I have returned to my humble abode here in Burnaby after 9 weeks on the road down under. I had a great time, a holiday I'll remember for the rest of my life; I did it all in Australia. There was city life, coastal towns, the Great Barrier Reef, deserts, camping under the stars, splelunking, swimming, driving on the left, great long train rides, 4WD over tough terrain, kayaking, spotting wildlife, walking through zoos, opera, cooking on camp fires, attending an Aborigine school, mining. Certainly more variety than the other trips I have done. I have added some photos to each blog entry. Not all my photos, of course. I took 1909 photos with two cameras, wide angle to super zoom. It'll take me a while to decide which of my photos to print. It's good ... read more

I am in Melbourne, my last stop of this epic round Australia trip. It's been over eight weeks since I left Vancouver, and only 3 days left. I took the train from Adelaide to Melbourne, another long train ride, this trip about 11 hours. The train is called The Overlander named in honour of those intrepid first travelers back in the 19th Century. I must admit, this wasn't the best train trip when compared with the other trips, the food was less, and the chairs just were not that comfortable. This despite a recent multi-million dollar upgrade to the train line. I got to Melbourne in the evening, and tried to get a city tram to my hostel. I asked for some change from the coffee kiosk at the station, the only place open. Excuse one, ... read more

I arrived in Adelaide early Tuesday morning after boarding the Indian Pacific Train Sunday night. The train ride was about 30 hours, one full day and two nights sitting in a car. It's actually much better than it sounds: there was a dining car with tables, a lounge car, showers and we watched two movies. I had the cheap seats, which means chairs for sleeping, not a sleeping compartment. These were available for four times the price of the chair. My seating carriage was nearly empty, so we all had two seats to ourselves. I took the shuttle bus to the downtown centre and promptly found a hotel. It's winter here, and in South Australia, it definitely feels cool. It never gets about 20 degrees and in the evenings and mornings you have to wear a ... read more

I have now the chance to relax and take my time here in Perth. That was my intention in Broome after the camping safari, but that never happened. The hostel in Broome just didn't allow that. And to make my time in Broome just a little more taxing I managed to slam my right thumb in a car door. Ouch is the word. There are some lovely shades of black and blue under the nail. I flew from Broome to Perth last Saturday. The problem I encountered at security testifies to my fatigue level. I had forgotten to pack into my checked luggage an important item. I walked through the metal detector with no problems, but security detected something suspicious in my carry on. Argh! Then I remembered my Swiss Army Knife I had with me. ... read more

I am in the tropical north, the top end. Darwin is a tropical city full of colourful and exotic birds, it's very green and it's hot and humid. I arrived in the evening of July 23rd and checked into my hostel. The hostels here in the tropical north all appear to have the same ammenities: kitchen, laundry, pool, travel agent etc. And full of young people have the time of their lives. The next morning my tour of Kakadu national park began. We were picked up at 6:30 am and off we went. It's about a 2 hour drive to Kakadu from Darwin. There were 10 of us, one guide and 9 tourists; I was the oldest; three girls and 6 boys. Eddie, our guide was an intense and fit Aussie with mixed heritage. Our first ... read more