Blogs from Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 4

Hey there readers here’s a long overdue blog concentrating on my travels along the Great Ocean Road, Grampians and the outback. As its been quite a while I’ve cheated by copying the tour itinerary and adding my own comments. So after a week and a half of bumming about in Melbourne it was time for me to tour again before returning home for a few weeks. Day 1 - Melbourne to Twelve Apostles The first stops out of Melbourne are the famous surf coast icons, Torquay (home of surf wear brands Rip Curl and Quiksilver), Bells Beach and Anglesea- THIS IS WHERE THE LIGHTHOUSE FROM AROUND THE TWIST IS! . Further along the Great Ocean Road are the towns of Apollo Bay and Lorne where you can swim, explore or just relax with a cup of ... read more

Day 8 saw us reach Central Australia (Yulara) and our first multi night stop as we plan to explore Uluru and Katja Tuta (The Olgas). Our overnight stop at Agnes Creek was only about 100kms from the border but from there we had to drive north to Erldunda where we refuelled and then travel along Lasseter Highway for about 240 kms to Yulara. Along the way we stopped at Curtin Springs where we had lunch and checked out their parrots (and other birds). Near Curtin Springs is Mt. Connor, a large monolith that is often mistaken for Uluru.... read more

We awoke to discover that it was still too windy and in the wrong direction to travel to Coober Pedy so we paid for another night. After breakfast, I did some reading on the local area and discovered that Mt Olga, the tallest peak in the Olgas (Kata Tjuta) that we saw on Tuesday, is 206 metres taller than Uluru – which was a surprise. Even Mt Connor, that we can see from the caravan park and is actually part of the Curtin Springs Cattle Station property, is 6 metres taller than Uluru, at 354 metres. It isn’t a monolith (a single large rock), though, but a 700 million year old sandstone mesa. It was named by the explorer William Gosse in 1873. Having read about Mt Connor, I suggested to Barry that we go and ... read more

Dear friends and family, Ann, Riley and I have begun our 3 month tour of Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, it's called long service leave for over 10 years at a company. We arrived in Sydney and stayed with my god parents, Les and Rosemary. They took us on several day trips including the Hunter Valley and the Blue Mountains and generally made our vacation in Sydney easy. We walked around the city centre and over several days saw the Rocks, Circular Quay, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, Botanical Gardens, NSW Art Gallery, Hyde Park, Darling Harbour and much more. My buddy Al led us on the Bondi to Coogee cliff walk before a welcome beer at his local Irish pub. We also saw some of the northern beaches including Mona Vale, Avalon and ... read more

September 13 – Uluru Today we head for the big red rock known by two names – Ayers Rock or its aboriginal name Uluru. I’ve always been drawn to rocks – big ones like the Rockies near my home and small ones like I used to play with as a child. This rock has its own special allure. Mostly, one just marvels at its very being. How did such a large monolith come to be in such a flat, remote area? Did aliens land millions of years ago and leave a space craft, or perhaps it was a life form, now dead, or in some kind of stasis. The shape is unlike any mountains I have seen. It looks very much like a large, dusty red caterpillar laying in the middle of the desert. Ridges cover ... read more