TravelStream™ news feed for member adeline on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/adeline en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 22 Nov 2006 13:52:50 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1122227100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1122227100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1122227100/tpod.html Wed, 22 Nov 2006 13:52:50 -0500 Round The World 2005/6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Last night we went for drinks with a friend of Fergus', Andy Mc Dermott, in his local pubs in Havertown. We stayed the night with Andy in his house which is undergoing renovations while his family are away. Today, we all went for breakfast in a quaint little cafe which also has a shop selling lots of Irish goodies! Afterwards we watched Armagh beat Tyrone in the Ulster championship final replay. Then, back to Doylestown.
Thanks Andy.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1142055660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1142055660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1142055660/tpod.html Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:27:59 -0500 Round The World 2005/6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Perth, Australia

Today is our final day in Australia. Time is flying. We have really enjoyed our time here. The country is so vast that its difficult to cover much ground (Australia is almost twice the size of Europe!!) The country has many many Aboriginal languages....one would never even think...

Our intentions were to take an early morning ferry to Rottnest Island. However we are advised not to bother due to little time we have and the high cost.

Instead, we do some internet and souvenir shopping followed by a home cooked dinner before a final race around the shops for a couple of books and a rush to the airport.

One final rant about accomodation in Australia.... the hostel we are staying is a complete dump! There were two tiny saucepans for cooking (although after a search Fergus finds a third), two cups, the free pancake mix provided for breakfast is still sitting on the counter at three in the afternoon and the whole place is absolutly filthy. Honestly, pigs would keep it cleaner!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141968360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141968360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141968360/tpod.html Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:27:49 -0500 Round The World 2005/6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Denmark, Australia

Following a sleep in we take a scenic drive around Pemberton. What Pemberton lacks in a nitelife in the village, it makes up for in natural beauty, hikes and activities (from abseiling to canoeing etc). We visit the Cascades (only a trickle of water due to time of year) followed by Big Brook Dam. The dam does not dissappoint. The lake of water formed at the top of the dam is in a beautiful setting. There are many cookaburra's laughing their heads off across the lake. We take a swim in the clear cool waters and follow this with a picnic.

After a while, we drive south to Walpole to The Valley of the Giants . Here there are many Red Tingle trees approximatly 400 years old. We take a walk along a suspended alluminium walkway amid the tree tops. Ad finds it a little strange at first as the walkway sways gently in the wind and springs up and down as you walk. We are suspended in the forest's canopy about 50 metres from the forest floor below. We follow this with an ancient Red Tingle walk where we inspect the unusual tree shapes (wounded by bushfires and termites).

The race is then on to return to Perth before night. We have reserved accomodation for the night in the Ozi Inn - another total dump in Perth! We catch yet another beautiful sunset on our way northward.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141879680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141879680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141879680/tpod.html Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:27:37 -0500 Round The World 2005/6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Pemberton, Australia

Fergus makes up an excellent batch of pancakes to set us up for the morning. We take a short spin out to Ellensbrook Homestead and Meekadarabee Falls . We take a lovely walk through the tea tree forest to the small Meekadarabee waterfall with it's nice cave attraction behind it.

Afterwards we visit ANZ for a final time, to close our bank accounts. In our opinion, they have to be the worst bank in the world! They try to charge Fergus to close his account, but are met with strong resistance! Go on Mayo!

A scenic drive and a few stops at some local vineyards (Zandu and Voyageur)to sample the wine. Excellent. Better than Hunter Valley, not least because it's all free!

We stop at Lake Cave for a spot of english tea, BLT and scones before a scenic drive through Boranup Karri Forest to Augusta.

At Augusta we visit Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse on mainland Australia. It's the the third oldest in all Australia with two older on islands! We take a tour to the top of the lighthouse and learn of its importance up to the present day. It's a hugely important lighthouse in the event of the breakdown of satellite navigational equipment. This is due to extremly rough seas in the area, very large amounts of rock just under the surface and a large number of ships passing around the south-west corner of Australia. This is the point where two oceans meet - the Indian Ocean to the west and Southern Ocean to the south. Our guide informs us that the worlds oldest lighthouse is in Ireland!!

We stop at a waterwheel before taking a swim in Flinders Bay in the Southern Ocean. The water is much colder here and has considerably more salt (due to proximity to Antartica). Apparently Flinders Bay is host to 50 whales in May-July, coral fish and even some dolphins. The waters along the coast at Cape Leeuwin are cooler in Summer and warmer in Winter due to warm currents coming South along the coast in the Winter.

