The travel time to get there was long: Columbus- Dallas- Los Angeles- Sydney- Ayers Rock took us 36 hours from home till we reached final destination. We met with Luke, my travel agent for the last 10 years, and his family (wife Sherry and two cute boys Luke and Nathan) and spent a few days with them exploring Ayers Rock, Alice Springs and Darwin.
Ayers Rock (southern part of Northern Territory in Central Australia) is a beautiful tiny place in the dessert. There is nothing there but one huge sandstone formation. While it is strongly discouraged to climb the mountain (there were a few cases where people died while climbing it as the surface is fairly smooth and can be slick, especially during summer months due to humidity), Derrick braved it and went all the way up where he could enjoy the spectacular views of the dessert. Me, on the other hand, who traveled in flip-flops and whose suitcase didn't make it to the plane in LA in time, decided to stay down and hike around.
We spent only a few hours in Alice Springs (a layover on our way to Darwin), but it was plenty of time to find some appreciation for the second largest town of the Northern Territory. What I came to appreciate even more was the Qantas airlines- it was only half an hour long flight from Ayers Rock but they managed to serve was snacks!
I should mention that over the years I happened to travel quite a bit all over the world. Aside from weekend family trips to Latvia when I was very little, my first International trip was to Ukraine when I was 12. It was spring time when we went and like today I remember being surrounded by blooming cherry and apple trees and the subtle scent of their blossoms. Since then I fell in love with traveling.
However, with increased terrorism threats as well as economic recession over the last few years, traveling by air has become quite an unpleasant experience. It starts as soon as I arrive to the airport (I don't know why, but every time I go through security, I feel like I am supposed feel guilty of something. I know those guys are just doing their job to ensure that I and millions of other people travel safe daily, yet still, it is quite an unpleasant feeling). Then delayed and canceled flights and lack of concern from airlines staff. Maybe it is just me, but I feel like flight attendants have become rude and inattentive. I once on my way back from Hawaii had a conversation about that with a flight attendant who completely agreed with me saying that it was mainly due to them being so underpaid and so overworked.
Anyway, what Qantas did personally for me, was made my flight experience enjoyable once again. All of our flights were on time (in total, we flew 12 times during this trip. 8 of those flights were with Qantas) and the staff always appeared to be very friendly and caring.
So, from Alice Springs we flew to Darwin, rented a car and drove to the only 5 star hotel in the whole city (I should thank Luke for getting us a half price deal for this stay). It was late in the evening and we finally received our luggage, so after exploring the hotel (which was also a casino) we went to bed. Next day, rented another car and drove to Litchfield National Park full of huge termite mounds, waterfalls, bats, kangaroos, snakes, spiders and many other cool things. We've spent entire day exploring the park, then later, back in Darwin, went for a local festival where I got to taste some crocodile meet.
The following day our travel paths with Fincham family parted and we took off to Cairns. We actually spent 3 nights in Port Douglas, which is about 65 kilometers away from Cairns. Port Douglas involved some great food, amazing ride on Aristocrat boat to Great Barrier Reef for some snorkeling (the best snorkeling I have ever done!), wine tasting at a local winery, exploration of small towns nearby, and the Rainforest Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary.
On our last day we drove back to Cairns where we visited the Botanical Gardens with some unique flora.
Next on our itinerary was to spend a couple of nights in Brisbane with Agnese and Neil. Agnese and I were roommates 13 years ago when we both attended Lithuanian Christian College in Klaipeda, Lithuania. It seems like it was ages ago as there were so many things that happened in our individual lives in between, but it was fun to explore the little alleys of memories as well as share our perspectives on our current lives and simply enjoy the afternoon in a beautiful city of Brisbane.
Agnese, thank you so much for opening your beautiful home to us and for the opportunity to meet your wonderful (and funny!) husband. We had a great time with you guys!
The final destination of our almost two week trip was Sydney. Let me tell you, I've never seen that many joggers in my life as I've seen there. Especially, on Harbour Bridge. Also, seeing the Opera House in real life is much more exciting than seeing it in photographs. Especially at night. We even went to see a play called "The Shipment" (now, this I must say: the play was by American traveling group and it had to be one of the worst plays I have ever seen; nevertheless, it was the Opera House and I was just grateful to have had an opportunity to spend an evening there). The Belgian chocolate and croissants at a French bakery were great!
Tidbits on Australia
*Overall, I found Australia to be a very expensive country to visit.
*Australian culture seemed to be a nice blend of European and American cultures and I loved that! Customer care was great everywhere, just a bit slower that I am accustomed to in the U.S.
*There are tons of art galleries all over the place. Aboriginal art is very appreciated (though I believe it is more geared towards the tourists).
*I really enjoyed the sound of didgeridoo. Especially, when it is mixed with techno sounds.
*The lady at a winery in Port Douglas thought that I might enjoy living in Perth. The city is not too big (just a bit over 1.5 mil people) and the climate there is great- they have all 4 seasons yet it never gets too humid. I think she might be right!
*The guy at the airport tax return counter also suggested I moved to Australia.
*If you travel all over the continent like we did, expect the temperatures to vary drastically. It was about 30 degrees in Celsius in Port Douglas and about 15C in Sydney.
