Australia-the outback
 

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.

Part 2 of report

If you have read any of our prior Australia or New Zealand trip reports, you will note that we usually drive the trip. This time we took an escorted bus tour. We knew some of the shortcomings in advance, but had a number of reasons we did not drive to Darwin (up from Adelaide). First we were concerned about the roads. Turns our that most of our trip was paved. The sections that were unpaved could have been driven, although a bit bumpy, or one could have missed out on some of the areas. Our second concern was the road trains (Semis with up to 4 trailers). They are huge, but the drivers are much more considerate and try to give you enough road to stay on the pavement. Our third concern was remoteness. This is and was a real concern. Services (anything) are often hundreds of Kilometers apart. The final material concern was the length of the drive. It was long. Distances between "good" places to stay were very long. Finally, the road is long, with little traffic. It is easy to fall asleep. It is interesting country for awhile, but then becomes one big scrub/dessert. With a driver, you can look for the interesting things and take a nap if your wish (I stayed glued to the road to make sure the driver was okay) Most of the trip was made on the left side of the road, but once the drive went on the right for a K or so! Did I mention that there were no other cars for hours on occasion!

We met at the hotel. There were 21 of us to start, plus the tour director and driver. The bus sat 46, so we had plenty of room. Generally, the passengers were an older lot. We at 60, were fairly common. A few people were younger, but mostly a bit older. Surprisingly we had a number of foreigners. Donna from Texas (oil woman). A couple from Colorado (retired). Bobbie and Bonnie friends from Long Beach (CA). With us, that was a third from USA! Oh, then there were the Kiwi's! Lyle and his wife, were great company. We talked with them some of our earlier trip to South Island. A couple from outside Sydney, Fay and Bill were taking their first real vacation ever! Nice people, our age. Another couple, from Brisbane, David and Jennie were great travel mates. He is in the tourist industry and she is a travel agent for a credit union. You get the idea. A small group gets to know each other some on the bus. Bill, Fay, David and Jennie got off in Alice Springs and returned on the Ghan.

The tour director was a German lady, with a heavy accent. She was an intrepreter for APT. Unfortunately, she was hard to understand and a bit abrasive. It is a very difficult job. The driver was great. Always kept on the left side of the road (well except for me) and never passed unless it was VERY safe. A credit to APT, although he is a contract long haul driver.

The first day of the trip ended in Griffith. The day was long and almost boring! Fortunately, the driver had a lot to say and kept people interested. Forget about seeing any wild life on this part of the journey, except for the birds and a bit of road kill. The Bagtown Inn Motel is not the Ritz, but we were made welcome and served a fine dinner. Veal, chicken or fish were the choices. Laundry was available, but no time was left, except to get some sleep.

Day 2 started with a fine breakfast. A key discovery that I made early, always make your toast first. That is where the line is at all the breakfast buffets. Love that greasy bacon (strips and the meat sections). Juice, coffee, rolls, "Mc"Donalds" hashbrowns , eggs (style varied from place to place), sausage, mushrooms, spagetti, baked beans, several types of fruit, hot and cold cereal, vegiemite (spelling) and a few other items I cannot recall were offered at the buffets. At 7:15 am we departed. Temperature for that day was 9/16 degrees. Today was another long drive. We did cross the Murray River a couple times and had a wine tasting at Banrock Station in the Barossa Valley. The wines I tasted were average to me. They were very generous with letting you try up to 12 or so wines. Bought a cheap Shiraz for later. Still no wild life along the road without wings. We stayed that night at the Novetel Borassa Valley Resort. We arrived late. Seem like a very nice place, but we were late again. Nice room and a great dinner. Note, on a prior trip we took a one day trip to the Borassa Valley from Adelaide for wine tasting. I recommend that tour highly.

Day three. Did I tell you we had four new passengers? This was going to be the process. While I thougt everyone was going to Darwin, people were added and removed as we went! Could have phased that differently, but I think I will leave it that way. Breakie was great. It was at 6:30 am, not so great. We are off to Coober Pedy today. Today will really be long. We will travel through Port Augusta and Woomera for those with maps. We are now starting to see more animals. Roos, wallabies, emus, eagles, goulahs, cockatoos and a wambat. Oh, and plenty of sheep and cattle. The road kill is picking up too. We had our normal three stops (tea, lunch, tea) and arrived very late at our lodgings in Coober Pedy. The Desert Cave Motel isn't really underground. WWW.desertcave.com.au. Some rooms are built into the mountain, and have rock walls and no windows. We stayed in one of those. The walls have the cut marks of the machine that does the mining and are coated to hold down the dust. This was our first stop for two nights. We managed to sneak in a load of wash, as did a few others. No one told us that a laundrymat was just across the street. We were told to watch where we went if we left the hotel on foot. They have some troubles with the Abroginals (Abros). Naturally, I went to the store for wine, so I encountered some Abros. They did not speak english and I did not speak their language. They were yelling at each other (normal conversation, I am told and observed elsewhere but not universally). We had a good dinner and went to bed.

