Hopefully I can do this trip report justice. Justice for Australia, for the people, for the reader and for myself. It will be lenghty. It will be in many parts. It will be personal. It will be an overview, but also some very detailed data for anyone following behind.

Pictures will be posted in a month. After my wife gets them downloaded, titled and posted for viewing. She is fighting a cold at this time. I will post this information when it becomes available. Lots of good stuff from the outback.

We spent a few days in Sydney before our main trip began. We did a couple of tours. We then took a 15 day guided bus tour with Australian Pacific Tours to Darwin. We spent a week in Darwin. We then "cooled our heels" for a day near the Sydney AP.

First, here is my a very annotated copy of the outline that I travel with, send to Mom, etc:

Aug 3rd, Wed

Depart SAN (term 1) 6:50p, arrive SFO 8:14P (Term 3) UA 422 Seats 2AB
Club
Depart SFO (Term 1) 10:40P UA 863 Seats 1A, 1J

Aug 5th, Fri

Arrive SYD 6:10A (Term 1)
Transport to Soffitel Wentworth Hotel, by APT/Landtrans uniformed Chauffer

Aug 6th, Sat
Dolphin Cruise APT S36

Aug. 7th, Sun
Blue Mtns. APT S15 Aug. 8th, Mon
Soffitel Wentworth Hotel

Aug. 9th, Tue D
APT pick-up 8am—15 day Ayers Rock, Kakadu National Park DNSD
Meet crew in foyer of hotel@8am else contact reception at hotel

Travel to Griffith, 613km west of Syd (pop 25,000)
Stay Bagtown Inn Motel, Zelma and Angie, od pool and laundry (1 each, inc soap)
Welcome dinner

Aug.10th, Wed BD
Murray River, Mildura, Renmark, Banrock Station, Barossa Valley. Stay Novotel Barossa Valley Resort. (Accor 308394 100 191724 3)

Aug.11th, Thursday BD
Wadlata Outback Centre, Woomera, Lake Hart, Coober Pedy. Stay Desert Cave Motel

Aug.12th, Fri BD
Explore Coober Pedy, enter opal mine, Breakaways. Repeat stay.

Aug.13th, Sat B
Dessert plains to Uluru. Stay Sails of the Desert Hotel B & drink.

Aug.14th, Sun BD Choice touring
AM, rock, waterhole, Liru Walk, etc. BD/Sounds of Silence Dinner

Aug.15th, Mon BD Choice touring, dine around options
Mt Conner mesa, Watarrka Nat. Pk, Kings Canyon (2 choices of guided walks), Dinner at Carmichael’s Rest (buffet)/or Assie BBQ at George Gill Bar(roof/open sided). Kings Canyon Resort. Laundry, HD, Mini Supmkt, sunset viewing platform

Aug.16th, Tue BD Dine around options---Overlanders Steakhouse
Mereenie Loop Rd, rugged, Hermannsburg, Angkerle (standley Chasm) and Simpsons Gap. Stay Alice Springs Resort , 5 dine around dinner options. Laundry, bug screens, ref, HD, & AC. Other: AS Cultural Precinct ($8), Museum of Central A, Aviation Museum, Arts Centre. Anzac Hill (views), Pasta Dinner Red Ochre Grill

Experience the unique dining style of the Overlanders Steakhouse. The world famous 'Drovers Blowout' menu offers a four course meal featuring emu, crocodile, camel, barramundi, beef and kangaroo. (3hr)

Aug.17th, Wed B Choice touring
Full day in Alice Freedom of Choice Touring (full day 4wd or 2 ½’s or leisure)
2nd night Alice Springs Resort

Aug. 18th, Thursday BD
Bond Springs Cattle Stat., Karlwekarlwe (Devils Marbles), Tennant Creek, Battery Museum and sunset drink. BD Bluestone Motor Inn-Tennant Creek. Pool, Rest, HD, G. laundry.

Aug. 19th, Fri BD
Elliott, Daly Waters, Elsey Station, Mataranka, swim thermal pools. Stay All Seasons Inn, Katherine (5 blocks long)

Aug. 20th, Sat BD
Nitmiluk Nat Pk, Arnhem Lande plateau, cruise w/guide Katherine Gorge, Kakadu Nat Pk and Warradjan Cultural Centre. Stay Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn. Holiday Inn member # Priority 985252089

Aug.21st, Sun BD
East Alligator River cruise. Walk into Arnhem Land, visit Ubirr art site and Bowali Visitors Centre. Gagudju again

Aug.22nd, Mon BD
Jumping Crocodile Cruise on Adelaide River. Litchfield Nat Pk, swim Wangi Falls, Darwin. Stay Novotel Atrium Darwin (Accor) Farewell dinner.

