With the rumors swirling in the uranium industry for the last month that a major find had been unearthed and that the government was on the verge of passing a bill into law in relation to it, news agencies across the country scrambled to get information on this story.

I begin my story as I reach the train station in Viscount Bennett on Friday, thinking I was at the end of my ordeal, when in fact I was just at the beginning.  

I had been told to go to Uranium Falls and work on assignment in relation to the rumblings last week that the uranium industry was onto something big.  This was all I was told at first, not that it was the find of the millennium as it appears to be now.  Now if you have never heard of Uranium Falls until now do not be alarmed, a few weeks ago most in the news office had never heard of it either.  In fact most in the travel industry, the government, and even in the uranium industry had never heard of it, or at least claimed as much.

You will never find the village on any map, in any library in the country.  It is almost like it does not exist, and in fact didn't until one uranium company set up a prospecting centre there a year ago.  

When I say centre though I really mean a village.  The village has no more than 50 people working in it.  No one talks to you, everyone does their business and will completely ignore you even if you were on fire I would suspect.

Using my skills as a reporter, I finally located where it was after weeks of non-stop searching.  I discovered I had to take the train from Viscount Bennett to Victory Union.  Arriving at Viscount Bennett station though turned into the beginning of my ordeal.  No one at the station knew where Uranium Falls was, or knew anything about it.  The only information that I could garner was that it was 'somewhere' along the rail lines between Viscount Bennett and Victory Union.  

Those who are not familiar with that trip should know that it is a unique, 2125 kilometre trip along a rail line that is from the 19th century.  Your rail car has no air conditioning, no heat, open windows, and is old.  The train runs at 100 kilometres an hour, at top speed!  Of course most of the trip is through the Great Rainforest, where the only animals you ever see are bugs, bugs, and even more bugs.  Did I mention the open windows?  Perfect for letting in all the mosquitoes which at times were so thick it looked like a black cloud was coming towards me.  

The train trip itself is well known for any soldier heading to Victory Union.  It is the only passenger rail route there, our first railway line ever built.  Some say it was never upgraded in anyway for historical reasons, most soldiers say it is like that so that you can get a 3 day trip of what the rest of your life in the army will be like.   

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'...the mosquitoes... at times were so thick it looked like a black cloud was coming towards me...' 

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Throughout the entire ordeal on the train, I kept thinking about the warnings from my sources who told me that the train trip was, 'cruel and unusual punishment'.  I kept thinking about the soldiers who interrogated me wanting to know who I was, who I worked for, prior to me finally getting permission to take the train, 5 hours later.  

Oh, that is another fact worth mentioning, you have to know a lot of people in government, in the military, and even then you are extremely lucky to get on the train towards Victory Union.  

I remember their smiles every time I told them that I knew what I was getting myself into, and that I really want to take the trip.  Had I only known I would have never come, but once you are on the train, you are stuck.  After many hours of convincing they finally let me board the train, their final words of, 'have fun', with mischievous grins on their faces will live with me the rest of my life.

On the train as the hours dragged along I still had not figured out my biggest problem of the trip, or biggest problem so I thought at that time.  That problem being to determine how was I to get off the train in Uranium Falls, assuming I could figure out exactly where Uranium Falls was.  The train to Victory Union has no stops, and Uranium Falls does not have a rail station.  After questioning a few soldiers I found one who actually knew where the place was.  According to him, I was told that I should not have to worry, 'there are a lot of swamps you can jump into from the train that look like they are safe and they are near a spot where the train has to slow down due to all the bends in the track.  Just make sure you are a really good swimmer', he noted after a long pause.  Then sensing my impending question he answered it with another fact to be honest I wish he didn't let me know.  Uranium Falls, and the swamps that are everywhere in the village, 'are known for having a huge amount of crocodiles'.  

As I let the words of this soldier repeat themselves in my head, I had no time to contemplate changing my mind and continuing to Victory Union.  A soldier came down the aisle and grabbed me and put me over his shoulder.  I barely grasped my bag and could only let out a yelp as he tossed me out the train, his parting words of 'welcome to Uranium Falls' partly distorted by the water as I hit the swamp.  

I was frozen in shock for a few moments until I realized where I was, the swamp was too deep to stand up in, so I swam, rather quickly to the shore.  Pulling myself up, I noticed a coupled crocodiles glaring at me from the other side of the swamp.  I quickly walked towards a few dwellings I could spot across another swamp.

The villagers were extremely unhappy at my arrival.  They told me to leave with a shotgun as their negotiating tool, I flashed $200 and asked if they were willing to negotiate, they took my money and told me to sleep on the porch and not to bother them for anything.

As I checked through my stuff I found a lot of my clothes had been soaked, luckily my satellite phone was okay as I could get this report out, makes the trip worth it, so I keep telling myself.

A typical dwelling in Uranium Falls.

Map of the country showing the two thousand plus kilometre rail trek between Victory Union and Viscount Bennett.