Wendy's Great Australian Adventure: Part 5

DAY 11 – Ayers Rock to Port Douglas

Another VERY early morning (I think my family would disown me if these early morning wakeup calls didn’t lead to something memorable every time!). We were picked up at 6:15am by Denny from SEIT Tours, a small group touring company that operates in Ayers Rock. Our group was only 9 people…from the USA (just the 3 of us), England, and Australia. We’ve been impressed by the number of Aussies we’ve come across who are playing tourists in their own country…way more than the handful of Americans we’ve met.

Our first stop was a sunrise viewing platform, which looks out to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. This is a popular site for many tour groups and independent travelers, since the platform was buzzing with chatter by about 15 minutes before sunrise. Sadly we were skunked by cloud cover again.  We missed out on the brilliant colors, but it was still impressive to see the rocks come to life. They looked painted against the morning sky, and a camera just couldn’t do that justice (although we certainly tried!), so the detailed image will have to rest in our minds.

We continued on to a picnic stop with the Kata Tjuta domes in full view, and enjoyed our outback breakfast (raisin toast, cereal, fruit, tea, coffee, cocoa and juice). Denny gave us a detailed explanation of the geology, drawing in the red sand to illustrate as she spoke. We then drove a short distance to the entrance of the Walpa Gorge. We learned why it is called that, since Walpa is the name for “wind” and there was no shortage of that! It was VERY cold and “blowy” through the gorge this morning, so I was happy to have my extra layers: long johns under my pants, and triple layers on top with a sleeved shirt, fleece, and Patagonia Nano jacket…and of course a beanie hat, scarf and gloves! The walk only took about an hour, and isn’t particularly strenuous, but it’s on uneven/rocky ground most of the way (with a few interspersed stairs and walkways). Denny gave us a lot of information about the Aboriginal history and the plant life, and pointed out special features of the domes. They are absolutely massive up close, and the gorge has a mystical feel to it…really a unique experience.

We were dropped back at our hotel just after 11am, and had a little time to hit the town square again for lunch at a café where they train aboriginals in food/beverage service, and a bit of shopping.

The shuttle picked us up this afternoon for the short drive to the airport to catch our Qantas flight to Cairns. The airport is quite small, but they do have a bit of food and shopping available. The flight itself was only 2 ½ hours, and we were given a full meal, but no entertainment.

On arrival in Cairns, we picked up a Hertz standard size rental car (Toyota Corolla) for our 1-hour drive north to Port Douglas. It was already dark by our 6:30pm arrival, so it was nice to have Steve checking the map and navigating for me.

Our accommodation is Villa San Michele, which is discreetly set amongst shops and restaurants on one of the main streets of town. The entry drive is a bit hidden, so we parked on the street and found our apartment, then parked the car in the free underground parking garage. We are in a 1-bedroom unit with 1 bathroom, kitchen, living space (set up with a cot for Sky), and balcony over the courtyard/pool. The property has a great location, if you like being in town (and it’s not too noisy), and offers free laundry. Due to our late arrival, we didn’t venture far for dinner, and tried Bucci, right next to our apartment building. We were really impressed…super friendly staff, and the food was fantastic (barramundi for Steve, risotto with scallops for me, and spaghetti with meatballs for Sky). The place was also packed, which was a great sign for a Tuesday night.

Ready to start our rainforest adventure tomorrow!

DAY 12 – Port Douglas / Daintree Rainforest
We were running a little behind this morning, so just grabbed some breakfast sandwiches for “takeaway” before our Daintree Dreaming tour, which features local art, aboriginal culture, and the Mossman Gorge and Rainforest. The order of activities is tidal dependent, so today our mini-bus of 12 started with an art lesson.

We visited the Janbal Aboriginal Art Gallery and met the main artist, Binna. He explained his style of

aboriginal art, and gave us some background about his family and the art culture in Australia. We were each provided with a small square canvas and a thin bamboo stick, pointed at one end and flat/round at the other, which was to be our only painting utensil. We had only 3 paint colors – a burnt red for land, a mustard yellow for sun, and white for rain. After about 30-45 minutes, our masterpieces were complete! Not sure our little family will be opening an art gallery anytime soon, but there were some impressive little works of art in our group…amazing how different they each were!

We headed to Mossman Gorge next, and started at the Visitor Centre. High up near the ceiling of the entryway was a HUGE female golden orb spider…just a local resident that happened to find a home here. Her tiny male counterpart was on the web next to her, probably not aware of his fate as her dinner…after he helps her produce baby spiders, of course.

