Outback Australia Travel Blog

Visiting the Rock in 1974

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 05:56:52 -0400

My wife and I newly married in an old Dodge ute visited then Ayres Rock in November 1974. The road in was a corrugated dirt road about 150 miles (now 268

Uluru in 1985

Mon, 16 Mar 2020 05:32:54 -0400

I traveled to Alice Springs in 1985, rented a car and drove to Uluru to climb Ayers Rock. I, back then was a novice traveler, however, I did my research

Desert Trip

Sat, 15 Sep 2018 05:00:51 -0400

I'm travelling for the 4th time to Australia next year with two friends, we did a lot of road trips but never to the desert. We want to go to the center

Winter Trip to Uluru!

Sat, 15 Sep 2018 04:55:53 -0400

Last August I took a break from my business trip to Alice Springs, and a (long) bus tour to Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park for a few nights camping in

Uluru - Amazing natural wonder of the world!

Thu, 5 Jul 2018 04:07:46 -0400

I have climbed Uluru after careful consideration. I respect the local aboriginal culture and they are the traditional owners. I believe ultimately God

A walk across Australia with camels - 1988

Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:09:17 -0500

I was one of four people to walk across Australia as part of Australia's Bicentennial in 1988. March 1st - September 14th. Sharks Bay to Byron Bay. The

Ayres Rock or Kakadu in June

Mon, 13 Nov 2017 05:22:25 -0500

I will be traveling in June with two teenagers and I am interested in either going to Ayres Rock or Kakadu. Which area would be better if I only have time

Planning a trip to Alice Springs via Uluru

Mon, 13 Nov 2017 05:19:58 -0500

Just looking for a few tips on how much I should budget for a 10-14 day trip to Alice Springs & Uluru/Kata Tjuta. We (my boyfriend and I) are planning

General tips for visiting Uluru

Sun, 26 Feb 2017 05:54:40 -0500

Read all you can before you go as I am not going to tell a granny how to suck eggs. Make sure you ingest the advice and be wise to the risks, it gets mighty

Finding unskilled mining jobs in WA

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 08:07:41 -0500

This page is a bit unusual in that it isn't for travellers. Or rather I should say not for tourists, because for long term travellers it may well be very interesting! In the section on this website about financing your travels by working in Australia I wrote about the possibility to get temporary jobs in the mining industry, which is VERY lucrative. And that page became very popular also with Australians and New Zealanders looking for permanent mining jobs. I also have two reader pages on the site where people looked for advice on finding mining jobs. No other pages on my site have received anywhere near the same amount of comments! All comments are from people looking for help with getting a mining job. Hence the new page. I hope it helps!

Travelling with Camels

Sat, 5 May 2012 01:25:00 -0400

HOW FAR CAN YOU GO IN A DAY? When Bob Sargeant and his partner Dawn Wiles became fed up with the craziness of modern day living away back in 1987, they

Cameron Corner store - unwelcomed

Sat, 5 May 2012 01:16:10 -0400

A couple of years ago I posted a story on here about my trip up the Oodnadatta on an XR400. Since then I moved up and got a bigger bike and done a few

The passing tribute

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:22:49 -0500

(Has appeared in Top Tourist Caravan Parks Newsletter -Feb 2012) It was the first evening on our first ever visit to the town of Broken Hill while on

Travelling from Melbourne to Darwin in January

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:59:30 -0500

My husband is being posted to Darwin for work and we have decided to drive there. We are going in January and I know this is the wet season. My question

Tribute to Tragedy on the Cooper Lake Eyre

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:42:26 -0500

We are seven tourists who were at Cooper Creek the day the ABC helicopter went down and have written a blog about our travels through the outback and have

Climb the rock!

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 04:28:16 -0500

I climbed the rock back in 1987 and it was a soulful experience. All Australians have the right to climb and they should. I felt more in tune with our

Kakadu..unplanned highlight of Oz

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 08:49:50 -0400

We went on an organized Kakadu tour, camping for 3 nights, that we accidently signed up for, thinking it was a different tour. We aren't campers! My wifes

My country

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 03:07:43 -0400

I was first drawn to the rock as a 20 year old man. I some how knew that I would always go there. That I would go to the highest point of it. That I

Northern Territory During the Wet Season – Well Worth It!!

Tue, 31 May 2011 08:04:52 -0400

We recently returned from a trip around the Northern Territory and I thought I would share my story as we were there at the end of the wet season, but

Uluru--If I go I will climb

Fri, 13 May 2011 06:32:31 -0400

I've read quite a lot about whether and why to climb Urulu or not. There are a lot of reasons why conscientious people decide to climb it and why others

Oodnadatta Track Solo on XR400r

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 22:51:28 -0400

Outback SA, June 2009 My 1570 km gravel surf on a 1998 XR400 (gearing 15/42, 14.4 lt tank, saddle bags and a tunnel bag + 5 lt spare fuel on board) from

Is it right or wrong to climb Uluru? - Have a think

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 23:17:18 -0500

What is right and what's wrong? Every decent person would know the answer, those who don't, well you might have missed something important in your life.

