Way out west where the rain don't fall

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The far north of Australia is one of the most remote places on Earth, and every day in the top end features stunning scenery and a sense of wonder at the vast distances travelled. There are three major towns stretching from the East Coast to the West Coast, and a whole lot of nothing in between. But this is the real Australia, where you can ride on the bus for an entire day and be lucky to pass a single car travelling in the opposite direction. I had a five week opportunity to explore the Far North, and a bargain three flight package from Qantas helped make some my destinations achievable given the short time frame.

My top end adventure commenced, dear reader, with a flight to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. I took a few days to explore this buzzing city, then organised a greyhound ticket for a 48 hour epic up the East Coast to Cairns. I'd never travelled so far north within Australia, and was excited to pass through towns along the Queensland coast as we continued our inexorable journey north. When you've spent two days on the bus and are still in the same state you begin to appreciate the vastness of the the Australian continent! Cairns is a booming town in the tropics, and a world famous travel destination that features a bustling international airport.

I organised several day trips and had a wonderful time during my visit to Cairns. There was a boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef for snorkelling amidst the colourful coral, and the beautiful tropical fish the reef sustains. There was a bus trip out to the Daintree Forest, where ancient trees tower over the bush tracks offering a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the bounty of nature in this national park. There was a trip on the Skyrail cable car which is the world's longest cable car journey, taking you over the rainforest to the mountain town of Kuranda, from where I explored the rustic town before taking the steam train back through the forest to Cairns. And finally there was the Cairns nightlife, in particular the crazy antics at the Woolshed that take place every night. That bar is party central, with dancing on the tables and drinking absurd amounts of alcohol absolutely mandatory!

Then I took the first of three flights from Cairns to Darwin. Before takeoff the pilot announced the flight had been delayed due to mechanical problems ... at least ten times! I'm sure the passengers were overjoyed to be spending christmas day stuck on the tarmac for five hours. I know I was ... Not! Finally we took off for Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. Darwin has a magical feel to it, and is closer to Asia than any other major city in Australia. It feels very remote up here, and the city is exciting because of it's remoteness. The locals live hard, drink hard and party hard, and they'll call a spade a bloody shovel! The new parliament building and supreme court are very impressive tourist sights; glistening white buildings that overlook Darwin harbour, seeming to announce their presence like beacons to benefit our Asian neighbours to the north.

From Darwin I organised a tour of Kakadu National Park, joining a tour group that also travelled to Litchfield National Park in a trusty four wheel drive Land Cruiser provided by Gondwana tours. We had a fabulous three days camping in the park with our knowledgeable guide, and covered vast distances during our tour. It featured many of the famous sights within Kakadu, including the lookout featured in the original Crocodile Dundee movie. We also went boating in tinnies on the Mary River, which has the largest concentration of saltwater crocodiles in the world. They are known in the top end as salties. We also visited waterfalls, swam in safe waterholes (ie those with no crocs), and visited Aboriginal rock art sights. I recommend Gondwana tours for their superbly organised trips to the superb Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks.

I then decided to take another bus trip on the Greyhound with a jump on jump off option. And what a bus trip it was ... the longest continuous bus journey in the world travels from Darwin to Perth and covers 4032 kilometres. Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about ... and I've done it! When taking long bus journeys I use certain rules to avoid car sickness, the main one being to eat sparingly. This tends to work for me when riding for long journeys on the bus, and most mornings I'd wake up to what the Aussie diggers in the war referred to as a dingo's breakfast; which is a bit of a stretch, a bit of a fart and a bit of a look around.

The first major stop on the trip was south to Katherine, where I organised a boat trip along the beautiful Katherine Gorge. The boat trip is a great day taking in the sights of the various gorges, and upon arrival back in Katherine I celebrated New Year's Eve with the guests at the hostel. The staff bunged on a bonza barbie and we had a rip roaring time of it celebrating by the pool. One Aussie bloke who arrived that evening got aggressive after getting on the drink, and was a bit of a worry later on. He'd also been put up in my room, and at the end of the night with the lights out I was preparing for some well earned shuteye. But this get kept asking me in the dark like a broken record "Who the f*%$ are you?" Great, who needs this on New Year's day I thought? So all I could do was tell him I'm a traveller just like you, and it was time to crash out.

Then the bus trip headed west to the town of Kununurra, another brilliant outback town. I arranged to strike out on a vigorous day walk from the hostel with a fellow traveller to the mini Bungle Bungles. We had a great day but had to take our time in the 40 degree heat, while wearing hats and drinking heaps of water. Soon enough the bus adventure rolled on and on as we headed west, and finally arrived on the west coast and the North West Australian resort town of Broome, home to the famous Cable Beach. Broome was originally a pearl diving town, but is now a tourist mecca where the population doubles over summer. Broome is a beautiful travel destination, and famous for the superb sunsets over the Indian Ocean.

Then the bus headed down the coast of Western Australia with many stops along the way. We were travelling astonishing distances on this trip, and passed through many remote Aboriginal communities and roadhouses. I remember being in the middle of nowhere at a roadhouse when I asked a few locals eyeing the telly what the score was in the cricket, they replied without hesitation in a casual manner that was so easy to relate to. I thought to myself, fair dinkum mate, I could still be in Sydney. In Australia no discernable accents crop up across the length and breadth of this great country, everyone speaks pretty much the same. The bus broke down at one stage but we made it to a roadhouse, and that night the passengers had an impromptu party over some drinks to pass the time. The Far North and North West of Australia feature extremely barren and remote country, which makes for an unforgettable travel experience. So this journal comes to a close as the bus arrived in sunny Perth, the capital of Western Australia and birthplace of my mum where, basically all of you should be here now!

And I somehow rather fancy that I'd like to change with Clancy, like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go. While he faced the round eternal of the cashbook and the journal, but I doubt he'd suit the office, Clancy, of the Overflow." Banjo Paterson

As I continue my travels, until next time it's signing off for now

Tom

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Photos

Monster croc eats Aussie!
Sydney city slicker makes an adequate lunch.

Kakadu National Park bush camp
Bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning, in spite of the punishing heat and humidity the previous night.

The Aussie outback
Taken from the car.

Mini bungle bungles
It must have been 45 degrees, and I'm in black. Hello!

Dinghy at full flight
On the croc infested Mary river.