The Mossman Gorge shuttle transported us to the start of the walk, which was an easy meander on a designated pathway for just about an hour. Our guide for the day, Dean Nulty, was fantastic…providing us with information about the various flora and fauna we passed. He has an extensive aboriginal background, and in fact teaches other guides. We stopped for about 20-30 minutes to swim in the chilly river before heading back to the Visitor Centre for lunch.

Our afternoon was a truly memorable experience. We went to Cooya Beach, which is a traditional fishing ground for the local aboriginal Kuku Yalanji people. Brandon, one of the Kubirri Warra brothers, took us out to the beach and into the mangrove to show us how to collect mud crabs, mussels, and other local delicacies. All 3 of us caught a crab…I was so proud of us! After a couple of hours, we returned to Brandon’s house, and he cooked up our catch…it just doesn’t get any fresher than that! Needless to say, it was a yummy (albeit VERY messy) feast on the balcony of Brandon’s home.

We headed back to Port Douglas with a new experience under our belts, and feeling that we had accomplished something and learned a lot. Great day!

Interested in having your own Australian Adventure?  Visit our site to view sample itineraries or call us at 1-800-554-9059 to speak with an Aussie Specialist!

Wendy's Great Australian Adventure: Part 4

DAY 8 – Darwin and the Ghan

We got an early start this morning, and took the scheduled Ghan bus transfer to the railway station. It was quite a large bus with an elderly group of primarily Aussies, excited to get to the train for their journey south.

Upon arrival at the Darwin station, our suitcases were offloaded from the bus and transferred to the train, while we stayed on the bus. The bus then drove along the rail platform, dropping guests off at their assigned train car. The train itself is 774 meters long (around 2200 feet), so the drop-off saves guests a long walk in the heat!

The train itself is immaculately maintained, with a friendly and helpful crew to welcome you on board. The Gold Twin cabin is quite small, but the space is well used. It has a nice bench seat and table for relaxing during the journey, enjoying the view from the wide window in the cabin. The walkway has windows every few yards, so you can leave your cabin door open, and get views on both sides. The private bathroom is small, but again, uses the space well. There is a toilet, sink and shower all in the one room…with a shower curtain to protect the toilet/sink areas when showering…there is surprisingly a decent amount of room for a shower.

The single cabin is downright tiny, with one small bench seat, a stool/footrest, and a sink that folds down. The cabins do not have their own bathroom, so they share the showers and toilets with other single cabin travelers in the same car. Once the bed is down, the door doesn’t fully open…but it is a cozy setup.

There is a lounge car, which fills up immediately with guests wanting to enjoy a beverage and the company of their fellow travelers.  Dining is in the Queen Adelaide car, with white linen table settings, and a menu of several courses (including options for each course).

We stopped in Katherine for a few hours, and disembarked for a tour that we had selected at boarding. We took the Nitmiluk Gorge Cruise. Several large coaches picked guests up at the Katherine station, and drove us through town (with driver commentary), out to the gorge. The boats each hold about 50 passengers, and cruise leisurely up the river, with entertaining commentary provided by the driver/guide. It was a hot day, but the gorge is beautiful, and well worth a visit. We even saw a few small freshwater crocs relaxing by the shore. The gorge is great for

kayaking/canoeing as well, if visiting the area on your own. We were amazed at the hundreds of flying foxes hanging from the trees at the shoreline, chattering and fanning themselves in the heat.

Back on the train, in time for a drink and dinner. While out of the cabin, the crew comes by to turn down the beds, bunk style…including a ladder and guard for the upper bunk. Ready for a good nights sleep, with the gentle rocking of the train car!

DAY 9 – the Ghan and Alice Springs

We were awakened by a knock on the door, and a cup of coffee and tea for each of us. The sun was not up yet, so we were lucky to see the sunrise over the red center as we chugged along in the train toward Alice Springs.

We arrived into Alice Springs just after breakfast, and hopped into a taxi to our hotel, the Double Tree by Hilton. It’s a bit out of town, so the driver waited and took us back to the central market at

the Todd Mall. It was surprisingly big for a small town, taking up several blocks with arts/crafts and food booths for the most part…only one produce booth to be found. Apparently this weekend is extra busy because of the Beanie Festival going on (yes, the beanies that we wear on our heads in the winter…although these are more like works of art and a price to match). After our sausage lunch and mango sorbet dessert, we walked the 20 minutes or so back to our hotel, along the Todd River (which, according to the map, is “usually dry”).

