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Published: February 20th 2007
We arrived down under into Darwin at the very social hour of 4am in the morning. We were thrilled to finally be in Oz, however it took another 2.5 hours to persuade customs to let Claire bring her chocolate and wooden Christmas decorations into the country… talk about strict custom rules! The heat and humidity in Darwin were hard work, especially when trying to cook in a kitchen the size of a shoebox with no fans or aircon! However it was nice to be able to cook for ourselves again, as hardly any hostels in South East Asia had kitchens and it was always so cheap to eat out. It didn’t take long to explore Darwin as it is only a small town but its history is quite interesting, as it has survived a massive cyclone (Cyclone Tracey) and a Japanese bombing raid in WWII - worse than Pearl Harbour! Our favourite experience in Darwin was feeding and tickling fish at Darwin’s AquaScene. Now it might not sound like much but there were hundreds of fish swimming around our toes and we were both like big kids.
From Darwin we had our first taste of the real outback in Kakadu
National Park. We spent a couple of days touring the park with a great group of people. We sweated it out (our 4x4 had no aircon and the temperature was in the 40’s), fought off hundreds of flies trying to invade our eyes, ears and mouth - but it was all worth it! We also had our first encounter with crocodiles on a jumping croc tour where we met Michael Jackson of all people (a 15ft long croc). We went down the Adelaide river on a tin can boat while a mad woman (aka a sheila) dangled huge lumps of buffalo meat over the side of the boat, which the crocs jumped up and snapped (boy can they jump high!). We were warned not to hang over the side of the boat to take any photos - for obvious reasons. Also in Kakadu we managed to get up close and personal to a snake when it was dangled around our necks (much to Sam’s delight and Claire’s obvious discomfort... forced smile!).
Our next stop on the tour was to see some Aboriginal rock art and hear some of the traditional aboriginal stories - all really fascinating stuff. Afterwards we
went for a long walk and then headed to our accommodation, well at least that’s what Claire thought until she saw where we were staying - the middle of nowhere in a huge tent with open sides and inside were dome shaped tent liners, no showers or toilets anywhere in sight. At this moment Claire turned to Sam and asked where the comfortable air-con huts with ensuite bathrooms were that Sam had shown her in the company brochure! However, Sam was too busy getting excited about our evening meal - BBQ Kangaroo steak…yummy! After dinner we spent the rest of the night around a campfire (not sure why we needed a fire when it was still about 40oC but guess it just added to the atmosphere) learning to the play the didgeridoo (see the video). We enjoyed playing it so much that we ended up buying one back in Darwin!
Before going to bed Sam being the gentleman that he is, removed two large spiders from our tent and finally managed to coax Claire inside! The next day was spent in and out of natural rock pools and rivers. This were great but slightly worrying when we had seen
the fresh water crocodiles that lived in them (supposedly shy) but on that day they decided to show their faces, which put an abrupt end to Claire’s swimming adventure!
On our return to Darwin we bumped into a familiar face - yes you guessed it - “Charlie the Water Buffalo” from Crocodile Dundee! Sadly he is no longer with us but is stuffed for all to view on top of a bar at a roadhouse near Darwin.
From Darwin we flew to Cairns and promptly booked our “mission impossible” itinerary to get us down to Brisbane in time for Christmas! The travel rep at our hostel said that it wasn’t possible (but he had never travelled with Sam before!) and an hour later we had it all sorted out! So the next day we were off sailing out to Green Island for some snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. All was going well until we had a near-death experience in the middle of the ocean (no not jellyfish) we crashed into another boat; right on the side of the boat that we were both sitting on! After 20 minutes reviewing the damage our skipper set sail again! Green
Island was beautiful but this small bit of paradise has become very developed. Whilst there we visited a crocodile park and saw the world’s biggest captive saltwater crocodile, a staggering 18ft long. Afterwards we went for a walk on the white sandy beach and spotted some turtles in the sea. After lunch on board the boat, we popped on our sexy stinger suits (it was jellyfish season down the East coast of Oz!) and headed out to snorkel. We saw some great fish and coral but Sam was delighted, as would anybody who is a fan of “Shark Top Trumps”, as we spotted the elusive Tasseled wobbegong shark! Woo hoo we hear you say - not!