Coober Pedy (www.opalcapitalof the world.com.au) is dry. Annual rainfall is 5 inches (175mm). Weather is hot in the summer. Accessible by coach, car, plane or train (Ghan stops about 40kms away).The aboriginal community adopted the name Umoona, meaning long life and the name for the mulga tree. Opals were first discovered here in 1915. Population is about 3,500, mostly european. 45 nationalities are represented. Opal mining is followed by tourism (150,000 tourists/year) for it economy.

Our second day (4th day of the tour) in Coober Pedy was a highlight. First it is off to the Breakaways (33km from town). Coober Pedy means "white man in a hole". The area is consumed with mounds of dirt (mullock) and holes. This is opal country. Australia is one of the few countries with opals. They are mined in only a few area of Australia. CP is probably the most famous. Mining is limited to individuals. You can get a claim and then mine. No corporations are allowed. My observation, if corportations were allowed the opals would be mined out in a couple of years. This way it takes forever and therefore the price of a nice stone for a necklace can run A$20,000. Nice, but small stones of good color in earrings run from A$650 to thousands in a gold setting. Doublets and triplets are cheaper. It is a hard job and not for the old. Sandy, our guide was great. If you go, look her up. She have a magician friend here in San Diego, but I have forgotten his name.

Turns out that mining and house building have a lot in common. First you get your claim. Then you have a circular shaft sunk about 80 foot. You find the opal potentially containing seam, then lower equipment down to start horizontal drilling. "Rooms" of about 20 by 15 are cut out to form your house, while you mine the 6 inch seam. The mine we went into and did some Noodling had a 25 foot deep ramped trench dug with an angular shaft angled down another 20 foot or so. Leslie found some interesting material with minor color, but not enough to be commercial. We brought this and some other stuff home. Once in the mine we could go to the active mining area. There were several rooms. One mine has 55 rooms!

During our visit we went to an underground church. We saw and touched the dingo fence (2 meters high and 5300 km long crossing 3 states), and then off to salt and pepper hills. This outcrop area is famous for the movies shot there. We actually spent 20 minutes looking for stars that came off the customs! I found 2. They are really small, but plentiful. Leslie found some too. We drove by the race track (one day a year they have horse racing). We had a putting contest on the green. Note this golf course has NO growing anything on it. Completely composed of rock, gravel and sand. Leslie won the closest to the hole contest (about 5 inches on a 22 foot put). Lyle was second, not much difference. Most tries were 15 foot off!

Much of the town is above ground, but plenty is below. The temperatures can get to 50 or more. In that heat, underground is the only place to be. Most underground homes keep a steady 22-24 degrees. Tonight it is BBQ with the first drink on APT. We spent our second night in our cave.

Did I mention, I have now found that Old Tooneys is pretty good. XXXX is alright with some food. Gingerbeer is a bit sharp.

That is it for now. Next section will pick up on the way to Uluru and the Olgas.

Very interesting. Looking forward to reading part 3. Thanks for taking the time to write and post your report. ^

Shaping up to be another fine report - thanks Ranles ^

Let us know more ASAP. Australia is the best!

Part 3 of Report

Did I mention that the rule on the bus is to rotate seats each day. You start at whatever number and then add one. On the bus door (inside) is a chart to show you where the seats are, as they are not in order. Over the 15 days you sit on the right, left, front, back, middle, etc. and once everyone is on then you can also move to any vacant seat, BUT you must resume the same rotation the next day as if you were in the seat of the system.

Now we are off to Uluru. We get a 7:15 start again (packing, dressing, getting ready, brekie, toi, and to the bus!). Today we drive through the desert plains and into the Territories...the "real outback". The fences are less evident. Road kill now includes sheep, cattle and CAMELS. Yes, camels are a big group of Australian residents in the Territories! They were important to the development of the Territories and when they were less useful, they became part of the wildlife, road kill and menu! Yes, I...the won't try anything had camel...a small piece. We are now seeing walk horses (brumbys?) and donkeys. It is a hard life for man, animals and plants. Fires burn everwhere. Started by the Australian Gov't, the Abros, and nature. It is part of the cycle of regrowth. The Gov't does it to control wildfires (partially), the Abros because they are nomads. The eat the berries, use the bark, harvest the tubers, use the leaves and then burn down the brush and move on. When they come back some day "all the shelves are stocked again". Nature, well nature works the same game that the Abros do.

