Learning the Language in Oz
It was a given that there would be challenges communicating while in Central and South America, as our Spanish was limited. Trying to converse in Southeast Asia was unthinkable except for some of the most rudimentary salutations and expressions of appreciation. We thought it would be easy to have in-depth conversations in South Africa; however, we discovered it very difficult at times to understand the locals . . . especially if they were Afrikaners. Of [...]
Categories: Australia, Travel, Travel Blogs Tags: Australia
Would You Like to Pet a Kangaroo?
Love kangaroos? At The Australia Zoo made famous by Steve Irwin, you can visit the zoo’s kangaroo petting area and spend as much time as you would like petting and enjoying these awesome down under creatures.
Categories: Australia Tags: Australia, Kangaroos, Steve Irwin, The Australia Zoo
Uluru to Brisbane, The Ultimate Road Trip
Kings Canyon Rock Formations The next destination in the Outback odyssey was Kings Canyon located in Watarrka National Park, which was approximately 200 miles from Uluru. It was necessary to backtrack nearly half that distance and turn north onto a two-lane road that dead-ended into the Park. Other roads existed, but they were strictly for four-wheel drive vehicles. One of the highlights of visiting Kings Canyon is seeing the unique rock formations that have been [...]
Categories: Australia, Travel, Travel Blogs Tags: Australia, Australian Outback, Brisbane, Darwin, Devil's Marbles, Kings Canyon
Uluru, a Spiritual Place
Uluru, a Spiritual Place Kat Tjuta There is no such thing as short distances between destinations in the Outback. Most everyone’s impression of this region of Australia is what they have seen watching Crocodile Dundee. In addition to the Aussies’ use of “good day, mate” and “no worries”, the movie’s depiction of this vast country was reasonably accurate. The distance from Darwin to Alice Springs was over 900 miles. Since our route there was quite [...]
Categories: Australia, Travel, Travel Blogs Tags: Australia, Australian Outback, Litchfield, Uluru
Vietnam and Australia, Total Opposites
Preparing Breakfast After two months in Southeast Asia and nearly two weeks in Ho Chi Minh City, we were ready to move on. For many reasons, our memories and experiences of the region will last a lifetime. First, it took us out of our comfort zone and exposed us to people, cultures and languages completely alien to our Western mindset. Second, after blowing the budget in Southern Africa, we were able to save enough money [...]
The Australian Outback, More Than a Desert
Litchfield Waterfalls Australia and the United States are roughly the same size; however, that’s where the similarities end. For starters, the majority of the country is nearly all desert, and the vast majority of the population lives almost entirely along the coasts. Second, only 22.5 million people live there, which is less than 10-percent of the U.S. population. This massive piece of real estate is a continent, country and island all rolled into one. After [...]
Categories: Australia, Travel, Travel Blogs Tags: Australia, Australian Outback, Ayers Rock, Kakadu, Litchfield, Uluru
