Australia

Arriving in Ayers Australia - after almost 30 hours of flight time and 19 hours of airport hiking (27 hours flight and 18 hours waiting) I quickly schedule a trip to Uluru - the heart of the red center.

1. Uluru - the Heart of Australia in the Red Center

The Red Center is an unofficial name for the Ayers & Alice Springs area close to the center of Australia. I thought of it as the Big Empty. Empty with only scrubs and small trees for miles and miles - then suddenly these magnificent rocks rise out of nowhere.


2. Kata Tjuta

Kata Tjuta is 35 KM from Uluru and was formed around the same time but with different materials creating an entirely different set of rocks. Boulders were carried from the Peterson Mt Volcanoes into a hollow area creating Kata Tjuta while the lava flowed on until it solidified at Uluru as one rock.


3. Kings Canyon and the Garden of Eden

Kings Canyon which 250Km from Ayers has a famous walk around the ridge with an optional descent into the canyon's center which is famously called the Garden of Eden.


4. Great Barrier Reef

I left Ayers in the Red Center and flew to Northern Queensland in the North Eastern corner of Australia. This is the kickoff point for the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. I arrived in the Cairns airport which is surrounded on one side by the Pacific and three sides by mountains Cairns which is the large tourist town in the area but stayed in Port Douglas which is the 2nd largest town and actually has a beach.


5. Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation

North of Port Douglas is the Daintree Rainforest, a wandering road leads you to the croc invested Daintree River. A unique cable ferry is the only way to make the crossing.


6. Port Douglas and the 4 mile beach

Port Douglas is the home of many resorts as well as nicely appointed (not too tacky tourist) downtown restaurant and shopping area. It is also outlined by its 4 mile beach.


7. Sydney

Sydney wines along its famous harbor, opening with its two world renowned icons - the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.


8. Sydney Beaches

There's a stretch of coastline dotted by beaches beginning with the famous Bondi down to coves containing their own unique beaches some for swimming others for surfing and one with an undersea trail for divers.


9. Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains are just west of Sydney and have a similar smoky feel as the Smoky Mountains. They are also the site of the recently discovered oldest trees in the world. A small patch of these Wollemi Pines prehistoric trees were discovered in the 1994 and just this year the first group of saplings from them are being sold at a Sotheby's auction to help fund their protection. It's interesting to find these trees only a day trip away from downtown Sydney.


10. SW Tasmania

Tasmania lies below the Southeast coast of Australia and is a unique environment separate from the already unique Australian environment. Most of the island is a

nature preserve of one type or another. Although cooler than the continent rainforest cover a good portion of it.


11. Strahan

Strahan is a small port that is the launch point to tours of Sarah's Island prison, Huon Pine forest, Hells Gate, and some of the most remote landscape around.


12. Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain rises over Dove Lake and with its lodge is one of the most famed resorts in Australia. Travel North a little and you can descend from the top of Tasmania to its underworld in the Mole Creek Caverns - and then comes the Big Penquin on the North side of the island.


13. Freycinet

The Freycinet peninsula and National Park on the Pacific coast is another of Tasmania's park resorts with wildlife and great beaches.


14. Tasmania Peninsula

Only an hour from Tasmania's main city Hobart, the peninsula is the site of the Tasman Arch, Devil's Kitchen, and Port Arthur - the former prison that is Tasmania's number one tourist destination.


15. Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road winds along the southern coast of Australia just west of Melbourne. Along its route are some of the great surfing locations, great waterfalls, Ottaway Point, and the 12 Apostles.


16. Victoria

Hanging Rock is a unique hill topped by rocks and was the site of the strange story of the Picnic at Hanging Rock.


17. Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia's second largest city and seemingly the home of an endless number of sport stadiums and arenas as well as annual an International Arts Festival that lasts the entire month tober. A large city but more relaxed than Sydney.

A trip of five and half weeks that didn't even cover two thirds of the country.

Uluru - the Heart of Australia in the Red Center

The Red Center is an unofficial name for the Ayers & Alice Springs area close to the center of Australia. I thought of it as the Big Empty. Empty with only scrubs and small trees for miles and then suddenly these amazing rocks.

Sunrise slowing revealing Uluru (formerly Ayers Rock). One solid rock that resists erosion more than the soft ground around it leaving it towering above the surroundings

The locals request very politely that you not climb Uluru but it is allowed when the weather is okay. And as you can it's very popular to climb.

I decided not to climb,

A) Because I was asked politely not to

B) To save my knees from the downward climb

C) Because 13 people died climbing it last year

D) All of the above





There is one permanent pool of water around the rock but others are created when the rain is funneled down from the top of the rock into a pocket. Interestingly the bushes in the Red Center were greener than usual while I was there in September because it had rained in July. The plants are used to surviving on very little water.





