Outback to Tropics

We caught the legendary 'Ghan' railway from Adelaide to Alice Springs. Travelling in second class it turned out to be rather less exotic and legendary than we had hoped. The train is named after the Afghans who ran the original camel trains across the Australian centre from Adelaide to Darwin. The journey took about 19 hours overnight and we arrived in Alice Springs to driving rain and temperatures around 13 degrees....just like back home. The Todd River, which remains completely dry for most of the year, was in full flood and all the locals were very excited. Alice itself is an unusual town, quite modern with lots of investment, but with an aboriginal underclass who remain always on the margins.

For the next three days we joined a camping trip to Uluru (Ayres Rock). The drive from Alice is over 400 kilometres. You get a real feel for space and distances. The temperatures rose dramatically, although our guide thought that 30 degrees was quite autumnal. The bush is much more interesting and much more lush than I thought. Plants and animals have adapted wonderfully to the arid conditions. The 'Rock' itself, which we saw first at sunset and then walked around at dawn is wonderful, especially hearing the aboriginal 'dream time' stories as we walked. Up close, it is fantastically varied and it was such a surprise to see water pools there. However, there is so much more to see in the area. I had never heard of the 'Olgas' (Kata Tjuta), a much more interesting series of huge rock outcrops, nore of the stunningly beautiful Kings Canyon, with its lush 'Garden of Eden' tucked into the gulleys. The whole trip has definitely been the highlight of Oz so far.

Next we flew to Cairns, having first returned to Alice to visit the Flying Doctor Centre...brilliant. What a contrast. Hot, humid, lush tropical terrain. Cairns was our base for taking a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. Although more expensive, it was worth going to the outer reef. Snorkelling was great. Such a variety of colours and fish life and in such huge numbers. Christine took the semi submersible trip and was able to see turtles.

A bus trip took us from Cairns upto Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforests, the oldest in the world. Stayed at a wondefully quiet hostel cabin right in the forest. So much to see as you walk along the trails, but insect repellant is essential. Cycle rides to the beach, which were quite beautiful, but deserted, perhaps because the sea is out of bounds in 'stinger season'. There were also big warning signs about salt water crocodiles, which terrified us, although apparently only four foreigners have ever been eaten by crocs in Australia and none of them Brits.

We are now travelling down the east coast by Greyhound bus towards Brisbane, our point of exit from Australia. It is a long way. A visit to see the koalas on Magnetic Island provided us with some great photo opportunities and in a few days Christine will get a break from my company when I go sailing around the Whitsunday Islands, courtesy again of colleagues at Trinity, whose leaving gift paid for this and for my canyoning trip in New Zealand. Many thanks to you all.

We are very pleased that so many of you are keeping us company by checking the blog. Please keep the comments coming.

Chris and Jim

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