Introduction
In September/ October 1997, I went on a 3 week holiday to Australia - beginning at Darwin (Northern Territory) and travelling across the outback to Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. From there we crossed the desert and the goldfields to Perth (Western Australia) and then returned to the UK. This trip was booked through Explore, with the tour in Australia being run by a local company in Australia. There are a number of companies who arrange holidays of this nature - just look in the sunday newspapers for the adverts.
Photographs
I took a number of photos during the trip, a handful of which are shown below, along with brief descriptions.
The Devil's Marbles are a collection of
huge granite boulders, just off the Stuart Highway, about 1100km
south of Darwin and 400km from Alice Springs. In Aboriginal
mythology, they are believed to be the eggs of the rainbow
serpent.
About 30km
north of Alice Springs on the Stuart Highway you pass through the
Tropic of Capricorn. The official line is actually about 20m
south of this sign, where there is a monument and a line along
the road.
Alice Springs is the town at the centre
of Australia. It is about the biggest town for 1500km in any
direction, and is notable by its picturesque beauty.
Kings Canyon is the deepest gorge in
Central Australia, made up of sandstone. In some places, the
walls rise almost vertically to a height of 300m. Photographs can
not adequately do justice to the scenery of the area.
Perhaps the most famous sight in
Australia is Ayers Rock or Uluru, as it is known to the
Aboriginals, to whom it is a deeply religious place. This photo
was taken from a helicopter just before sunset.
Perth is the capital of Western Australia and has
one of the most striking skylines anywhere.
Situated about 20km off the coast of
Perth and Fremantle, Rottnest Island has some beautiful beaches
and some wildlife unique to the island. A trip to Rottnest is a
great way to spend a day, and you can hire mountain bikes there
to tour the island.
Over the trip as a whole, we travelled about 5000km across land which sounds awesome but wasn't as arduous as you may think. For me the high point was the time spent in Alice Springs, although the beauty and majesty of many of the sights has left a lasting impression.
If you would like any information on the trip then please email me at steve@tijou.co.uk. For more general travel info, why not visit http://www.travel-library.com or Allexperts Australia Q&A: Volunteer experts answer your questions about tourism in Australia!
This site was last updated 21 January 2001.
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