We start to approach Uluru (Aryes Rock to some). We drive to Sails of Desert and drop off the luggage. Then we go back out to see the sunset on Uluru. Sunset and sunrise are two events, somewhat different that are celebrated by tourists. Rightly so. The rock is large but only somewhat impressive, to someone from the West Coast of Americal it is a yawn. The color change generated by the sun is something else. Really a highlight (no pun intended). The viewing area are one for cars and one for buses. The tour buses have a designated area. We had snacks and wine. Forget anything except the sunset impact on Uluru!

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, home of the Anangu. The Abroginals are made up of the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people. The Australian Department of Environment and Heritage (EH) oversee this National Park. A fee of A$25 per person is charged to visitors. The EH allows visitors to climb Uluru (Ayres Rock). A rope has been installed with supports to aid people in that activity. Somedays it is close because of weather. On our arrival it was open and several people were climbing (refer to pictures, later). The following day the two people on our tour that wanted to climb, could not as the path was closed. The abroginals, request that as "guests" on Anangu land that you choose to respect their law and culture by not climbing. We are told by our tour guide that Europeans and Japanese tend to climb. Americans, Kiwis and Assie, tend not to. Obviously, this is a generalization. There are walks around Uluru where viewing, and in most cases (not all) photography is allowed. This photo ban was totally ignored by the Japanese group before us (the fault of a tip seeking tour director?), but respected by our group. Uluru is a 4 1/2 drive from Alice Springs or a 40 minute flight. Ayers Rock is 348 meters high and 9.4kms in circumference. It is estimated that 6km of rock is buried under the earth.

There are several hotels in a single chain at Uluru. Each is a different price category. From Sails, where we stayed (from A$424 per night), to Ayers Rock campground (sites A$13.50-37)...and all inbetween.
A new area, previously constructed and burned down is a tent development, Longitude 131 degree, minimum 2 nights). The tents come with a butler and rent from A$1800 per night. www. voyages.com.au Did I mention this is a very expensive trip! We are now 35 on the bus.

Oh, did I mention there was a contest to see who would see Uluru first as we approached the area. Well there is a Mt. Connors that looks more like Uluru than Ayers Rock does in the post cards! We are not fed this night! We were warned that dinner was on our own. After sunset, luggage gathering and "unpacking" not a lot of time was left. Reservations are almost required, as there are few employees for the number of tourists. Feature no place to live, no place to socialize, etc and low wages! Prices are very high.

Ayers Rock Resort (Yolara) has Sails in the Desert, Desert Gardens, Emu Walk, the Lost Camel and Outback pioneer as choices for lodging. A free shuttle bus at the Resort will take you around, including the shopping area. Handy for meals at different buildings.

Another great breakfast (A$34, included in our tour package). sets us off on optional tours today. Pancakes were included. The eggs were runny and under cooked. Optional tours today. Grab ... with a European Harley driver is the most popular with the ladies. The Camel ride (two tourist per animal, with all tied together) is also quite popular (Leslie's choice-refer to picture later offered). Me, I signed up for the critter show (snakes and spiders) but backed away and took a shower and a snooze instead. The Liru Walk, into the Abro lands is cancelled. Boo, this was a real must do. The Abros can choose when and when not to do their tours. Money is not the main driver!

In the afternoon, we all get together again and go to the Olgas (Kata tjuta). We hike into Walpa Gorge. The hike is on uneven ground (generally the way all the rest will be), relative steep. Time alloted to to get there and get back to the bus. Most of the pace was quite "move along".

The stay at Sails is for 2 nights! Another good sleep (number 2?). Today we again get our choice of tours.

Tonight we attend the "Sounds of Silence Dinner". (Note to USA tourists on this tour, the Sounds of Firelight (A$130pp) is limited to 10 couples and is the best option for dinner, but must be booked in advance of leaving the US). The Silence dinner is attended by most of the people staying at Yalara on some night (A$139pp). Predinner drinks are in sight of Uluru. Then we move off to another area for dinner. It is so dark that it is impossible to really see what your eating. Tonight Crockadile was added to my dining history. It was in the Ceasar salad. Tasted a bit like swordfish, but dry, to me. The meal, service and program was not up to the price we would have paid if not part of the tour. Probably recommend it anyway. Not really a lot to choose from. There is also a Sunrise Breakfast available for A$99pp (not included in our package).

Did I mention that baked 1/2 tomato is also part of almost every breakfast?