We drive towards Pemberton where we intend to find accomodation for tonight. Along the way we stop at Warren National Park. This is a huge Karri forest and is home of the Bicenntinal Tree which is over 60mtrs high. This is a known as a lookout tree. These type of trees are used by rangers to spot bush/forest fires in the region. A series of 1 inch rod irons, about 2 foot long, are driven into the tree in an upward spiral to the top of the tree. Fergus decides to climb the tree pegs to the top! Ad can not be coherced into it! We can't understand how it is open to the public as there doesn't appear to be any safety measures in place. I you slip, you fall. If you fall from high up....well....Regardless, Fergus climbs to top from where he watches the sunset and must make his way back down in near darkness. Not much fun to watch from the ground!! still, he thought it was great!

We book into the YHA in Pemberton, before getting some take out fish and chips from a rather grumpy lady in the chipper/restaurant across the street. Pemberton is a very small country town. Not much happening here! It's Dean's home town (We met Dean in Peru), but alas we've been unable to get in touch with him in the last couple of months.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141791900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141791900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141791900/tpod.html Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:27:18 -0500 Round The World 2005/6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Margaret River, Australia

An hour online is followed by a change of car (we weren't happy with the brakes on the Accent). It's replaced by Thrifty, no hassles at all, with a Sonata - big upgrade here so we're well pleased! We leave Perth before noon. We're a little bewildered about how Thrifty calculated our insurance charges but don't query them as it appears to work out cheaper!!! Great!

We drive Southbound to Margaret River (MR), stopping for lunch at Myford for some roast beef and gravy sandwiches - yum.

On arrival into MR we check into a cottage ($50) and take a swim in the Indian Ocean at Prevelly Beach. Its a fine evening and we watch the sunset as some surfers try to catch the last few waves of the day.

A home cooked dinner of kangaroo and a few beers completes our day.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141702920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141702920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141702920/tpod.html Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:27:07 -0500 Round The World 2005/6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Perth, Australia

A few phone calls are an order again this morning, followed by a stroll around Perth City. Similar to many places in Australia, there is a strong link in place-names to Ireland and Britain. For example, this morning we wander across; London court , a quaint street constructed to resemble Britain in older times; Stirling Park etc.

We take a tour of Swan Bells Tower , home to some 18 bells. We are given a demonstration on bell-ringing and are permitted to climb the tower to the city and harbour lookout on level 6.

After visiting some souvenir shops and a phone call from Ad's sister, we climb a steep hill to Kings Park. The park is undoubtedly the nicest park we've visited. Its huge!! It has wonderful views of Swan River and the city's skyline and has many memorials/shops/cafes etc. We have a picnic and relax in the shade for a while having a few games of suduko.

At four o clock, Mary Kelly nee Bowden and her husband Tony collect us from Kings Park. They bring us for a drive along the coast to Cottleslow beach and continue onto Fremantle. We drive along Cappucino Strip past some sheep exportation ships also known as sheep motels in the port - destination Saudi Arabia. We catch up over some dinner and drinks in Rosie O Gradys, Fremantle.

Mary drops us out to the airport to collect our rental car before we say our goodbye's.
Thanks very much Mary and Tony.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141520400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141520400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141520400/tpod.html Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:26:54 -0500 Round The World 2005/6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Uluru, Australia

We are awakened this morning at 5am in a rush to see the sun rise over Uluru. Ad didn't sleep just as comfortably last night with an eerie feeling that someone was watching us... well she was kinda right. We had slept a little away from the group last night in the hope of a quiet night. We did get exactly that although we did have a pack of dingos circling our swags during the night. They didn't bother us though, they just watched...I gueass thet were curious to see who had entered their territory.

We watch the sun rise and see the day's first rays land on Uluru - quiet magical. Unfortunately Fergus and I (along with a few others) get caught up taking photos and miss out on breakfast!!! Well, we came here to watch the sun rise and take some photographs....we assumed breakfast would follow. Not exactly however. Ad's not impressed and lets Chris know, demanding some breakfast. He eventually gives in (although insists that we were wrong to be away watching the sunrise) and gives us some breakfast. This comprises of some bread and jam in our hands as we leave on the bus. I guess its better than nothing.

