good tunes or good conversation. A good traveling buddy is a must.

My holiday started off very well. Nothing like a beach-side sunset concert hosted by and starring your little brother to get a family get-together moving.

Karratha is an enigma. There is a complete juxtaposition between the remote desert wilderness and the completely decadent lifestyle I live up there. Between the exquisite cooked breakfasts, the with-beer lunches, the roasted, basted, soaked-in-gravy dinners and BBQs and the cocktails, I've just discovered I have outgrown my favourite pair of jeans.

The desert heat (above 45 degrees C in the shade) only makes the evenings sweeter (with a cold beer, of course) and makes the ocean almost luke-warm. Kayaking has become one of my favourite sports.

Anyway, other people wish to take the opportunity my having dialed up has created to send their own emails and such, so I must sign off. I realise just now that this is almost a diary in it's reportage style, so I will add this mini-rant to even things out: Australia's education system is screwed.