This pattern on the site of Uluru is called the Brain.

Next stop Kata Tjuta

Or return to Australia

Kata Tjuta

Kata Tjuta is 35 KM from Uluru and was formed around the same time but with different materials creating an entirely different set of rocks. Boulders were carried from the Peterson Mt Volcanoes into a hollow area creating Kata Tjuta while the lava flowed on until it solidified at Uluru as one rock.












There a couple of walks one into the Gorge which gives a nice claustrophobic experience. The other is the valley of the
winds which leads into the center of Kata Tjuta.

Next stop Kings Canyon

Or return to Australia

Kings Canyon and the Garden of Eden

Kings Canyon which 250Km from Ayers has a famous walk around the ridge with an optional descent into the canyon’s center which is famously called the Garden of Eden.
















The Garden of Eden is a tropical oasis at the bottom of the canyon in the middle of the semi arid outback. It is full of palm trees, ferns, a small stream, and a pool surrounded by canyon walls that people love to jump into - Truly surprising and beautiful.

Next stop Great Barrier Reef

Or return to Australia_TOC

Great Barrier Reef

I left Ayers in the Red Center and flew to Northern Queensland in the North Eastern corner of Australia. This is the kickoff point for the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. I arrived in the Cairns airport which is surrounded on one side by the Pacific and three sides by mountains Cairns which is the large tourist town but stayed in Port Douglas which is the 2nd largest town and actually has a beach.

The Barrier Reef stretches for hundreds of miles along the Queensland coast. The southern portion has been the most popular area in the past but due to a lack of environmental care, the coral is no longer as colorful and the fish not as plentiful. So the best undersea viewing has moved north. There are several islands with resorts some very exclusive but I took a day cruise from Port Douglas. The Quicksilver is the biggest and best known carrying hundreds of people out.

They took us out to their own private platoon anchored in the reef. From there they take can take you to dive spots, but most people stay onboard and go snorkeling off the platoon, ride in the glassed in semi submersible, or step into a platform under the ocean with a diver’s helmet on. I lucked out with a very calm and sunny day. Still they suggest you rent wet suits to protect against any Stinger jellyfish that might be around and can cause excruciating pain before they kill you. Australia is well known for their deadly creatures. But it's No Worry mate.



Even though my Kodak underwater camera didn’t function too well you can a taste of the view.

Next stop Daintree Rainforest

Or return to Australia

Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation

My first taste of the rainforest was over it by taking the Skyrail in Kuranda. You fly over and through the treetops. Later in the area they say you can see birds flying among the trees but while it was quiet the view was spectacular.






North of Port Douglas is the Daintree Rainforest, a wandering road leads you to the croc invested Daintree River. An unique cable ferry is the only way to make the crossing.




The road continues through an amazing tropical rainforest with more shades of green than you can imagine.







A trail off the road leads you through the rainforest to a mango grove where the roots of the mango trees poke up through the mud trying to capture whatever moisture they can.





The paved portion of the road ends at Cape Tribulation not really a town but a few scattered business and resorts and one great beach separating the rainforest from the barrier reef. A beautiful beach but when you first approach it you must pass one of the famous Australian road signs (think Kangaroo, Cassowary, Wombat, crocodile) warning the swimmer of the marine stingers and offering some temporary relief.

Next stop Port Douglas

Or return to Australia

Port Douglas and its Four Mile Beach

Port Douglas is the home of many resorts as well as nicely appointed (not too tourist tacky) downtown restaurant and shopping area. It is also outlined by the 4 mile beach.









The road back from Port Douglas to Cairns is rated as a top scenic drive and as a high risk drive due to drivers being distracted by the scenic views, animal crossing, and frustrated local drivers. It is nestled between the Pacific and a mountain range.


The Daintree Discovery Center outside of Port Douglas is an animal habit that has a Breakfast with the Birds where you dine on exotic fruits and foods while various birds walk and fly around.

Next stop Sydney

Or return to Australia

Sydney

Sydney wines along its famous harbor, opening with its two world renowned icons – the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.















Sydney’s CBD (central business district) is very busy with black clad business people rushing back and forth. There’s an old Australian joke that says when you visit Perth they will ask where you are from, In Adelaide they ask what church you belong to, in Melbourne they ask what school, and in Sydney they ask how much money do you make.



Here are some places along the harbor which are lined with multi million dollar residential apartments and homes.







But in Sydney it always returns to the Opera House,



Circular Quay with the transit center of downtown with trains, buses, and the harbor ferries.




And back to bridge in night as in day.

Next stop Sydney Beaches

Or return to Australia