The following morning our Cairns adventure continued as we headed north to see Cape Tribulation - amazing beaches and the ancient Daintree Rainforest and we sampled some Daintree Billy Tea straight from the Billycan! Sam even managed to spot the huge Cassowary bird (second largest bird in Oz) and lived to tell the tale!
That night we caught a night bus (the first of many) to Airlie Beach where we boarded our amazing racing yacht “The British Defender” (you can see the
smile on Sam’s face from here with that name - www.sailing-whitsundays.com/products/listings/l0026.html ) that would be our home for the next 3 days travelling around the gorgeous Whitsunday Islands. Life on the boat was a great experience: sleeping in tiny bunks, sharing below deck with 24 other people, tying all of our possessions to our bunks so they didn’t go flying when we set sail, no showers for 3 days, people being seasick as we sailed, racing along with half the boat in the water (the boat tilts and you have to sit on top of the opposite side to keep it balanced!) and finally helping out with the grinding to hoist the sails… a lot harder than you think!
Sailing was great fun but Claire got a shock when trying to put in her contact lenses in the tiny toilet below deck, as the skipper set sail without her realising and she ended up flat on her back against the toilet door as the boat raced along! We did some fab snorkelling again wearing our very attractive stinger suits and saw some dolphins swimming along side the boat! Another highlight of this trip was our only stop on dry
Kakuda Rock Art
This piece is very famous - to the right is the lightning man.land at Whitehaven to see the amazing white sands and turquoise sea - picture postcard perfect. The sand there is so beautiful that there is a $12,000 fine if you are caught taking any. The last legal purchase was when NASA took 17,000 tonnes to build the Hubble Space Telescope! Our adventure at the Whitsundays was an experience that we will never forget!
Once back on dry land it was time to find some showers (we had no accommodation booked here as we were off on another night bus), thank goodness for the outside showers at many beaches in Oz… so good to get clean again! After some fish and chips by the sea it was time to get on our night bus and travel down the coast ready for our next adventure.
We were picked up as soon as we arrived in Hervey Bay and got the ferry straight over to the luscious Fraser Island. As we had very limited time we were not able to camp out as hoped but we booked onto a 2-day tour, which turned out to be brilliant fun. Our guide was hilarious and was also a local photographer ( www.livinggallery.com.au -
we have his signed book to prove it!). We toured the island in a 4x4 truck and went swimming at Lake McKenzie (crystal blue waters) and the champagne pools and floated down Eli Creek. We also got to see the incredible Meheno shipwreck, a passenger liner that was blown ashore by a cyclone in 1935 while being towed to a Japanese scrap yard. We did some nice walks through Central Station and the Pinnacles (whilst trying to avoid the mozzies and dingos!) and then we went stingray spotting at the top of Indian Head. Fraser Island really is as stunning as people say and is like a little bit of paradise… Unfortunately it was soon time to catch the last ferry back to the mainland. At our hostel at Hervey Bay we had a mad few hours wrapping Christmas presents (it was the 23rd December) and the next day we were off to Brisbane to see Claire’s family for Christmas.
We arrived in Brisbane around lunchtime and were met by Claire’s aunt and uncle (Sue and Ken) who took us straight out to see Claire’s cousins (Kylie, Stuart, Robert and Kylie’s fiancée Matt). It was great to see them
18ft long Oscar
Our friend on Green Island all, Sam had never met them before and it was nearly 15 years since Claire had last met them!
Before we knew it Christmas Day was upon us and we had a great day with everyone, swimming in the pool while sipping champagne, great food (traditional “pomme” Christmas dinner with all the trimmings!), plenty of plonk and of course games - trying our skills (or lack of) on the dance mats and playing a DVD movie game… no competitiveness of course! The whole day was lovely and we could not have asked for a better way to spend Christmas in Oz! Boxing day was also fun, we spent the first part of the morning chilling out in the hot tub with a glass of Bucks Fizz, but then it seemed that we brought the English weather with us as it soon became overcast, cold and even wet! Oh well, maybe next time! That afternoon we were introduced to the game of Poker and thrashed by Robert’s lovely girlfriend, Tiff - noone could believe that they had been totally thrashed by this young girl and we are now sure she was a ringer! After the game it was time to
put on the Spurs shirts and watch the football, as Ken like Claire’s dad is a lifelong Spurs supporter!!
