I think my body has banned the notion of sleep. I wake up at 5am, feeling really shitty about everything. The reality of what I'm doing has finally sunk in. Here I am, on the other side of the world, on my own. What the hell was I thinking of? I decide to phone home since I'm awake this early. This may well have been a mistake - within five minutes of hearing a familiar voice, I am in tears, and I want to go home. I am persuaded that it is just tiredness and I should get out there and do my best to enjoy myself, and I'll soon be feeling better.

Getting out there means a 4WD trip to Litchfield National Park, which leaves at 6am (just as well I'm jetlagged). In spite of the fact that this is the dry season, we actually pass through a rain shower on our way to the park. Of course, being Scottish, I naturally get the blame for bringing freak weather with me (is that not a cue for a song round these parts?)

Two hours, and a spectacular sunrise later, we arrive at Litchfield. Our first stop is at the Lost City - a collection of giant termite mounds. The Cathedral Termite mounds are the most spectacular, standing at around 7 or 8 feet tall. Our guide entices some out by sticking a key into a hole, in an attempt to prove that termites excrete a vanilla scent when disturbed - a fact which, I can now testify, is completely true.

Useless fact #3: Termites excrete a vanilla scent when disturbed

We are also shown Magnetic Termite mounds. Magnetic Termites apparently build their mounds so that they are aligned to catch the sun at a specific angle to ensure that the mound stays at the right temperature during the summer.

Useless fact #4: Magnetic Termites are clever little buggers.

In spite of the earlier freak rainshowers, it's getting damn hot. Time for the factor 50 to be applied liberally before we set off in search of some waterfalls. Litchfield seems to be full of the things - which is great for cooling off every half hour or so on a trip round the park. Not so good is the fact that most of the pools are inhabited by some rather unfriendly crocodiles. All these pools and waterfalls make for some pretty spectacular scenery, but by now I'm too hot to notice. Lucky for me we stop at one of the places which is safe to swim in - Buley Rockhole - and I spend a happy 15 minutes being splashed and soaked by David, an Israeli, and the only other backpacker on this trip.

After lunch, which included my first taste of damper bread and billy tea, we are taken on a cruise on McKeddie's billabong to do some crocodile spotting. I'm not sure that this is a particularly wise idea - are crocodiles not a bit on the dangerous side? Dangerous or not, they are elusive creatures, and we only actually see two or three small ones, although our guide assures us there are dozens of the things swimming around somewhere.

By the end of the day, jetlag has finally caught up with me. I'm exhausted and opt not to join the rest of the Litchfield party on their trip to the Mindil Beach markets. Instead, I head back to my dark and dingy hostel room in an attempt to get an early night. It would seem, however, that I've picked the party hostel (every town in Australia has at least one). Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem, but in my jetlagged and homesick state, I would rather be anywhere else but here. I resolve to move to the YHA just a few doors along for my last night in town. I have been told by David that it is a really good place - it can only be an improvement on here.

First thing in the morning (and I mean first thing - my circadian rhythm is still shot to pieces), I phone home to find out the result of the Belgian Grand Prix (because I'm an incredibly sad individual). After arguing with the guy at the reception (Miss Helpful has been replaced by her less obliging brother) about the number of nights I had actually stayed there, I move my stuff along the road to the YHA. What a contrast - as well as having nicer (and smaller) dorms, this place has a huge, airy kitchen and a gorgeous pool. I wish I'd been here for my first couple of nights.

I grab another couple of hours sleep, then decide to investigate Darwin a bit further, and make my way to the harbour, where I discover I may as well not have bothered - even though it's pretty big, there's not much to see. Still, it was a nice walk.

Useless fact #5: Darwin Harbour is twice the size of Sydney Harbour - and half as interesting.

To be perfectly honest, there isn't a lot to see in Darwin itself - all the interesting places are outside the city, such as Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks, and the Aboriginal territory of Arnhem Land. Of these, Kakadu is the main backpacker trip - for a lot of them it's the only reason they bother coming this far north (my reason? It seemed like a good place to start!). Since my schedule is very tight, I don't have time to do it - the shortest trip is three days, and I have to be moving on tomorrow.