By Plane, boat, train & cable car
By Plane, boat, train & cable car
By plane, boat, bus, train, cable car, cab and foot I
have been traveling around the upper Northern
Territory and now have spent one day in Cairns in
Queensland, my 8th and final state/territory of
Australia.
Two days ago I traveled around Darwin by bus and foot
to see as much of the town and area I could see. It
is amazing to see this city when you discover it was
pretty much wiped off the face of the earth by Cyclone
Tracey in the mid-70s and also back in 1942 by
Japanese bombers. All that and people still come to
live in this tropic environment because they love it.
After a leisurely wander around I went up in a pontoon
plane to see Darwin and the area from a few thousand
feet up. I had never been in a sea plane before. It
was great fun. We float out through the inlet to one
of the bays to another open bay to take off ever so
gracefully from the water. I was sitting in front
with the wheel within inches of my hands.
We began by flying over thousands of acres of
mangroves. Then we flew along the coast of Darwin
over the city then over a series of yacht and sailboat
filled marinas, the MGM Grand Casino and several great
looking beaches, most that I had seen from the ground
earlier in the day.
Like a seagul we glided ever so softly over the city
and the water. Then we flew over a series of F-16
jet fighters and the main Darwin airport in between
commercial flights. It is one thing to watch a plane
take off from the ground at ground level. It is
totally another to watch it from the cockpit of a
plane coming towards it at 90 degrees.
After we landed I had a great dinner on the wharf that
we had flown over and passed by floating through the
inlet. Fresh fish and chips and scallops. I watched
the sun set over the water from the wharf with about
500 other diners who had sampled from the 20 or so
small take away restaurants located on the wharf.
Then I walked to my 3-day home at the Palms Motel.
At 6:10 I was on a tour bus to travel to Katherine and
the Katherine Canyons a few hours away. We stopped at
a couple tourist type places....ho hum. One
interested me because I bought a couple of a book
written by one of the first white women to live in the
outback area of the Northern Territory around 1910.
Part of the book that I have read took place right
where we were during the day.
Cruising down the Katherine river through 3 of its 13
gorges was fantastic. Only photos can describe the
terrain, millions of years old, created by the erosion
of wind, rain and flowing water.
In 1998 the town of Katherine was nearly wiped out by
a tremendous flood that rose the river by 20 to 30
meters, nearly 100 feet in some parts. Now many of
the homes are built on stilts/concrete columns.
During the day, Peter Joyce, our coach captain and
basic tour guide entertained us with CDs about Darwin
and the Northern Territory sung by a mix of country
and folk singers. Then on the return trip we watched
a video of WALKABOUT. If you haven't seen it rent it.
It will give you a sense of many of the changes that
have taken place in Australia over the last 20 years.
Today up again at 5:00 to be picked up at 6:10 to go
to the airport to fly to Cairns. We landed in Gove a
vast mining area in the eastern and northern tip of
the Northern Territory. Then off we went to Cairns.
I found a reasonably priced hotel...it turned out to
be a great room for less than I paid in Darwin. It
also has a pool, which I will use later tonight when I
return.
First things first. I immediately booked two tours:
1) to the rain forest and
2) to the Great Barrier Reef.
The rain forest trip was unbelieably beautiful. The
first 3 legs were by cable gondola, 100+ feet in the
area over the rain forest combined with walks at
ground to 20 feet above ground through different parts
of the forest. The return trip was by an old train
similar to what was used in the early part of the 20th
century. We chugged back through the forest to
Cairns.
Then off the train to bus back to my hotel and decided
to get off and see the city centre. This is truly a
summer/warm weather focused tourist centre. Shops,
shops, shops and more shops.
Well off to find something interesting/fun to eat. I
managed to skip lunch. Well after hundreds of
gelatis, ice cream cones, Cadbury bars (Alison that is
for you), pastries and other sweets missing one lunch
can only help.
Best wishes to y'all from the southern version of
Australia.
