Greetings Oxford Koala Hotel, Oxford St. -- At the time the cost was A$90. They are affiliated with Best Western if that makes a difference. It was okay in a sense that you have a TV and a private bath but it wasn't anything to write home about compared to the Wool Broker's Arms (see below).
Wool Broker's Arms, 22 Allen St. -- Discovered in the backpacker's guide as 'luxury accommodations'. The reason for the 'luxury' is that the hotel normally charges $50 per person unless you mention the ad in the guide. Here you have color TV and a sink BUT you have to share 2 bathrooms between 6 rooms. The total cost for us was $15 per person. However, the owner was going to the States soon and wanted US currency and thus we made a deal to stay for US$10. Not bad...highly recommend it.
CB Private Hotel, 417 Pitt St. -- We arrived late from Scone and well, the Wool Broker's Arms has limited hours. The place here was clean although our beds were a tad lumpy. Of course, as tired as we were, we didn't notice. $50 for 3 people.
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Here's a list of restaurants/pubs that I went to:
Gumnut Tea Garden, The Rocks -- Good place for lunch and the desserts are terrific!
Jacksons on George, Circular Quay on George St. -- A cool little pub to go to. I happen to eat a lot of Fish and Chips here for some reason...
East Ocean Restaurant, Chinatown -- A place where the food is wheeled to your table and you chose the food as it goes by. Highly recommended by the Syndey Morning Herald. I guess I can recommend it too.
Bill and Tony's Italian Restaurant, Kings Cross -- Great Italian food. First course $8. Two courses $13. I had the meatballs (in addition to the salad and bread) and was stuffed.
The Metropolitan, George St. -- Another pub with a restaurant upstairs. Had some of the best Chile Con Carne I've had in a long time (it was on special)
The Pumphouse Brewery, Darling Harbor -- Had a steak that wasn't the greatest. However, if you're there for drinks, it isn't bad. Try the Thunderbolt beer (7.5% alcohol). It is truly not for the 'beginners'.
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Two music papers are published, one on Tuesday ('Drum Media') and one on Wednesday ('On the Street'), which list upcoming concerts by the big stars and of course, the local acts at the local pubs. You can pick these usually at a pub.
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If you have the time, catch 'Fast Forward' (sort of a Saturday Night Live) and 'Hey Hey It's Saturday' (a variety show). If you're hurting for American fare, try the 'ABC World News Tonight' (on in the mornings) and the NFL game of the week (that is if you're there during the US fall) on Tuesdays and Saturdays. They also have versions of '60 Minutes' and 'A Current Affair'.
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On 'Black Friday' (Friday the 13th), I took an Ansett flight from Sydney to Alice Springs and then from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock. I believe that direct flights do exist but obviously, I didn't have one.
Once you arrive in the Ayers Rock airport, you'll probably will take a shuttle bus to the Yulara resort. This resort was built to fit almost everyone's needs from budget up to luxurious. It's also interesting to note that the developers tried to 'hide' the resort in order to keep from detracting from the beautiful landscape (and in my opinion, they did a great job)..
I stayed at what was known (as least in the Lonely Planet book) as 'Ayers Rock Lodge'. Many (if not all) also refer to this place as the 'Red Center Resort' which is the motel beside the lodge. The lodge was dormitory style in that you had bunk beds and shared the room/building with appox. 16 - 18 people. If you're worried about security, there are lockers outside of the dining area in which you can store your stuff (I didn't have any problems).
One of the first things you want to do when you arrive in Yulara is to visit the Tourist information center. From here you can book tours or browse through sort of a 'Ayers Rock museum' which describes the plant life and the life of the Aboriginal people. It was here where I booked a 24 hour pass to Ayers Rock and another tour to the Olgas complete with sunset viewing and a barbarque (with champagne). Both tours were with ATT Kings Tours.
The Olgas: Of the two 'rocks', the Olgas are far prettier than Ayers Rock. We hiked through the 'Valley of the Winds' which took us probably 2 1/2 hours to hike. Words simply cannot describe this place. As far as the sunset, the rocks did change color but the true light show was in the sky. Since a volcano erupted in the Philippines a few months earlier, the setting sky was really remarkable. The BBQ? Great!