Aug.23, Tue B
Breakfast, tour over 10:45
check into Saville Suites 88 The Esplanade, Darwin
Confirmation 12381653

Aug.24, Wed thru Aug. 30
Saville Suites

Darwin AP Fly DRW to Brisbane QF0825 @1410/arr1820
Brisbane to SYD QF0553@1910/arr2040

Stay Airport Syd Int’l Motor Inn
35 Levey ST Arncliffe

Aug. 31st, Wed
Stay Airport Syd Int’l Motor Inn


Sep. 1st, Thurs

Depart SYD (Term 1) 2:45P, arrive LAX 11:15A (Term 6) Seats 4EF
Depart LAX (Term 8) 12:45P, arrive 1:30P (Term R) Seats 3AB

To Sydney on UA. First class was better than average on this trip. We had to pull the 1-k (G no longer) strings to get the reservations on a ff ticket.

The Club at SAN is a Star Alliance. It was mid afternoon when we arrived (flight was not until much later). It is a modest AP club, nuts, cheese and crackers. $5 for wine! No freebies here.

The club in SFO was much nicer. Turkey sans, good cookies and free drinks.

The flight out of SFO was a dinner flight. Departing at 10:40pm, it seems like this meal could be passed, to save some money. The meal in first class was excellent, but came too late for us to really enjoy it. Breakfast the next morning was quite average, now that meal could have been enhanced. We had the first "row" seats. I really prefer row 5, even with its noise. Having a "foot" in the back of your head was "uncomfortable" to me.

The first days in Sydney:

As this was our 7th trip to Australia, being in Sydney was not that exciting. We did go to the Museum of Sydney (A$7). Located at the corner of Bridge and Phillips. Cafe and shop. Free entry. Opened in 1995. It was more a building of quality that a museum of one, in my opinion. It would be difficult to spend much more that 1 1/2 hours touring the exibitions.

While walking around the Quays, we found a bit of a bottle shop to purchase a couple bottles of wine and found the local McDonalds. Big breakfast was $A10.50 including coffee. This can be "compared" to A$30 for Continential in the hotel! The wine came in handy to go with pizza, etc. in the room.

On Saturday we went on a Dolphin Cruise. APT (US$99) picked us up from the hotel. First we took a few block walk and had some Juice and rolls at a pastry shop. The cruise was part of an 11 hour tour that is narrated. We travelled thru the coastal seaside villages. Had a nice tea stop and viewed the Kiama blowhole. Our cruise started at Jervis Bay. We saw some dolphins. No whales (too late in the year) or fairy penguins (luck of the draw). Lunch was included on this 3 1/2 cruise. Food was surprising good. The facility is licensed, but wine was only by the bottle, not the glass. The weather was cool and breezy. Needed a good coat. The water was quite smooth. After departing the cruise it was off to Kangaroo Valley (no you won't see any). A 1/2 hour visit to Fitzroy Falls followed. It was only a 3-4 minute walk. Afternoon tea followed. Nick was our driver and he conducted a great tour. Generated a tip from me (not that common to tip a day tour driver in Australia). That night we shared a steak and carmelized onion san in our room with one of our bottles of wine.

Sunday we took a tour to the Blue Mountains (US$79 or 94 w/lunch). This is a tour we took 10 years before but the weather was poor and, therefore so was the trip. The tour proved only average, as did our driver Colin. This is a risk. The driver is your guide and can make or break your enjoyment. The ride to and in the Blue Mountains is great. The view are also special. You will see when you see the pictures! The Koala Park is a stop for those seeking to see the wildlife, abet in captivity. Roos, Wallabys, Dingo, Penguin, Emu, and lots of birds. Pizza tonight in the room with another bottle of wine!

Today we dealt with a cash problem. I hate to admit to this, but it may serve someone someday. I forgot my ATM card (generally a good way to get money in Australia). I did have a BofA AS affinity credit card. We checked the yellow pages to see if a BofA branch existed in Aust. We found a listing and set our to get some money. Turns out this is a commercial office and the woman that came out was not only not helpful, but quite rude!. Asked the conceirge for help. He had a number for Visa, so I called them. They said go to ANY bank with the Visa emblem and they will give me a cash advance against my card. Now I have an MBA. Travelled lots of places, but did not know how to do that!!!!!!!!!! Shameful. I also do not know how to do a lottery ticket...oh, I do digress.

We did go to McDonalds for breakfast again. Then it was off to the Australian Museum (A$10). 6 College Street. WWW.amonline.net.au. Three levels. It is quite a walk from our hotel, but we paced it. Figure at least 2 hours. Indigenour displays, history and an area comparing man and ape (spookie tie-ins). We had been to this museum before, but found a second trip well worthwhile. Food is available, but we had our sights on going to Hard Rock. It was about 3:30pm so the place was "slow".

The Soffitel Wentworth (an Accor Hotel) is "top of the line" and was a good stay. We had a rate thru APT. The hotel is quiet, well staffed and nicely located. Our membership in Sofitel Privilege should have generated us a complimentary drink offer. It did not, but at 7:30 am that was okay, we were elated to be able to check in that early!!!!!!!!!!!

Next I will cover the 15 days on the bus, but first a break.