Today it is off to Kings Canyon. My notes start getting a bit sketchy as I am back in the from of the bus doing animal spotting (this is a favorite of Leslie and I). We drive thru Mt Conner mesa, Watarrka National Park and into Kings Canyon. Hear we get a choice of two walks. One with the fit tour director who you can't understand or one with the overweight driver who is very interesting. We went with the driver. Finely a stay where we get in early. I head off to George Gill's Bar two blocks away while Leslie "unpacks". Eventually, Bill and Lyle come over. They hoist a few, I nurse one. Lots of dinner choices, but they really push Carmichael's at the hotel. It was okay, nothing special. Oh, yes another chance to have roo. Wish they would stop saying "here skippy, skippy" when they see one. I ate it but cried as I did. Kings Canyon Resort was a nice stop and stay (Laundry, mini-market, sunset viewing platform). For those caravaning, they have a caravan area as part of the resort. There is power, a general store, medical services, and fuel.

Today we head for Alice Springs. We stop at Hermannsburg (vacant German town with some Aboriginal residents in the area for lunch). Hermannsburg is the first Abroginal Mission in the NT. Established by the Lutheran Church in 1877 on the traditional lands of the Western Aranda people. Restoration of the building is at a standstill and this mission will eventually disappear if something is not done.

The McDonalds (mountain range!) are a highlight.

Angkerle is 41kms from Alice Springs (Stanley Chasm, named after the first school teacher in Alice Springs) and Simpson Gap our the two walks available. I do the former but not the latter. My foot problem is starting to catch up with me and I must start choosing where to use what I have left. Leslie does both. "Starting to us our fly netting over our heads. Again, it is race to the end and then turn around and get on the bus to move on. A food kiosk is available. The walks here offer sightings of rock wallaby. Note they are very small. The pictures are marginal, may or may be included later.

Our stay is at Alice Springs Resort (located on the banks of the Todd River-no water. Lots of dining options tonight. We arrive early. Bar does not open until 6pm!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, they opened it for me, and most of the rest of the bus came shortly thereafter. What is in their thinking? The Resort has bug screens...yes the flies are catching up with us. They have laundry, refrig., hair dryer, and AC (the weather is starting to warm up some).

Alice Springs (The Alice) has lots to see and do, but our schedule limited the choices. There is an Aboriginal Art & Culture Centre (free), Adelaide House Museum A$4), Alice Springs Cultural Precinct (A$9), Alice Springs Desert Park (A$18)-one of our options, Alice Springs RSL Club and War Museum (donation), Alice Springs School of the Air (A$4), Alice Springs Telegraph Station (A$7) for a start. The Alice Wanderer is a bus service to these and other places (A$35). Other attractions include Sounds of Starlight Theatre, Botanic Gardens, Central Australian Aviation Museum, Frontier Camel Farm, Lightning Ridge Opal Mines, Museum of Central Australia (A$9), National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame, National Road Transport Hall of Fame, and on and on. Two other places were options for us. The Royal Flying Doctor Service and the full day Palm Valley Experience (4wd) which we selected. Included a nice tour of the area and some really bump ride into the Palm Valley to see the unique Palms. It also featured lunch back at Hermmansburg and the Art Gallery Tour. (A$149).

Dining tonight includes the Overlanders Steakhouse's Drovers Blowout" meal (www.overlanders.com.au). The first course was Zuchini & Bacon soup on Damper. Then a plate cosistinig of Crocodile vol Au Vent, Kangaroo Fillet with wine and mushroom sauce, Emu Medallion and finaloly CAmel Scotch Fillet with plum sauce. Tried the Emu, Skippy, Crock and Camel. Nothing stood out much, except the horrible service and the lousy main (choice of rump steak, cheese crepes or chilli chicken shaslicks...steak was leather)!! For desert was the famous Pavlova (sugary egg whites or apple pie. We were told the owner was away. Well, I would not recommend this place to anyone. The entertainment was first rate. Maybe go in, have a drink, ask if the owner is in. If he is, ask to speak with him. Inquire as to the service and quailty of meal you can expect. If he does not give you a $$$ back deal, then skip it. Have another drink and enjoy the singer.

Dinner is on your own tonight. I cannot even remember what we did!

Note we were not in Alice Spring. It was a walk across the bridge. The tour director gave us all kinds of where not to go, so we stayed. Mainly it was to travel in groups and stay out of the river bed, when some of the Aboriginals drink all day and night. Alice is a real city with real stores. Not to be seen again until Darwin.

Next is off to Tennant Creek. For now it is good night. I will try to do more tomorrow, for those still with me.

The name of the hotel you're thinking of is Longitude 131, and I hear it is supposed to be quite luxe. I stayed at the Lost Camel when visiting Uluru, but may consider the Sails in the Desert next time.

Great report so far! It's bringing back many fond memories of my visit to Uluru. ^

Part 4


On the road to Tennant Creek. Leaving The Alice was like saying goodbye to man. The fences are fewer and fewer. The sheep start to fade away. This is cattle land, and wild camels, and wild horses and donkeys. The roos start to fade out too. Wallabies still here and there, especially rock wallabies. Some picture review will help get the thought going the right direction. The temite mounds are getting larger and more prevalent. The termites eat the modest trees but mostly the bits and pieces of this and than and the grasses!

