Australia
Summer of 2003
G'day Mates. My trip to Australia was a short 1 1/2 weeks, but I saw as much as I could. I spent the first 5 days on an outback tour from Sydney up to Byron Bay. Then I went north to Brisbane for a day. And back to Sydney for the rest of my trip, where I did day tours of the Blue Mountains and Canberra (nation's capital).

Ando's Outback Tours: http://www.outbacktours.com.au/

"Here at Ando’s, a family run operation, we specialise in venturing away from the well-worn tourist route of the east coast for a fair-dinkum hands on experience of the “uncommercial” Australian outback....stopping off at tiny towns along the way (some you won't even find on your map!)... If your idea of travel is to get off the beaten track, meet the locals and get amongst it for a first hand taste of our country and culture we guarantee you the experience of a lifetime."

I'm not much of an outdoorsy person, but I liked the idea of getting off the beaten tourist track. It was an experience that I'll never forget, in a good way. This is what we did for the tour:

Day 1: We saw the 3 sisters rock formations at the Blue Mountains, Australia's oldest gold mining town, and went gold panning (I got a few gold specks).
Day 2: Went pig hunting in a ute (didn't find any pigs though), did some sheep shearing, rock climbed at Worrumbungle national park, stayed over night at “The Glengarry Hilton” bush pub. There was no running water, so the "Hilton" only had rain water bins and outhouses.
Day 3: We went to Lightning Ridge (home of the black opal- the most valuable and sought after gem stone in the world), met an Aboriginal elder and talk about 60,000 years of Aboriginal folklore and culture, relaxed in a hot spring and had an Aussie BBQ and bonfire with the locals.
Day 4: Went to Bingara, threw a boomerang ( I almost caught mine), and felt like I was back in "civilization" in a hotel w/ indoor bathrooms.
Day 5: Had a 2 1/2 hr. horse ride (was sore for the next few days) and went to Byron Bay.

FJ Tours: http://www.fjtours.com.au/

Blue Mountains & Wildlife Tour:

Sydney’s Olympic Site, Short bushwalk to Wentworth Falls, Boomerang throwing
Australian Wildlife Park – koalas, kangaroos, wombats, crocodiles, fairy penguins & emus
Ride the world’s steepest incline railway, Sceniscender or Skyway
Blue Haze Phenomenon of the Blue Mountains caused by Eucalyptis trees

Canberra:

Billion dollar Parliament House (all Australians have to vote or they get fined up to $50)
National Gallery (focused on a social history theme of Australia: The Land, The People, The Nation)
Australian War Memorial and Museum where you will see interesting displays of war relics

Blue Mountains: 3 Sisters	Koala & Me	Blue Mountains
Blue Mountains- Echo Point (Holding on for dear life)	Australian War Memorial Figure at Canberra
Merino Sheep Shop	Australia's Symbol Kangaroo & Emu holding shield	Australian War Memorial at Canberra
Sydney Opera House	Sydney Opera House	Byron Bay Beach
Opal Mine Drilling at Glengarry	Kangaroo or Wallaby? (I don't know what the difference is) Joke: kangaroo means broken headlight Some people avoid driving at night, because kangaroos are nocturnal animals.	Wallaby (Some wallabies are black.)
Opal Mining	Outback Shower There's no running water, so you have to fill the green bag with water.	Outback Signs
Me horseback riding (for the first time) I was sore the next few days	Aborigine Flag Black represents the people Red represents the land Yellow represents the sun that unites the people and the land.	Lighting Ridge Hilton We slept overnight in a train

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