Itinerary for Australia part 1
As a child, my knowledge of Australia primarily came from films and TV. Crocodile Dundee introduced me to the outback, Aborigines, and crocodiles while Skippy brought kangaroos into the picture. It wasn’t until I was a bit older that I saw the beaches and surf on Neighbours and Home and Away. Those first introductions have obviously made a lasting impression as my plan for Australia is filled with wildlife, nature, surf and learning about the Aboriginal people.
I will arrive in Australia at the start of February when I fly from Singapore to Melbourne. My plan is pretty basic at the moment and is in two parts, both covering huge distances; Melbourne to Darwin and Darwin to Sydney. You may be wondering why Melbourne and Sydney for start and end points? The simple answer is its due to restrictions on where I can fly to and from on my round the world ticket. My transport in Australia will mostly be by Greyhound bus, but for longer journeys, where there is nothing I’d like to see in between, I will look into cheap internal flights.
After spending a few days exploring Melbourne I plan to head towards Adelaide via Great Ocean Road, taking in the Otway National Park, Twelve Apostles, Grampians National Park and a spot of surfing along the way. Once I reach Adelaide I would like to take a trip to Kangaroo Island, home to a wide variety of wildlife many of which are native to the island.
From Adelaide I’m going to have several long bus rides, first to Alice Springs and then to Darwin. Coober Pedy could be a good place to break up the journey to Alice Springs, its an old mining town and is famous for most of its population living underground. Once I reach Alice Springs I plan to go on a 3 day tour to see Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), both sacred to the Aboriginal people. Rather than staying in a hotel, I’ll be going on a camping tour where everyone sleeps out in a swag bag.
Before reaching Darwin, a day of canoing and climbing at Katherine Gorge would be fun, assuming of course that there is no flooding, it will be wet season after all. Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks are the other reasons for going to Darwin. Kakadu in particular would be worth spending a few days exploring.
Continued in Itinerary for Australia part 2.
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I would suggest looking at doing a small mini bus trip between Adelaide and Melbourne taking in the Great Ocean Coast Road and the 12 Apostles. I did it with Groovy Grapes and it took about 3 days and was really good fun. I also did a wine tour in the Barossa Valley with them.
check out http://www.groovygrape.com.au
A few people have recommended Groovy Grape to me so I’ll definitely check them out.
I agree with Katy, organised bus tours are the way to go for Melbourne to Adelaide, Kangaroo Island & Adelaide to Darwin. All the bus tour companies pretty much cover the same routes, sights & activities, only difference is their prices vary a little. I did 3 tours + kangaroo Island (total 15 days) with http://www.waywardbus.com.au/
Easier to Greyhound along the East coast as the timetables are more regular & frequent than those for the centre.
Hey dude, sounds like an awesome trip you have planned!
I disagree, a bus tour along the Great Ocean Road? With what? Designated stops where you all hop out and take exactly the same photo and hop back on? Why not rent a motorbike or car for the whole trip to Adelaide? You can stop where you like, leave when you like, dip your feet in the ocean when you like…