Unfortunately, due to high winds (5 knots or more) and temperatures expected to be in excess of 36 degrees, the Uluru climb is closed today. Uluru is 350 metres high and is actually a grey rock with a red skin. The red colour is due to the presence of iron and the oxidation process (rusting). There is quiet a lot of controversy over climbing the rock and it is said the the climb is only open 50% of the time due to the park rangers closing it for one reason or another. Both the Aborigines and rangers are hoping that the climb will be closed permanently in the next few years. We're a little dissappointed.

In lieu of not climbing the rock we take a 1.5km Mala walk around the base of the rock with some of the rangers for a cultural experience. We learn...
1. How Uluru has joint cultural and natural world heritage status - a rare feat.
2. This area has 75 species of reptiles.
3. How the region developed to have huge mounds of rock (ie. Uluru and Kata Tjuta)....VERY briefly... 900 million years ago the Armadeus Basin was a sea in the middle of the country. The Petermann ranges developed in the centre at 8,000mtrs and two depressions were formed at foot. The sea disappeared, the mountains eroded and filled the depressions and levelled off. Differing stone consistency was present in each depression. Another sea and more sediments followed. Plate movement caused various fractures and rock displacment and pushed and twisted some of both rock formations above the earth's surface. One of these formations was Uluru and the other Kata Tjuta. About another 300 million years of erosion gave the rocks the appearance that we see today.

After our tour and a brief shopping expedition, ourselves and Madeline/Andrew are dropped off at our resort for a couple of hours relaxation before our flight to Perth.

We take a swim in a lovely pool and have a quick shower before taking the free shuttle bus to the tiny airport. It's a bad buzz as Ad got the times confused and our flight is now boarding. Quantas are quiet strict on closing of check-in and will not let us on the flight, despite us being less than 50 mtrs from the plane with 20 minutes to take-off! We wave off Andrew and Madeline before haggling with the contrary stewardess. She maintains we've lost all our remaining flights including flights into and around Asia and home. Plus she expects us to fork over $350 each to get out of Uluru on tomorrows flight! Dream on lady!!!

We head back to the village, check into the Outback Pioneer and make a call to Quantas in Sydney where we are offered two seats on tomorrows flight to Perth, incurring a re-booking charge of $25 each. As we already knew, all remaining flights are unaffected. Can't wait to meet that 'lady' again!

A relaxing afternoon ensues before we cook up some crocodile, emu, kangaroo and beef for dinner. We have live entertainment provided by the hotel, a guy playing two didgeridoos and a guitar along with a bit of singing.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141615860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141615860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141615860/tpod.html Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:26:42 -0500 Round The World 2005/6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Perth, Australia

Some breakfast and a few phone calls home followed by a bus to the airport. We are in loads of time for today's flight!

On arrival into Perth, we chat to the car rental companies at the airport, where we learn that the best way to get a cheap car is to price each company against each other as they are all out to beat each other!

Europcar's advertising campaign Unbeatable rates guaranteed is proven invalid! They match and beat Thrify by $1.50 but when Thrifty reduce their rate by a further $5 Europcar recommend we take Thrity's car! It's a funny set-up, but it works out ok as we knock $75 off the top price quoted to us. Four days Hyundai accent rental at $175, we pick up tomorrow evening.

We've checked into a hostel in inner city Perth. It's called City Central Backpackers and is one of the worst that Oz has had to offer so far. After a shower to cool off, we catch up on some email.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141432740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141432740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141432740/tpod.html Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:26:28 -0500 Round The World 2005/6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Uluru, Ayers Rock, Australia

No alarm clocks, noisey neighbours or car alarms this mornings - wake up calls come in the form of flies! They swarm around at day break landing everywhere and anywhere they can. Thankfully, we have slept with our face fly nets at hand and additional cover is provided by the swag's hood. Our view this morning is of sun rise slightly to the left of Mt Connor, a nice surprise. Sleeping in the outback is a great experience.

After breakfast we drive a short distance to the Olga's. This is a rocky mountain range north of Uluru. We're going on a hike which is to take a little over three hours and we set off rather hungry (not a good start). Despite our not so interesting guide's commentary, we have an enjoyable experience. The scenery is amazing - many red rock mounds in beehive shapes with unusual wave like edges.

After our hike we have lunch at 'Uluru Visitors Centre', and take some time out to view the cultural centre. This is followed by a base walk of Uluru (9km in total). It's an excellent experience to finally visit the rock, quiet surreal.

