Took a 2.5 hour flight to Denpasar, Bali on no-frills Air Asia. Met a couple of girls at the airport in Darwin and we shared a cab and room in Sanur. The first thing that you notice is the sheer number of scooters/motorcycles. There was at least 1,000 in the airport parking lot. Everyone rides them. Women, men, kids, grannies, and even whole families at once. They ride crazy and fast, beeping horns incessantly. Have not seen any accidents though. Bali is w...

Took The Ghan from Alice Springs to Darwin. It took 24-hours but was a great trip. The Ghan was built in 1878 and refurbished in 1980 and was named after Afghan cameleers who migrated here. It travels between Adelaide and Darwin. It's a beautiful, plush way to travel. The seats fully recline and you can stretch out without your feet touching the seat in front (and I was in the Red Car-cheap seats) so I can only imagine what the Gold and Platinum cars were li...

Took a 19-hour night bus to Alice Springs. Was wondering if Uluru was worth the heat (108-110 degrees every day for a week) and money. It was. Took a long day tour. The outback around Uluru is mostly desert poplar, desert oak, acacia, eucalyptus, and spinefex. The soil is brilliant red from the high iron oxide content of the soil. Drove through a cattle station so large that it is impossible to fence. Free-roaming cattle, camels, and horses everywhere. At ...

Took a 10-hour night bus to Adelaide and arrived at 6:00 a.m. Walked a mile to my hostel in the dark but it felt safe. Only cabbies out. Adelaide is known as the "City of Churches" so I set out to see as many as possible. Also visited the Migration Museum, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the State Library, South Australia Museum which featured an extensive Aboriginal exhibit, Old Parliament House, Government House, the National War Memorial, University of Sou...

Took a two-day trip to Phillip Island. It was a package tour. I generally don't like them but I have to admit it was a bit nice for a change. All decisions were put in someone else's hands...where to stay, where to eat, what to see. It was a relief to be herded about like cattle, being fed, being deposited practically in your bed at night. I'll never make fun of people who take tours again! Stopped at a wildlife preserve and got to feed wallabies, emu's, and ...