Ayers Rock (Uluru): I took a sunrise tour (covered by the 24 hr. pass) in order to watch the changing color of the rock. I was a little upset that our bus had left a little later than they stated. Again, some of the best colors was from the actual sunrise. After viewing the sunrise, I opted to climb the rock. A note of warning, it is NOT for the weak of heart. If you're not in very good physical shape, I would recommend that you probably would not enjoy climbing the rock. When I climbed, it was a windy day and well, it certainly got stronger the higher you climbed. I estimate probably a 70 mph wind...a wind that you could literally lean into and still be supported by the gusts. Please note, some people have died there. Would I do it again? Yep!
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This was a tough town to really research. I've heard from others that there's just not much here. Due to the madding pace of my travels, I figured (if nothing else) that I could relax a little bit here.
How did I get here?: I took a bus from the Yulura resort and traveled down Lasseter Highway and then turned north onto Stuart Highway. Our bus (ATT Kings again) did make a stop during the afternoon at Mt. Ebenezer in order to partake in afternoon tea. Total travel time, 5 hours.
So what is here?: I rented out a 'Moke' in order to travel around a little bit. I don't recall the price but it wasn't out of the ordinary. Of the places to see, I recommend the following:
Telegraph Station -- I think the history behind the station was probably the most intreging. It was here that Australia finally had a link to England.
Chateau Hornsby -- A winery that was built in the middle of the desert. For A$2, you can do some wine tasting and buy some decent wine. It was also here that I saw a performance by Ted Egan, a 'folk singer' who will give you a history lesson about 'My Land Australia'. If you see Mr. Egan anywhere (even on TV), I would take the time to see him.
'Take a Camel To...' -- Provided by Frontier Tours, you can take a camel to breakfast, lunch, dinner, to Chateau Hornsby, etc., etc., etc. We tried to book a camel for the winery and they were booked up (we tried to book the same day). We ended up 'taking a camel to breakfast'. It was cool to say you rode on a camel but basically you just ride for 45 minutes to an hour on camels attached to each other. I wouldn't bother showering before riding...they do tend to smell... 'Neat Experience' if anything.
Simpson's Gap/MacDonnell Ranges -- Simpson's Gap is approx. 22 kms. west of Alice. The drive to/from the Gap was quite beautiful. At the Gap, you can set your eyes on rock wallabies and kangaroos.
Todd St. Mall -- The 'shopping' area here. If you want aboriginal souvenirs, you'll probably get a better deal here than you would say in Sydney. I bought some things at the 'Original Dreamtime Art Gallery'. The prices here were considerably cheaper there than they were in Sydney.
Lodging -- I stayed at the Red Center Resort (obviously, this is associated with the one in Yulara). This resort is set up to cater to all types. One can stay in 'normal' rooms, share a quad share bunkhouse, or camp. I choose the quad share and only had to share the room with my friend who was traveling with me. Cost was roughly between A$15-20. They also have a bar and restaurant, swimming pool, volleyball and tennis courts and laundry facilities. This place opened after my 'Lonely Planet' book was published. To make reservations call (089) 52 8955.
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On September 16, I took an afternoon flight on Ansett from Alice Springs to Cairns. Since I already booked a room at the Parkview Backpackers Inn, I phoned them from the airport upon arrival and had them pick me up free of charge.
My first impression of Cairns? Well, it didn't seem like we were in Australia anymore (much less Kansas). I almost felt like I was in the Caribean or something. Many international tourists come here and so the 'oz' flavor had faded somewhat. Since I wanted to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) that certainly wasn't going to bother me.
Scuba diving:
Once I arrived at the backpacker's inn, I scoped out all of the brochures that were in the 'lobby' of the place. And like everyone who had given me information had said, there are 'tons' of brochures (and 'tons' of travel/dive shops that specialized in dive trips). What I wanted to do was to go on a 'liveaboard' where I would be gone 3 days/2 nights. Well, lucky for me, there was one dive outfit that fit the bill -- 'Down Under Dive'. Since I had done extensive research on all of the dive places, I had no recollection of this one. The receptionist had dove with them so I said 'what the heck' lets do it!
In my honest opinion, I made a very wise choice. The boat had 16 total divers (6 experienced, 10 students). Also on the ship was the usual crew and of course, a dive master. The total cost was around A$225.
The boat was not a 'dive' boat as such but a boat that was converted to a boat that allowed diving. |
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