We're heading down-under again; this time to Australia. It's
a big country; really big. Actually, it reminds me of Canada, except with only
a third of the population. We're only going to be there for three weeks, so during
our planning, we were challenged to narrow the scope. The roughed out plan is
to visit 3 areas, hopefully meet a few Aussies, get a feel for their culture,
and experience the unvarnished way of life.
In the first week, we'll be in the northeast, Port Douglas
to be specific. This area is best known for the Great Barrier Reef, which is 50
kms or so offshore. We've got our masks and snorkels packed of course, but while
in the area, we also hope to do some hiking and maybe biking inland.
Week 2 will be in central Australia; the famous Outback. We
hope to sink our hiking boots in the desert sands, kick a little tumble weed,
and get up close and personal with a number of unusual geological features.
This area is known as one of the most inhospitable places in the world. We've
arranged for a campervan that we'll use to tour within a day or two's travel of
our supply depot, the town of Alice Springs.
On our final week, we'll be staying in a self catered
cottage in the Glass House Mountains. The cottage is an hour or so northwest of
Brisbane. The Glass House Mountains are a gentle part of the Great Divide mountain
range that's slightly inland from the southeastern coast. We hope to enjoy some
relatively easy hiking and relaxation. If the weather motivates us, we may
drift seaward to the Sunshine Coast.
Many parts of Australia are still untamed, so we're a little
apprehensive; just a little fear of the unknown, I guess. While doing our research, we ran across the
following "in Australia, there are more things to kill you than any other
place in the world". The book went on to say those things include heat
stroke, sharks, crocodiles, various types of venomous spiders and snakes.....
We're not sure what to make of this revelation, but we expect to learn more as
we go. As you may know, Marlene and I have a tendency to take the routes less
travelled, and in this case that translates into some of the less tamed areas
of the country. For most other places we've travelled, our survival strategies
have been limited to learning a few words of the local language and wearing a
smile. Though the details have yet to be finalized, in Australia, we will
likely be carrying a big stick.
With that in mind, we're heading off, and we hope you'll
follow us on our adventure.
Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2015/03/cyclone-nathan-welcomes-us-in-his-own.html
Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2015/03/cyclone-nathan-welcomes-us-in-his-own.html