In the afternoon, we were picked up by an AAT Kings bus for a city tour, A Town Like Alice. Our

driver/guide, Jamie, grew up in the area and was incredibly knowledgeable on all things Alice. We visited the School of the Air (which educates students all over the outback by remote methods), the Telegraph Station, the Royal Flying Doctors Service center and museum, and the Reptile Centre. It was a great way to get around to these sites that are not all in easy walking distance, and gain extra insight from Jamie along the way. The area has a fascinating history and character that just comes to life on a tour like this.

This evening, we walked down the street to the Lasseter Casino, but actually ended up back at our hotel to eat dinner Hanuman, which has a wide variety of Asian/Indian cuisine.

Wish we had more time to spend here in Alice Springs, but will save that for another trip. Tomorrow we push on to Ayers Rock.

DAY 10 – Alice Springs and Ayers Rock

It was an early morning start to catch our AAT Kings bus tour from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock. The entire trip took about 5 hours, including 2 comfort stops. The first stop was for about 25 minutes at a camel farm, where we could grab a breakfast sandwich, coffee/tea, and hop on a camel for a quick ride (but we saved our camel ride for later in the day). Our second stop was also for about 25 minutes at Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse, perfect for a cappuccino and a snack…and photos of the road that seemingly goes forever in either direction, with no civilization in sight outside of the Roadhouse.

Our driver was Gill Cairns, who provided commentary for most of the trip (history, flora, fauna, and suggestions and information about Ayers Rock). She also played a documentary on board about the first aboriginal man who was granted citizenship, as a result of his popular artwork…but his story was rather depressing.

We arrived in Ayers Rock around 1pm, and were dropped off at our hotel, Sails in the Desert. The

hotel lobby has a very welcoming and open feel to it…modern and airy. The actual room section is a bit of a maze, but once we found our room, we were pleased with the large size and local character…although it’s not without its quirks. The most bizarre quirk is that the sheets were loud. Yes, I said loud…strange, I know! The best way I can describe it is that they sounded like crumpling paper every time you moved.

We had a quick walk around the Town Square, and lunch at Gecko’s (mostly pizza, pasta and salads) before we were picked up for our camel ride that would take us to dinner. If you’ve never ridden a camel, this is a MUST! The camel farm in itself is impressive…started by a guy named Chris, who got his first camel at age 15 and was hooked.

They get all their camels from the wild (not a difficult thing to do in Australia, given the huge population of wild camels), and put them through a thorough training program. We had a chance to meet Milkshake, their 5-month old rescue camel, before gearing up…she is adorable, and has a thing for thumb sucking (human thumbs, that is, obviously not her own). There were 5 of us on the ride, and we each had our own camel…sometimes they double up with 2 to a camel, depending on the size of the group. The camels are tethered to each other, front to back, and are accustomed to slowly meandering down the path in a line. The views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta were stunning, and the camels provided constant entertainment. Our cameleer/guide, Chrissy, was fantastic, and has an obvious passion for camels. She talked about camel history in Australia, the camel farm, the flora/fauna, and told a few silly camel jokes…all while riding the lead camel and facing backwards much of the time.

We arrived at the Sounds of Silence dinner site, where the other diners were already enjoying their champagne and canapes (including crocodile and “skippy” – aka kangaroo), and taking photos of us like we were celebrities. After about 15 minutes with the rest of the folks, enjoying the limited sunset (too much cloud cover, unfortunately), we were all invited into the dining area and chose our

seats with a family of 4 and a single lady…all Australian. By then it was mighty chilly, so most of us were bundled up in jackets and scarves/hats to stay warm. There were heaters amongst the tables, but their reach was limited, so warm clothes were a must.

Dinner itself was quite the affair with 3 courses (the main course and dessert were buffet style) and local beer/wine, accompanied by a series of entertainers, including a didgeridoo player, aboriginal dancers, and a star guide. There was a great variety of food to choose from, and the quality was very good (especially the caramelized kangaroo!). As the night came to an end, we were shuttled back to the hotel in the bus, since our camels had long since clocked out for the day.

Interested in having your own Australian Adventure?  Visit our site to view sample itineraries or call us at 1-800-554-9059 to speak with an Aussie Specialist!