Down South in WA

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 22:57:35 -0500

This are the lillies down south in Western Australia where the caves are! I think it's around Dunsborough. There are thousands everywhere, yet they pay

Backpacker Hostels in Australia

Sat, 8 Jan 2011 21:39:52 -0500

Independent advice on cheap budget accommodation in Australia: what to expect and how to find and book the best value youth and backpacker hostels in Australia.

Don't ban the Uluru climb!

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 03:52:24 -0400

I thought long and hard about whether to climb Uluru or not. My husband and I did the walk around first and were very careful not to photograph the sacred

Around Australia using LPG and petrol

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 10:01:27 -0400

We have a 2004 Prado using both LPG and petrol. We plan to travel Australia for a few years pulling a 21 ft Jayco van. Will I need to carry jerry cans

Our French Girls, we will miss you! Would love to have the opportunity of hiring travellers again

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:44:35 -0400

I own a pub in Northern NSW and hired two English speaking French girls who applied for a position I had advertised in the local paper. I had always wondered

Camping in Nitmiluk

Fri, 28 May 2010 00:09:17 -0400

We are going to Katherine Gorge next week, but unfortunately because of the delayed dry season, the overnight canoe trip is off limits. I still want

One man, a four wheel drive and ten thousand kilometres of dusty tracks and dirt roads...

Sun, 9 May 2010 05:52:19 -0400

Back in 2009 Dutch travel photographer Thijs Heslenfeld contacted me to let me know that his latest photo book is due out soon. Hot - Life in the Australian

Cheap Travel Australia - Have the Cheapest Australia Holiday Ever

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:12:30 -0500

Did you know that you can easily get discounts of up to 50 percent on your travel in Australia? And it's easy! You just get yourself the...

Travelling from East Coast to Darwin

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 07:24:08 -0500

We are looking to travel from Sydney to Cairns, down to Mt. Isa via Atherton over a period of approx 2 months, leaving Sydney in early March. We are

Jet Lag Remedies - Do They Actually Work?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:38:58 -0400

I had nearly given up, but after 15 years of trial and error, I finally found a totally natural jet lag remedy that actually works...

Driving around Australia

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 02:11:03 -0400

I am currently in Perth. I plan to leave Perth, drive the west coast to Darwin, over to Cairns then down to Brisbane, Sydney over to Ayers Rock and

Central Australia in December/January

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 02:01:48 -0400

My family and I are planning to visit Central Australia some time in December and January. But I worry about the temperature. Is it really very hot

Kings Canyon to Alice via Mereenie Loop

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 01:44:52 -0400

Hello, just thought I'd share our trip report on the Mereenie Loop Road from Kings Canyon to Alice Springs for other travellers. Firstly there are

Camping in Kakadu during the wet season

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 01:28:58 -0400

I am going (with my boyfriend) to be in Kakadu around the 5 December. We wanted to camp because everything is so expensive but you seem to say that it

Is the Outback Moving to Sydney?

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 09:51:09 -0400

What goes through your mind when you wake up in the morning and see a thick orange cloth hanging outside the window of your bedroom? First you pinch

Happy to have climbed Uluru

Fri, 4 Sep 2009 10:42:40 -0400

Ever since I translated a story about an illegal climb of Uluru via Ngaltawata in 1976 - I think - for a mountaineering stories anthology, I wanted to

Spiritual, Magical Uluru

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 05:13:27 -0400

A few years ago, I went to Uluru. I was on a very low budget, but I went there, thinking the climb was closed a decade or two before. I was surprised

Booking flight before applying for Working Holiday Visa

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:15:16 -0400

In your Working Holiday Visa description it says that You must not make arrangements to travel to Australia until you are advised that your visa has

Uluru: Climb or not

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:07:30 -0400

No, I would't march into a Buddhist temple in shorts and hiking boots because the monks hadn't pressured me not to. But I certainly would do so

The best way to do the big Red Centre three

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:23:52 -0400

Hi. I'm trying to work out the best way of planning a trip to Kings Canyon and Uluru from Alice Springs . We fly in from Darwin on 16th Sept

Travelling from Perth up the west coast to Darwin via Broome

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:14:01 -0400

I am planning on leaving Perth in the next 2 weeks and would like to get to Darwin then over to Cairns. I want to go to all of the places in have seen

Working in Australia without visa

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:58:48 -0400

I'm planning on going to Oz with a friend who will have a working holiday visa but I won't as I've already done that during 1999 / 2000. How easy /