Blogs from Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 62

g'day blokes and sheila's So the journey continues. We have left the cosmopoli-life of sydney and arrived in the Red Centre, otherwise known as the Outback. This is a truely a vast and desolate area. Almost no water or life for thousands of kilometers in all directions from the center. I don't know how much ya'll know about australia...but the super short history lesson is australia was a prison for england...but aboriginals(dark skinned people who have been around for 65,000 years and havent changed their lifestyle) were in the way....so they just massacred everyone they saw and stole all their land. As of the last 30 years, a bit of justice has creeped back...some lands were given back, and killing natives is not a good deed anymore. SO, center and northern australia is the main area ... read more

It’s another early start this morning, though my alarm that was set for 5am didn’t have a chance to go off. Two loud kookaburras woke me up, though I must admit it was a pleasant wake-up call, and they were trying to compete against each other by the sound of it. Anyway, what with they’re singing I decided to get up. It was still fairly dark outside, but I made my way to the showers, to try and wake myself up fully. I think I was the first awake, so no surprises there, though shortly afterwards I could here a couple of others chatting. Everyone was awaking within half-an-hour of me, as I could hear all the watch alarms going off. Once everyone was awake, breakfast was prepared. Cereals again, but to be honest, that was ... read more

Up at 5:15am. Have wash, breakfast and leave for the Kingston-Smith International airport at 6:15am with Bryan. Arrived at the airport with twenty minutes or so spare, which was ideal. As it was an internal flight, my flight took off from the domestic terminal, whic was different to the one I’d arrived at when I first landed in ‘Oz’. I had a short wait to get through check-in, but other than that I had no problems. I didn’t have to go through the stringent checks I’d experienced at Bangkok. It was a good flight, and didn’t seem to take long, although it was a three-hour flight. The only bad thing was that I had no one to talk to, as the two passengers I had sitting next to me were German. Not that I wouldn’t talk ... read more

Well, it’s my last night in the Territory. What better time to collect my thoughts on the Territory and the traveling lifestyle in general. What better way to end my trip with the Olympic closing ceremony and all. The Olympics have really been an integral part of my trip as they bring together all the different nationalities here in a common ground that everyone can relate to. The ceremony also allowed me to see Australia show itself to the world from Elle McPherson to Slim Dusty and his crazy good rendition of "Waltzing Matilda." The whole backpacker/hostel lifestyle was actually many times better than I thought it would be. You never feel like you're all alone because you are constantly meeting new people coming and going from all directions. That being said, you only get glimpses ... read more

The bus arrived at eight in the evening, so me and a couple of Aussie guys who I had met on the bus spent the rest of the evening down the pub. I spent most of the time in Alice Springs relaxing, although I used it as a base for some other trips to some of the main attractions in the area. It was also a chance to write some post cards and letters, and to do some shopping. There is lots of Aborigine artefacts here, although I am under no illusion that they are mass-produced tourist trinkets rather than hand crafted by tribal elders using traditional methods that were handed down from generation to generation. The Aviation Museum was well worth a visit. Also, whilst here, I took a couple of trips to the Western ... read more