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Steve's Tour of Australia - 1997

Australia

Stevetijou
2004-04-06 20:56:02

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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.

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.

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