Australia 2006 - Part 1

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I traveled to Australia on a tour by the Overseas Adventure Travel Company. I originally found the company on the web, and it was also well-recommended by my boss’s in-laws. They were right. The trip was fabulous overall, the guide was outstanding and I also recommend OAT to anyone considering a group tour to almost anywhere in the world. The trip was called “Ultimate Australia” and I think it was truly ultimate. (Though I’m sure there are lots of things in Australia I couldn’t have seen in the 16 days we had.)

I left Des Moines, Iowa on August 15 and returned on September 1. The general itinerary included flying from Des Moines (DSM) through Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) to Los Angeles (LAX), flying overseas from LAX to Melbourne, flights and coach travel within Australia and flights back to Des Moines by the same route.

The Australian locations visited were Melbourne, Victoria, Adelaide, S. Australia, Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Northern Territories, Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation in Queensland, and Sydney, New South Wales.

These are selected notes from my journal of this trip.
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Getting Ready and Getting There

My adventure actually started with a call from Paul Kennedy, the tour guide, on August 8, a week before the trip. I never received a phone call from the other side of the world. He verified that the hotels were all 4-star and provided amenities like shampoo, hair dryers, irons, etc. He also assured me that they have good espresso in Australia and the coffee culture is quite vigorous there.

Before the trip I had ordered some new clothes and sent most of the back. I was really unsure what to pack. The south of Australia in late August is still in their late winter/early spring. The center is desert and the northeastern is tropical. So I packed long pants, capris, shorts, t-shirts and long-sleeved shirts. I really miscalculated. The southern Australian winter is actually milder than I had anticipated and I could have done without about a third of what I took, and could have used more shorts instead of long pants. It’s true what they say - take half-the clothes and twice the money you think you’ll need.

I made sure to include in my carry-on change of undies, meds and electronic gear. I also had to consider the TSA restrictions of no liquids on the flights, and spending such a long time flying without moisturizer! (The women will understand.) Of course I packed late the night before I left and my luggage was not too organized. By about 10 days into the 16 day trip, I knew where to find everything.

Traveling, August 15-17
I had a plane change in Dallas and then about a 5-hour wait at LAX for the Qantas (Queensland And North Australia Air Service) flight overseas. There was lots of time for a favorite pass-time - people watching. I witnessed a TSA guy investigate a bag left under a table in the airport bar. Someone finally claimed it and didn’t get into trouble. I’m glad they’re really looking at those things now.

I lost a day traveling to Oz. We left LA about 11:40 p.m. on August 15 and arrived Melbourne about 8 a.m. August 17. (At least I got it back when I came home.) I was tired even before I got on the Qantas flight, but decided to force myself to stay awake as long as I could, and then sleep later on the flight. I finally found a way to sleep comfortably on the plane. I was in the center section of 4 seats and only had 1 neighbor, so we each got two seats to use. I had hoped to have just waked up before we landed in Melbourne. It pretty much worked out like that and I didn’t have much problem with jet lag on the west-bound travel.

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