Did I mention that my notes start getting poorer as the travel gets more interesting. Leslie and I want to see a wild dingo, or more appropiately, a dingo in the wild. Well, our wish came true, but it was a limper. Poor thing was running on three legs. The bus does not stop for pictures, so nothing is likely to of come of a try out our window at 100k.

Tennant Creek services the centre of Barkly pastoral industry. Mr Tennant was a major financial backer of John Stuart's attempts of crossing the continent from south to north. Note this is the only continent in the world where this can be done without going across another country. Its claim to fame was the existance of the Overland Telegraph Station , built in 1872. The gold rush of the 1930's gave Tennant Creek another boost. Tennant Creek is located 505km north of The Alice and 978km south of Darwin.

We visited our first "station" today. Bond Springs Cattle Station. While our tour director and our driver argued weither we would get muffins or scones, we were just read for a bathroom. At least our most senior rider (Fred) was. Poor guy, our tour director managed to leave his luggage at The Alice. He did not get it back until Darwin. Muffins it was, as per the drivers position. A tour of the station was included in the stop. This is a cattle and horse place. The old building have been preserved to help sell tourists a stop. Same with some of the tack and "artifacts". They also offer overnights, but little advertising or signage. We met two station dogs. Both chased a large rock and broughts it back, as if a tennis ball. Went I stopped playing they starting chewing the rocks! Muffins were good, the stop was appreciated, as well as the history discussion of the station. LStations have very few employees. Thousands of head of cattle. Horses have been replaced with 4 wheel scooters, helicoptors and small fixed wing planes. Stations are required to have a landing strip so the flying doctor can land. It also facilitates deliveries and the mail. We then were off to Devils Marbles (Karlwekarlwe, again for those with a map).

Our final stop before our Inn, was the Battery Museum, a mining museum on the site of a mine, owned by a material mining company in the area. This is mining country. We had wine, cheese and veggies while we heard about the area. A few pictures were taken, including me in a posed signboard. Finally, it was off to Bluestone Motor Inn (laundry, pool, hair dryer). Tennant Creek is not a large place. We had an acceptable dinner and breakfast the following morning. Our sleep was interrupted about 1am by the beep of the battery going bad on the smoke alarm. After an hour of trying to sleep through it, I woke up the managers and had them bring a ladder so the thing could be disconnected! While I waited for the managers, I could hear the drunk Aboriginals in the street, yelliing and screaming (pay day?).

Now it is Friday and we are headed to Katherine (5 blocks long). We are invited to swim in the thermal pools (not really thermal, just luke warm water from the subsurface). A few people 'give it a go', we pass. Little time to go to the toi, get lunch and walk of the ride, let alone change, swim and then do the same. The thermals pools are concrete lined! We are now about 320 miles South of Darwin. We stay at the All Seasons Inn. I do not remember it much, so it must of been average. It was again on the edge of town. We keep being "spared" contact with the Abros. After a decent breakfast in the am, we will be off to Kakadu.

Kakadu National Park is a World Heritage area. It contains a huge collection of Rock Art. The Park is managed jointly by it Aboriginal traditional owners and the staff of Parks Australia. Located in NT, it is approximately 200 km east of Darwin. The Park is huge, spaning 200km by 100km.

The weather is warming up. Bottled water, sunscreen, insect repellent, hat and perhaps a bug screen. Lots of things to see. Some require a 4wd. In the wet season, some require a boat. Plan on a couple days to see a material representation of what the Park has to offer. Fuel, food and provisions are available at Jabiru, Gagudju Lodge Cooinda, Aurora Kakadu REsort, Border Store and Wirnwirnmila Mary River Roadhouse. Always fuel when you have a chance!!! But, then we are on the bus, so...

Saturday and we head into Nitmiluk National Park Arnhem Land Plateau and Kakadu National Park. A highlight of todays events includes a cruise w/guide down Katherine Gorge. We have an Aboriginal guide. He lives with his people part of the year and with the rest of those in Australia the rest. Sometimes he hunts in Arnhem Land, othertimes at the local super market (Coles?). We travel down the river part way and then have to get off the boat, walk some distance then reboard another boat. This is the dry season, so the water level is way down. Our guide points out the cliff of movie fame, then we continue along the river hunting for crocks (salties). At the end of the water that is deep enough for the boat, we go ashore and take some pictures (see later reference). We are now in Arnhem Land, a permit is necessary to enter. The land is under the ownership of the Abros (the specific tribe I did not get). Next we all gather for a discussion of the way of life in the Arnhem Lands. Women are the gathers. They pick the roots, leaves and bark. Food, medicine and weaving material result. The men are the hunters. Various spears, arrow heads, blades and throwing sticks are demonstrated. Seem quite real, not touristy. We then go to the Warradjan Cultural Center. Arts and crafts and some movies

Note if you see a picture with a cloth over it in one of these museums, DO NOT pick it up to see the picture. The process is to cover the picture of the fairly recently dead. They can be covered for quite awhile.

