overland-underwater.com - A charity drive from the UK to New Zealand
Pic of the week: (previous - fav video clip)
Pic of the week
Final Statistics: Alex & Maz Total distance: 93,550km
Furthest Point: Rotorua, NZ Now settled in Sydney, Australia
Final Statistics: Martin Total distance: 79,698km
Furthest Point: Hobart, Australia Now settled in Bristol, UK

Australia

Written by overland-underwater team. Uploaded 18 March 2005.

     Australia     

 

Indonesia

New Zealand

 
Arrive:Sat 9th Sep 06Depart:Sat 16th Dec 06
Days:98Approx km:16000
    
Capital: CanberraCurrency: Dollar (AUD)
Weekend: Sat/SunTime Zone: GMT +8 to +11
Int. dial code:+61Language: English, Aboriginal languages
Visa Required: YesReligion: Anglican, Roman Catholic
Side of road:LeftBest time to visit: Anytime
Diesel Price: US$ 0.83Activities: Sightseeing, Diving, Trekking

Click here to see our mission statement in English.

Diary Entry: 12th-26th September 2006 - The Honorary Guinness Guru
Diary Entry: 26th September-6th October 2006 - Out Through the Outback, and Back
Diary Entry: 6th-17th October 2006 - Katherine to Coast Only 2800km
Diary Entry: 17th-30th October 2006 - Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Diary Entry: 2nd-17th November 2006 - Over the Hills and Far Away
Diary Entry: 17th-30th November 2006 - To The End Of The Earth, And The End Of A Great Adventure
Diary Entry: 30th October-11th November 2006 - Busted
Diary Entry: 11th-22nd November 2006 - Honeymoon in Sydney
Diary Entry: 22nd-30th November 2006 - The adventure continues......AT LAST!
Diary Entry: 1st-6th December 2006 - Heading Bush
Diary Entry: 6th-10th December 2006 - The wait for the 'Grey Nomads'
Diary Entry: 10th-13th December 2006 - The Story of 'The Grey Nomads'
Diary Entry: 13th-22nd December 2006 - Kellys Go Commando!
Diary Entry: 22nd - 28th Dec 2006 - Rudolf with a Bounce!
Diary Entry: 28th December 2006-3rd January 2007 - A Perth Berth and Hogmanay
Diary Entry: 4th-11th January 2007 - Wine Tasting Turns Tingle Tastic
Diary Entry: 11th - 17th Jan 2007 - Anyone For Seafood..?
Diary Entry: 17th - 24th Jan 2007 - That's one weedy dragon....
Diary Entry: 24th - 27th Jan 2007 - Red Centre
Diary Entry: 27th Jan - 1st Feb 2007 - Gorges, Chasms, Gaps, Pillars and Marbles!
Diary Entry: 1st - 10th Feb 2007 - Is it really time to return to the real world......?
Diary Entry: 18th Feb - 2nd Mar 2007 - Oops, Tinfish did it again...
Diary Entry: 2nd - 23rd March 2007 - Into The Lions Den....

Photo Album for Australia

Vanuatu

Diary Entry: 10th - 18th Feb 2007 - We're all going on a summer holiday..!

Photo Album for Vanuatu

Country Highlights En Route

KakaduKakadu National Park

The cave paintings, rock carvings and archaeological sites record the skills and way of life of the region's inhabitants, from the hunter-gatherers of prehistoric times to the Aboriginal people still living there. It is a unique example of a complex of ecosystems, including tidal flats, floodplains, lowlands and plateaux, and provides a habitat for a wide range of rare or endemic species of plants and animals.

Kings CanyonThe Centre of Australia

Kings Canyon is situated within the Watarrka National Park, It's a huge canyon 270m high. You can walk round the rim to discover the tropical pools of the Garden of Eden, and the beehive rock formations called the Lost City. The views from the canyon are also spectacular.Uluru

Uluru (Ayers Rock) holds deep Aboriginal significance to the Anangu people. There are tours around the rock but it really is an amazing experience to watch it during sunrise or sunset, when the rock changes colours, from greys, to browns, to reds, to oranges, to yellows.

The name has been aptly given to The Olgas as 'Kata Tjuta' actually means 'many heads' in traditional Aboriginal language. The Olgas are made up of 36 rounded domes with the tallest (Mt. Olga) being 546m.