The next few days went by so fast spending time with family, going to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and holding a gorgeous Koala, feeding the Kangaroos, Sam went swimming at South Bank beach even though it was 9pm and freezing cold, up Mount Cootha for amazing views of Brisbane. We also went out to visit Kylie and Matt who were camping by a lovely lake a few hours from of Brisbane and they kindly took us out on their speedboat and then tried to drown us… well they tried to teach us how to water-ski (Sam did well with a couple of minutes standing on his feet but Claire spend most of the time going into the water head first and drinking half the lake!) and then we went on the doughnut- excellent fun! Not to be outdone though, Ken also went in, in his underpants and showed us how it was done - a hilarious afternoon! Unfortunately it was soon time to say goodbye to Claire’s family, we had a great time and want to thank them for letting
us share their Christmas celebrations with us, showing us a great time in Brisbane and totally spoiling us!
Our next stop was Sydney to meet Sam’s mum (Gill) who was visiting us for a few weeks. We met at the airport, after lots of hugs and chatter we headed to the luxurious apartment that Gill had very generously booked us into (2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living room, TV and even a Hi-fi!). We then went out and explored Sydney and so of course we had to head straight over to see the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House - awesome sites each time you see them! After dinner it was time to retire to our penthouse suite and try to keep Gill awake and ease the jetlag! The next day we went on a great boat cruise around Sydney Harbour and then went for a walk around The Rocks area and took in a didgeridoo show… Sam picked up a few more tips here!
The following day was New Year’s Eve and so it was an early start to get our prime spot in the Botanical gardens overlooking the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House but it
was all worth it seeing the 2 sets of amazing fireworks over the harbour area - lots of oohs and ahhs as soon as the displays began… or was that just the noise made by us to express the pain of our numb bums after sitting down from 10am until midnight!
The next few days in Sydney flew by as we tried to cover as much of the city as possible. We explored the beautiful Manly beaches (we also managed to meet up with Claire’s second cousin, Liz, who was out in Oz visiting friends), funky Bondi beach (spotted some amazing metallic-looking beetles in the trees), getting close to aussie wildlife at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, a trip to the Blue Mountains and the Three Sisters (Gill also got up close and personal with some Koalas and Kangaroos on this trip!), the Chinese Gardens, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge at night (how cool is that, what an amazing experience and fantastic but different way to view the city!) and we even managed to cram in some more culture by going to see a brilliant performance of The Marriage of Figaro at the Opera House (our Christmas present to Gill).
Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island
Sam thought he'd found a short cut!! Of course our visit to Sydney would not be complete for Sam without seeing some sport - well it just so happens that we were out in Sydney at the time of the Ashes Cricket match (coincidence, Claire thinks not!). So being unusually prepared Sam managed to get some tickets from the UK through eBay, which Gill was bringing out for us to Sydney…simple huh? Well, not quite, as in the rush to get ready to come out to Oz, poor Gill “misplaced” the Ashes tickets, much to Sam’s horror and Claire’s pleasure… (the tickets were possibly in the recycling bin… Gill must have known how bad we would do and wanted to spare us from this plight!!). All was not lost though as Sam managed to blag some more tickets and raced to get them the day before the match.
So off to the cricket we went, it was the third day of the fifth test and what a day for cricket! Well for Australian cricket that is, although the barmy army were cheering like mad , as were we, sadly the Ashes were already lost for England. So after spending 7 hours in blistering heat (no shade
whatsoever) and thus sweating half our bodyweight out and our voices disappearing, we sadly left the stadium - the whole day was great fun though, just a shame about the end result. This was not our only sporting encounter, as Sam met James Blake (men’s tennis star ranked 5th in the world) and was randomly asked to help out with the tournament draw for the Sydney International event. James Blake went on to win the competition and Sam likes to think that he played an important role in this!
As quickly as it started our time in Sydney had come to an end and it was off to Alice Springs with Gill to start a 5-day outback adventure! Alice Springs really is in the middle of nowhere, just surrounded by a very large red dessert, but it has everything you might need to get you prepared for the outback. So after our last civilised meal for a while (pasta at an Italian restaurant, Claire was very happy with this choice) it was time to get an early night as we were off on a 2-day trip to the Western MacDonnell Ranges taking in the wonderful sights of Ormiston Gorge
and Palm Valley during a few walks, the multi-coloured Ochre Pits (sources of paint for Aboriginal people) and Glen Helen Gorge for some swimming.