Saturday and Sunday night we stay at the Crocodile Holiday Inn (in Gagudju). Yes, it is in the shape of a crocodile! One of the main attractions is trees full of fruit bats! Literally thousands! DO NOT stand under these trees without an umbrella! Luggage handling proves very poor here. We all want to take showers, do some laundry and get to dinner. We skip the laundry. There are two machines on the second floor and there seemed to be an opportunity to use them here. Oh, A$2 for wash, A$3 to dry, often requiring 2 drys. We took enough that the one load we did would get us to Darwin.

Monday it is off toward Litchfield National Park. My notes are a mess now. The Parks start running together. Litchfield is smaller and on the other side of the main highway. We experience the jumping crocodile cruise on the Adelaide River. We got some great pictures of the crocs jumping for a pork chop on a string! You may want to find these. Later we went on a hike in Ubirr to see Rock Art. . This is the second time. Most of this rock art is quite modern, as is the case of most of the viewing that we have been exposed to. We also travel to Wangi Falls, where a swim was offered, but declined by all on the bus. Not really facilities, time or interest. Remember this is the dry season. In the wet season these falls are wonderful, but naturally the roads to access them do not exist. Tonight we stay at teh Novotel Atrium Darwin (Accor). Here we have our farewell dinner, a great bbq, with lots of lamb chops, barramundi, steak, sausage and chicken (never saw a live chicken, wonder where they come from). Did I say I ate 7 lamb chops...soooo good!

It is not a total farewell, as there is breakfast. Everyone asks me about tipping, as it is not a custom in Australia and New Zealand. I give them some clues and tell them about sealed envelops. The broshure, like on cruises, suggests a huge amount. Most people, those that got off earlier, did not tip the drive or the tour director. We did.

While the next morning breakie was included, we were actually were give 4 vouchers. While we were staying at a far better place across the street (Saville Suites) that night, we did manage to return the following day to have breakie with the few remaining friends from the tour. Everone seemed to have a bit of a different program. We were staying a week in Darwin at the Saville.

Time for another stop. More tomorrow. A week in Darwin. Lots to do.

Part 5, a week in Darwin

First here is a copy, annotated of my activities as potentially selected:

LOCAL
Get a copy of this week in Darwin and Welcome to Darwin
Darwin Festival 11-28th/Aug--various venues, did not attend any
Beer Can Regalle-held before we arrived
Rodeo & Mud Crab tying--could not find out about this
City Tour $54 sights museums etc -a city tour was included in our trip and then another with the tub, so skipped this.
1883 Fannie Bay Gaol-yes
Museum/Art Gallery of NT, Fannie Bay, Conacher ST/Bullocky Pt., 9-5 s/s 10-5 Café, incl Maritime Museum-yes
Parliment House-end of Mitchell St (1 blk E and a couple south) Bennett St 8-6, no Sun-see notes
Admirality House and Lyon’s Cottage (1925 restored on Esplanade M-F 10-4:30 s/s 10-4) and Gov’t House2 blks N of War Memorial (all near hotel). see notes
East Point Military Museum-yes
Survivors Lookout-long walk S on Esplanade.
Past Survivors Lookout-missed
D Botanic Gardens, Gardens Road, free M-F 7:30 to 5, s/s 8:30-5-yes
Chinese Temple Statue-missed
Cullen Bay Marina-ferry trip, ride, food, shop-yes
Stokes Hill Wharf-dining etc. So of city, past WWII Oil Storage Tunnel-missed
Indo Pacific Marine & Pearling Exhibit (aquarium), Wharf Mitchum Dr/McMinn-missed.10-5 SHW…goodly distance from hotel, SE and east side of Wharf Precint
Darwin City Coles Mitchell Centre (nr Mitchell/Knucky St)-groceries, wine shop-yes
Casino, dress code almost non existent

DRIVE

Crocdylus Park-nr AP, E on McMillan thru 1 roundabout site on lift (5 minutes from AP, 15 minutes from city 815 McMillian. Catch #5 from Darwin, 5 minut3e walk from stop 9-5 A425 Crock, Gator Birds Monkeys iguana, big cats…etc-missed

Batchetor (?) Butterfly and Bird Farm 9:30-4:45 100 kn sw of D-missed

Bathurt Island M-F 7:30 flight $325-should have done an overnight

Aust.Aviation Heritage Centre (15km) S of D, B-52-missed

Aquascene fish feeding at shore N of Daly St, Extention of Esplanade@ Bicentennial Park A$7, North of Carlton Hotel (Doctors Gully), Wade in water 8:30-11 or so. Tidal--missed