After our walk, we drive to a coach park to have supper and catch the sunset on Uluru. Chris proceeds to set up the stoves and get our meal ready, expecting help from his group, despite the sun setting in the distance! Most of the group oblige and duely miss the sunset!! Ad and I however move down the road and get a good view of the rock as the last of today's sun's rays shine across it. We'll hardly be here again, so if it's worth seeing, we're not missing it! Dinner in the car park ensues and we are the cheapest and mankiest of many many tour groups in the carpark. Others hve their fancy coaches with champagne suppers, tables, chairs etc. Quiet the backpackers we are with our enamel plates and beers as we sit around on the tarmac. Some friendly banter with some other adventure tours involves twenty odd mooning bums and water fights. A vvery enjoyable evening.

We are sleeping outdoors again tonight. One difference. Its a proper campsite with toilet and shower facilities ... oh the excitement.

Dinner around the camp fire is followed by some games, namely 'carton pick-up'! Its a good night.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141301940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141301940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/adeline/rtw2005/1141301940/tpod.html Fri, 03 Nov 2006 04:23:39 -0500 Round The World 2005/6

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Outback, Australia

There are 21 persons on our tour with guide Chris. 21 is far too many, whats more the average age is 20 but they act more like 16 year olds! ( I guess we're getting old!!:-( )

We were swayed by a few things in selecting this tour, not least the price at $250. But they failed to outline a number of hidden costs.....lunch is so miserable that at every fuel stop we have to fill up on snacks (which are bloody expensive down here), plus the heat is averaging 39 degrees and they don't provide cold water. Wrong, they don't actually provide any water - except in the case of an emergency and this water is close to boiling!! We were promised a free breakfast.....a pitiful one of bread and coffee is provided, that is if you can find a cup. Only in the backpacking world :)

We are hardly a hundred kms out of Alice Springs and we're wondering what kind of gangsters are running this tour. After all Chris anounces that he feels being a tour guide is like being a "Dream-maker"!!! At least we got a laugh from that. :-))

Our first activity is taking a short camel ride at a camel farm in the middle of nowhere. Mmmmm....a funny experience - especially the galloping part. The farm has camels/red roo's/dingo's/cockatoo's etc. We learn that Australia has approx 2 million wild camels in the outback and camels can exist in 47 degrees heat without breaking a sweat! They can reduce their breathing to one breath per min and will eat 95% of vegetation in the outback. Plus they can survive for up to 12 months without water!! Most of these camels were introduced from Asia for the postal services through central Australia....I think!

The journey to Kings Canyon is pretty much the same for 500km's.... red soil/sand, scattered bushes, dry creeks - one or two of which have puddles!! Lunch on the bus is rotten... stale sandwiches with a scraping of tuna and old lettuce. Not looking too good.

We meet up with a lovely couple from Leeds, Madeline and Andrew, on their RTW Honeymoon experience. It's good to have some company a little older than the rest of the group.

At Kings Canyon, we hike 7.8km in the heat of the day!! The rocks can heat up to 70 degrees so its not just heat from the sun hitting us. It's quiet a tough trek in places, although at least the humidity of Darwin is no longer. The scenery is fantastic. Our guide has a keen interest in geology, but his teaching methods aren't great so we didn't learn too much. Our hike involves a stop at a swimming hole, which is incredibly slimy so neither Fergus nor I jump in. Despite this, Kings Canyon is fantastic, the scenery is like nowhere else, its very quiet and the heat really adds to the atmosphere.

We set up camp at Curtain Springs - without any doubt this is the 'outback'. No buildings whatsoever, no lights, absolutely nothing except some wildlife.

We set up a camp fire and place our swags in a circle around it. A dinner of stir fry chicken (very tasty) is soon served and we relax telling ghost stories around the camp fire for a few hours.

Toilet directions - keep right and go into the bush, don't forget to bring the spade and bury all!!

Some of the group spot a scorpion around the campsite. Its just as well its dark, God only knows what else is about.

We sleep in a swag tonight which is like a very strong canvas bag with flaps to ward off insects/spiders/flies etc. Inside this is a light mattress and we sleep in our sleeping bags/sheets. We have a rare opportunity to see a completely dark sky and thus make the most of trying to read the milky way. We hear numerous shouts of shooting stars all night from some of those who have never seen one before. Many of our group come from cities and have never seen a clear night-sky before.


We drop off to sleep around 11.30 to the howls of the local dingos who have come to inspect who has invaded their field.
]]>