| More Photos | Map of Australia | Home |
| More Photos | Map of Australia | Home |
AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK (Darwin, Kakaku National Park, Alice Springs & Ayers Rock)
We started our journey flying into Darwin, followed by another flight to Alice Springs, then Perth, before flying home. Darwin is a pleasant laid-back town, which is also the base for trips into the Kakadu National Park, reputed to be the best National Park in Australia. We spent two nights in Darwin exploring the town's attraction which included feeding of wild sea fishes Doctor's Gully and the Indo Pacific Marine Education Center.
The 3 days camping trip into the Kakadu costs A$300 each. We were transported in a 10 seater 4WD with a luggage trailer. We must have visited no less than 6 waterfalls, some of them really huge. We slept in the open on the first night and in huge army tents, the second night. Meals was good substantial camp food. The guides were excellent and we even had "bush tucker" of green ants that had a limey taste. We also joined a Yellow River Cruise that went about the swamplands with sightings of foxbats, crocodiles and many birds.
The day after our return to Darwin, we hired a car and drove to Litchfield National Park about 2 hours away. We swam in the popular Florence falls with its clear refreshing waters. In the evening, we went to the weekend night market at Mindal Beach that had loads of food and handicrafts on sale.
We flew to Alice Springs the following morning and left a day later to begin another 3 day backpackers package to the Ayers Rock, Olgas & King's Canyon that cost A$265 each. Ayers Rock is about 2 hour drive with limited but excellent facilities. As a result it is more often than not, all fully booked up. So most backpackers tours end up in big army tents with good food and better company. We managed a climb to the top of Ayer's Rock in the evening and waited with the hundreds of tourist for the sunset photograhs of the Red Rock. King's Canyon is pretty but not as big as I expected. All said and done, this is a great way to see Ayer's Rock.
When we got back to Alice Springs, we wanted to see the legendary spring. It turned out to be a small forlorn-looking mud pond. But it provided the necessary waters for this settlement before they had bore-wells. We also walked about the town mall, which was tidy and quite modern. After a total of 5 nights in the middle of Australia, we flew to Perth.
The springs at Alice Spring / Perth backpackers A$28 room
Perth, a popular destination for Malaysians, is the capital of Western Australia. We stayed at a backpackers hostel costing A$28 for a double room. Surprisingly public transport within the city is free. We joined a volunteer-led walking tour of the Botanical Gardens. We also took the train to nearby Freemantle, which has many handicraft shops catering to the loads of visiting tourists.
We also opted for a day tour (A$80) out of Perth. It was very nice and I highly recommend it. We covered an Emu farm, a bird santuary that returns injured birds to the wild, a winery, a splendid forest with giant Karri trees and a Mammoth Cave. We also visited Busselton, a small but very popular seaside town for locals. We were also privilaged to see a couple of dolpins. This tour gives one a totally different exposure and rebukes what many Malaysians say about Perth, being a place with nothing much to do or see.
| Home |