Our home for the night was in the middle of the now very dry Finke River (world’s oldest river apparently) where we set up camp under a huge gum tree (miles from any kind of civilisation or bathroom facilities!). After starting up the campfire our lovely guide cooked us a great dinner over the fire and then it was time to lie under the stars in our very own swag bags (basically outdoor/outback sleeping bags). This was all fine until a French coupe on the tour came back from a walk saying they had spotted Scorpions nearby and then some weird bug landing on Claire with her screaming at Sam, “get it off, get it off!” and Sam going, “oooh, I wonder what it is?”, while Claire is still screaming! Gill coped brilliantly outside and put Claire to shame! Well-done Muv/Gill!
The next part of our outback adventure was on a 3-day trip to Uluru (aka Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (aka the Olgas). This entire area is a national park and is of
deep cultural significance to its owners, the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal peoples (they call themselves Anangu). The national park has been leased to the Australian government and tries to keep in line with the cultural beliefs of the Anangu and prevents tourists from destroying the area or disrespecting the Anangu cultural beliefs. First stop was Kata Tjuta (meaning “many heads”) for a walk through the Valley of the Winds into the Olga gorge, beautiful scenery and a few Kangaroos too! From here it was on to Uluru for sunset with a glass of champagne…very civilised! We were very lucky in some respects as when we visited the area the heat was slightly subdued and there had actually been some rainfall, which meant that we were very lucky to see some areas with water on the ground and some green vegetation. This also meant that the heat was unusually bearable and so were the flies!
After watching the sunset it was time to set off for camp. Now being the professional “swaggers” that we had become we were fully expecting/looking forward to rolling out our swags and setting up the campfire, but things on this trip were a little different,
much to Claire’s delight! We actually stayed on a proper campsite complete with permanent tents and a seated cooking area with private BBQ… cheating maybe, but it was a welcomed luxury, that was until Claire spotted a rather large Scorpion trying to make its way into the ladies toilets! After dinner it was off to bed as we had to be up at 4am to get up for sunrise at Uluru the next morning! So at 4am we climbed wearily onto the bus and got to Uluru in time to see the sunrise, and then it was off to explore this beautiful rock!
Uluru is another World Heritage site and is 3.6km long and 348m high. There has always been controversy about whether you should be able to climb Uluru as the path used for climbing is actually part of the route taken by Mala men on their arrival to Uluru and so has high spiritual significance and also the Anangu are also concerned by the number of accidents and deaths from climbing the rock! For these reasons the Anangu ask tourists not to climb the rock (but happily recieve lots of money from tourists who opt to climb),
Watching the footy on boxing day
But why, oh why are we wearing Spurs shirts ?? so it was a tough decision for us. In the end Sam decided to do the climb and Claire did the full base walk and Gill did the half loop of the base walk. We all enjoyed our choices; the climb for Sam was an adventure and the base walk for Claire was spectacular and something she will never forget. We also visited the sites of Aboriginal rock art and traditional ceremonial places around the rock (the Mala walk) and at the local cultural centre.
We then travelled along the Mereeni Loop Road to Kings Canyon, where we did the aptly named Kings Canyon Walk around the rim of the Canyon, not for the faint-hearted. Amazing views for miles and miles and beautiful colours of layered rock sediment. We also got to see the Garden of Eden, which was surprising full of lush green trees and palms and a cool water hole at one end. Gill explored a path a bit lower down and every now and again got yelled at from great heights when we saw her from various parts of the canyon!
As always, our time passed by very quickly and soon we were back at
the airport in Alice Springs saying an emotional goodbye to Gill who was flying back to Sydney and then on to London and we were back upto Darwin to start our journey down the West Coast… but that’s for next time…
As it's been so long since we last updated the blog we've added plenty of extra photos for you to look through (probably too many), just click on any of the photos to open them all.
ENJOY!!
Sam & Claire
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Rach
non-member comment
Wow!
Glad to see the old Stag Do shirt is still going strong!! Didn't know you'd added another entry to the blog?? Just happened to look at it today and there was the Oz update?!