The OlgasThe Ghan RailwayThe Oodnadatta Track is an accessible and engaging 850 kilometre drive through the vast desert plains some 600 kilometres north of Adelaide. It passes through a mixture of plains and undulating countryside. Largely following the route of the Old Ghan railway making the journey one of continual discovery as you explore the old rail sidings, ruins and townships that once thrived on the railway. The track is a natural earth road with corrugations, potholes, loose stones, sand patches and bulldust. Highlights of the track include relics of the Overland Telegraph Line, access to Salt Lake Eyre National Park, the famous Dog Fence that runs from the Great Australian Bight up to Queensland and Dalhousie Springs.

The Blue MountainsThe Blue Mountains

The Greater Blue Mountains Area consists of 1.03 million ha of sandstone plateaux, escarpments and gorges dominated by temperate eucalypt forest. The Blue Mountains earned their name from the distinctive and deep hue of blue haze not found in any other parts of the world. This effect is caused by scattered rays of light coming in contact with fine dust particles and droplets of oil dispersed from the eucalyptus trees in the valleys. The PinnaclesThe most photographed feature in the area are the three sisters. The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and 'Gunnedoo' from the Katoomba tribe were turned into stone by a witchdoctor in order to protect them from harm during a tribal battle.

Pinnacles Desert

A fascinating day of spectacular natural contrasts. Big sky plains, koalas and kangaroos, massive sand dunes and emerald waters lapping pristine white sandy beaches. The thrilling adventure of Desert Storm, the off road monster at the Lancelin Sand Dunes, is an unparalleled way of discovering this awesome environment. Then the dramatic Pinnacles Desert - arid, vast seemingly lifeless yet inhabited by strange limestone pillars rising through the sand. Cape Tribulation Cape Tribulation National Park

Covering 16 965 ha this is a site of breathtaking beauty with rugged mountain ranges rising sharply behind the narrow coastal strip, dense rainforest tumbling down the mountains to the beaches, and a bewilderingly rich variety of flora. The rainforest boasts extremely ancient species of fern, which have been on earth for over 100 million years, including both the beautiful flowering Idiospermum australiense and the Angiopteris, the world's largest fern.

Glass House Mountains

KangaroosA series of spectacular volcanic plugs rising dramatically from the coastal plain. Named by Cook during his epic voyage along Australia's east coast, the remarkable Glass House Mountains are a series of steep-sided volcanic plugs which dominate the landscape of the Sunshine Coast hinterland. They are formed of rhyolite and trachtyte, lavas which hardened inside the vents of tertiary volcanoes that have been greatly reduced by about 25 million years of erosion.

SydneySydney

Sydney is Australia's oldest city, the economic powerhouse of the nation and the country's capital in everything but name. It's blessed with sun-drenched natural attractions, dizzy skyscrapers, delicious and daring restaurants, superb shopping and friendly folk.

Although it's come a long way from its convict beginnings, it still has a rough and ready energy, and offers an invigorating blend of the old and the new, the raw and the refined. While high culture attracts some to the Opera House, gaudy nightlife attracts others to Kings Cross.

NudibranchThe Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It contains the world's largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc. The Great Ocean RoadIt also holds great scientific interest as the habitat of species such as the dugong ('sea cow') and the large green turtle, which are threatened with extinction.

Great Ocean Road

This popular route along the southwestern coast of Victoria is one of the most spectacular coastal drives in the world. It winds around ragged cliffs, windswept beaches and tall bluffs, passing through lush rainforest and Koalatowering eucalypts.

Flinders Ranges

Rising from the northern end of Spencer Gulf, in the east of South Australia, and running north for 800km (500mi), the Flinders Ranges are, to many, the epitome of outback Australia. It's a superb area for bushwalks, wildlife and taking in the ever-changing colours of the outback.

In the far north, the mountains are hemmed in by sand ridges and barren salt lakes. The best-known feature of the range is the huge natural basin known as Wilpena Pound, which is ringed by 1000m (3280ft) high cliffs. Other attractions include Alligator Gorge in Mt Remarkable National Park, Brachina Gorge, and the ironstone capped ridge known as the Great Wall of China.

Whale SharkNingaloo Marine Park

Whales, dolphins, dugongs, manta rays, huge cod or sharks can be seen in abundance at the 300-kilometre-long Ningaloo Reef. The reef offers world class diving through to family snorkelling in sheltered lagoons crammed with coral gardens. Ningaloo is the largest fringing coral reef in Australia. It is the only large reef in the world found so close to a continental land mass; about 100 metres offshore at its nearest point and less than seven kilometres at its furthest.

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Comment from Penny
you have not seen Australia until you have seen Tasmania.
29 Jun 2006 @ 10:19:30