Two Different Perspectives of the ‘Rock’
Uluru is the world’s largest monolith. It is an imposing sight across the surrounding flat plains and stands out boldly. This sandstone formation (more accurately, arkose) is 348 m high and has a total circumference of 9.4 km. Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formations have great cultural significance for the Aṉangu Aboriginal people, the […]
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We are at Uluru – Ayers Rock
It’s good time to take advantage of the Victorian School Semester Holidays and travel with Cathy, Audrey and Violet to Uluru for a visit. It’s also a good time to be here as the weather is relatively cool. Over the next week daily maximums will range from just 24C to 30C degrees. Quite comfortable for […]
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It’s Been a Busy Week
This week has been an active one for us – at least compared to a few of the previous weeks. This weekend, we celebrated Jill’s 70th birthday and enjoyed the company of our whole family who made it a very special time. Actually, her celebrations went on for a few days. A week, or so, […]
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A Weekend in Isisford and Winton
By the weekend, the road to Isisford had reopened, so we decided on Saturday, to drive the 100 kms south to explore the area. The road is a one-lane bitumen road and the shoulders were still quite soft. I’m rather glad the road-trains seemed to be taking the day off on that day as we […]
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The Queensland Outback – Unions, Birds, Surveyors and Poets
In my mind, I compartmentalise the ‘Australian Outback’ into different regions. For example, the Kimberley in Western Australia relates to cattle. The desert area in the Centre is all about Aboriginal culture and this area of central Queensland is all about wool. Yesterday, we drove south east to the town of Blackall and on the […]
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Longreach – In the Queensland Outback
The town of Longreach is on the Tropic of Capricorn, in Outback Queensland, with a population of about 3,500 people. There are two significant museums here that we wanted to see – the Qantas Founders Museum and the Stockman’s Hall of Fame. We arrived here yesterday after a two hour flight from Melbourne to Brisbane […]
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Alaska and Yukon – A Retrospective
What is it that summarises the spirit of Alaska and the Yukon for me? Perhaps the scenery, the wildlife, the people or its history, In fact it’s all these things but two things really stood out for me. The first thing is just how naturally beautiful Alaska and the Yukon really are – every corner […]
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Whitehorse – The End of Our Adventure!
There is no way to get from Haines to Skagway other than by ferry and the one on which we had a reservation did not depart until late afternoon, so we had all morning to fill in. This was not hard to do with a visit to the Chilkot State Park with a view of […]
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A Day on the Move – The Fast Ferry to Juneau
We caught the fast ferry from Haines yesterday for a day trip down to Juneau. It originates in Skagway (30 minutes to the north) and travels down the Lyn Canal which widens out to form Gastineau Bay. This is a deep fjord, nearly 300 meters deep) and the result of glacial action. The waters near […]
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Beating the Bike Race To Haines
The Haines Highway connects Haines Junction in the Yukon to Haines, Alaska. On the way it passes through a short section of British Columbia. It follows the route of the old Dalton Trail that is based on an ancient indian trading route and is about 244 km long. We were advised that we needed to be […]
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Back to the Mountains at Haines Junction
Our last week in the Yukon has been in a topography without any significant mountains – mostly in the broad valley and plain of the Klondike River along with some rolling hills. All that changed as we travelled down to the town of Haines Junction – obviously named because that is where the road to […]
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Whitehorse
We left Carmacks this morning for the relatively short drive south to Whitehorse, which we reached well in time for lunch. Somewhere along the way, we passed the ruins of one off the old roadhouses that were used in the stage coaching days. The information board described how one of the coach drivers, William Donnenworth […]
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