Wandering Alan
By plane, boat, bus, train, cable car, cab and foot I
have been traveling around the upper Northern
Territory and now have spent one day in Cairns in
Queensland, my 8th and final state/territory of
Australia.
Two days ago I traveled around Darwin by bus and foot
to see as much of the town and area I could see. It
is amazing to see this city when you discover it was
pretty much wiped off the face of the earth by Cyclone
Tracey in the mid-70s and also back in 1942 by
Japanese bombers. All that and people still come to
live in this tropic environment because they love it.
After a leisurely wander around I went up in a pontoon
plane to see Darwin and the area from a few thousand
feet up. I had never been in a sea plane before. It
was great fun. We float out through the inlet to one
of the bays to another open bay to take off ever so
gracefully from the water. I was sitting in front
with the wheel within inches of my hands.
We began by flying over thousands of acres of
mangroves. Then we flew along the coast of Darwin
over the city then over a series of yacht and sailboat
filled marinas, the MGM Grand Casino and several great
looking beaches, most that I had seen from the ground
earlier in the day.
Like a seagul we glided ever so softly over the city
and the water. Then we flew over a series of F-16
jet fighters and the main Darwin airport in between
commercial flights. It is one thing to watch a plane
take off from the ground at ground level. It is
totally another to watch it from the cockpit of a
plane coming towards it at 90 degrees.
After we landed I had a great dinner on the wharf that
we had flown over and passed by floating through the
inlet. Fresh fish and chips and scallops. I watched
the sun set over the water from the wharf with about
500 other diners who had sampled from the 20 or so
small take away restaurants located on the wharf.
Then I walked to my 3-day home at the Palms Motel.
At 6:10 I was on a tour bus to travel to Katherine and
the Katherine Canyons a few hours away. We stopped at
a couple tourist type places....ho hum. One
interested me because I bought a couple of a book
written by one of the first white women to live in the
outback area of the Northern Territory around 1910.
Part of the book that I have read took place right
where we were during the day.
Cruising down the Katherine river through 3 of its 13
gorges was fantastic. Only photos can describe the
terrain, millions of years old, created by the erosion
of wind, rain and flowing water.
In 1998 the town of Katherine was nearly wiped out by
a tremendous flood that rose the river by 20 to 30
meters, nearly 100 feet in some parts. Now many of
the homes are built on stilts/concrete columns.
During the day, Peter Joyce, our coach captain and
basic tour guide entertained us with CDs about Darwin
and the Northern Territory sung by a mix of country
and folk singers. Then on the return trip we watched
a video of WALKABOUT. If you haven't seen it rent it.
It will give you a sense of many of the changes that
have taken place in Australia over the last 20 years.
Today up again at 5:00 to be picked up at 6:10 to go
to the airport to fly to Cairns. We landed in Gove a
vast mining area in the eastern and northern tip of
the Northern Territory. Then off we went to Cairns.
I found a reasonably priced hotel...it turned out to
be a great room for less than I paid in Darwin. It
also has a pool, which I will use later tonight when I
return.
First things first. I immediately booked two tours:
1) to the rain forest and
2) to the Great Barrier Reef.
The rain forest trip was unbelieably beautiful. The
first 3 legs were by cable gondola, 100+ feet in the
area over the rain forest combined with walks at
ground to 20 feet above ground through different parts
of the forest. The return trip was by an old train
similar to what was used in the early part of the 20th
century. We chugged back through the forest to
Cairns.
Then off the train to bus back to my hotel and decided
to get off and see the city centre. This is truly a
summer/warm weather focused tourist centre. Shops,
shops, shops and more shops.
Well off to find something interesting/fun to eat. I
managed to skip lunch. Well after hundreds of
gelatis, ice cream cones, Cadbury bars (Alison that is
for you), pastries and other sweets missing one lunch
can only help.
Best wishes to y'all from the southern version of
Australia.
Wandering Alan
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