Territory Wildlife Park…Berry Springs birds, aquar, 45 mins So of D. (Tour 7:30-1, $60) Cox Pennsula Rd 8:30-4--took a tour bus

Darwin Croc farm 40km on Stuart Highway @ Noonamah $10 9-4, ½ hr drive Guided tours/feedings 2pm--seen enough of crocs

Majestic Orchids…Darwin River Rd, Darwin Rier 8-5 M-F-missed

Woolworths Casuaria Shopping center 3km, bus rte 1. Lots of shops s/e Crn Dripstone/Trower Rds--took free bus

Palmerston 15 minutes on the way to Stuart Hwy, lots of stores--missed

We stayed at the Saville Suites 88 The Esplanade. We had a 1 bedroom with full kitcheon. Expensive (A$305nt). We were on the 4th floor, water front/w balcony. Any lower floor would be tree impacted!!! as to view. Two chairs and table on balcony. Beautiful sunsets every night! See pictures to be posted later. Nice place to drink some wine and relax after a day of activity. The room developed or had several problems. Each was repaired timely except the clothes dryer that kept overheating and shutting down. It needs to be replaced but likely will not. It took us hours per load to dry. We just did a load a day!

The facilities were a mix. The lobby was nice airy and functional. Elevator service was good. Desk access was mixed. Desk information was undependable as to attractions. The pool was not heated. The hot tub was the same water as the pool. While the air temp was about 33, the water was not warm enough, except for children and hearty. Access to the pool from the rooms was through the garage. Poorly marked. No pool service, but you could go into the bar and order. Lots of backpackers came and used the pool area the day we did. They were not staying at the hotel. It was interesting to see some many young people (20's) removing their close and redressing under a towel. Lots of drinking and smoking too. Another family there, told us this was an everyday occurance and that the management was unresponsive. Apparently, two people would rent a room, 10 stay in it and they would invite another 15 from the youth hostile down the street.

Our last morning on the tour included a city tour. We went around the town, out to the Marina, the botanic gardens (45 minutes), the Museum (1 1/2hrs) and were given a commentary of the area. Our driver was from Humpty Doo.

Early on we went to Coles (2 blocks) and stocked up on brekie stuff, sandwich meat, rolls and wine. It is an easy walk. It takes you past the backpacker place, a good place to get internet access on the cheap. We did. You buy a block of time, and can use it over days. The server is in the Czeh. Republic, the time shown was always wrong. We got more that we paid for. We reported the issue, they did not care. This area is a main part of the business district with plenty of eateries and shops. Nice walk.

For "at home shopping, major chain stores, etc." it was off to Casuaira Shopping center. It is almost a 30 minute ride, on the free red bus. Problem is, the bus fills up and you then have to wait another hours, with no assurances. Same problem coming back. They do pick up at the Saville.

On our City tour we had visited the Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory for 1 1/2 hours. We needed to go back for another couple of hours. The taxis are expensive. There is a "group shuttle" service, Arafura Shuttle that is a better deal. They took us to the Museum for A$3pp, each way. They supply various travel for different prices. The Museum entry is free. The museum has lots of exhibits, including a famous croc, Sweetheart, the cyclone exhibit (including a sound room and some recordings by victums during the event), abroginal art, birds, stones, etc. The boat museum is also included. The area between the two is a "science" wonder hall with a guide.

The Tour Tub is a flat fee for the day (A$25?). (Book this and other tours behind the hotel at the travel center and get free bottled water, included). They provide modest discounts on many of the attractions and on some eateries. 15% off Hog's Breath Cafe. It goes to the fish feeding, wwII oil storage tunnels, indo pacific Marine, Pearling Exhibition, Botanic Gardens, Casino, East Point Military Museum, Fannie Bay Gaol and Museum and Art Gallery. It runs to each place once per hour. It is important to decide what activities this transportation works best for. Areas under a 1 hour visit are best. This allows you to see the most in one day. They only operate until 4 and I beleive they started at 9 (slightly different depending on where you get own). They do stop at the Saville.

We used the Tub to go to the Military Museum. It was a about A$9. Lots of US Military equipment, some bunkers and a modest area with displays. The movie of the attacks on Darwin during WWII were the most interesting. You had better be interested in this category or skip it.

We took the Tub to the Fannie Bay Gaol. The original fence of 1883 is gone, compliments of Cyclone Tracy in 1974. This smallish gaol was closed several years later. Much of the facility survived the cyclone and can be viewed today. Photos are allowed. It is free to enter and takes about the hour you have between buses, so watch the time.

We took the Tub to the Casino and had lunch. A great, very reasonably priced buffet lunch overlooking the pool. There was no wait inspite of being near noon. Glad we made this stop. We did not gamble, but were surprised that the slots could be played for as little as 2 cents a pull!!

The ride on the Tub is narrated and is a good City Tour!

Darwin Day Tours offers various touring options. We used them for our Morning Territory Wildlife Park Tour. It costs A$60pp, including entry. The tour starts at 7:30 and returns about 1:30. It is a material ride to the park. The park was nearly deserted. It was hot. The place is layed out very well. You can walk it like an oval over gravel paths, or walk in and our off the road. There is a transport trailer also (too slow, unless your spending the whole day). We attended the bird show which was really average. They have a food vender. The nocturnal house was large and fully stocked. Lots of birds were on exhibit in the aviary. There is a water fowl lagoon. We saw a wallaby getting a drink (hopefully the picture came out). Oh, have bug repellant and perhaps fly screening. There is a aquarium witha viewing tunnel. Lots of large animals. You can also see wallabies and woollybutts. I recommend this tour/place for families or people like us who just like to see the animals. They appear to be well cared for and well displayed for viewing too.

This company also offers A City tour (A$54 or 92 with a Harbour Cruise option), Afternoon Jumping Crocodile Cruise($80), and trips to Katherine and Kakadu.

Our "walk about" day was nearly a bust. The Lyon Cottage was closed for painting. The Admirality House was under reconstruction. The place we bought chicken, the Red Rooster, was quite poor quality. We passed on getting an ice cream. It was hot.

There is lots to do, as well as some time to just relax. We did this a couple days too. Laundry, tired feet, playing some gin, people watching and bird watching from our balcony.

Well, that was our visit to Darwin. Our trip home was uneventful. Note flights out of Darwin are generally one stop back to Sydney. They are much cheaper if you go at 1 am!! Boo. We left about noon. Qantas was very good compared to past flights--refer to write up in the Qantas forum.

Our stay in near SYD at the Airport Sydney International Motor Inn would have been better if our expectations were not of a motel 6. This place was more a cell with bath and bed. Pizza was good as was the beer on tap. Quite windy and cold after being in Darwin.

PLEASE HELP: Anyone tell me how I post a "clickable address" for this write up?

Australia the Outback
 

If you insist on calling the local aborigines 'abros' please take note that the correct speclling is 'abos'.

Right click on the thread header, select "copy link location" (or whatever similar command your browser uses) then paste, thus: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=476948

Thank you Gardyloo, next time I'm at SEATAC, I will buy you that cheeseburger or you can come on down to Escondido, CA for same. Kiwi Flyer also assisted me.

As to 2 other comments, on this and one other post... Abros, Abos or Aboriginals. It was reporting what I heard. I was unaware that some people would be offended. Like most of Assie talk, it is abbreviated, why would anyone know this was a slur? Sorry. I did what I could this morning to eliminate the word, with either spelling. Okay. You maybe never made a mistake, this certainly isn't my first. The purpose of the report is to help other FT members with trip plans. That is what I tried to do. Most of the e-mails and comments have supported this.

can you post some pictures ?

Thanks

Gateways and others

Sorry for the delay in pictures. We took a slug. Wife is in charge of that end. She will edit and title each and then post them. We are on the road for about 10 days (wedding trip for brother) and then that process will start. She has had a cough since we returned from Australia, only currently getting better.

The pictures are really great, sorry for the wait.

Steps for Viewing Pictures in Webshot
(You may wish to print these directions)

1. Clicking on the following link, http://community.webshots.com/user/ranles will take you to the Webshots site, containing our pictures in 2 albums: 1) Australia Part 1 and 2) Australia Part 2.

2. Select Australia Part 1 first and the album with 100 pictures will come up.

3. You can click each one individually to see full size picture or select View Slide Show (recommended) box at the top of the pictures.

4. Slide Show is set for 5 seconds between each picture, you can change this by clicking on the down arrow next to the “5 Seconds” and change to 2, 10 or 20 seconds ( 10 recommended to read caption and see picture).

5. To start slide show click the arrow to the right of the pause button (2 parallel lines) and the show will start. You can push the pause button at any time, and then to restart, push the right arrow again.

6. Once all 100 pictures have been viewed the the show starts again so push the pause button. Clicking the Back button on your computer screen will take you back to the full view of the album. Clicking the Back button again will take you to the option page to select Part 2.

7. After selecting Australia Part 2, repeat steps 3 – 6 above.

8. Once done you can then exit the program by clicking the “Red X” in the upper right hand corner of your computer screen. If you wish to start over, click on the appropriate album.

9. Note, when in pause, the picture may be printed on you computer.