Outback 2008
   
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Australia revisited


Less than 2 years since my last vacation there, it was time to spend some more quality time in Australia again. The main purpose of the trip was the SETAC World conference in Sydney. Of course an excellent opportunity to explore other parts of this vast country. After one week in Sydney, I flew to Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and the central parts of the continent. The aim was to drive around in the desert for a week or so and then head down to South Australia and the coast. In Alice Springs I rented a 4WD car, to be delivered in Adelaide 17 days later. The massive Toyota Landcruiser is an excellent off-road car, although the 4.2 L engine was very thirsty and used almost 2 L/10 km. I covered approximately 4600 km during the 17 day long trip.

  

Outback walkabout

Canyon, East MacDonnell Range

   First I went to the East MacDonnell Range, with many nice canyons and spent a couple of days there. A favorite was Ruby Gap National Park, situated some 4 hours drive from the nearest decent road. Here I met some locals, a bunch of 70-years old campers on their annual outback trip. I was invited to camp with them, and we managed to pull off a nice party in the middle of nowhere. After going back to Alice and a refill of diesel, I headed to Palm Valley in the West MacDonnell Range. Thereafter I went down to Kings Canyon after a short stop in Rainbow Valley. Kings Canyons was fine but a bit touristy; I walked the rim in sunset and even saw some dingos on my way back to Kings Canyon Resort. Next day I went to the must-see Ayers Rock. Of course even more touristy than Kings Canyon, but kind of silly not to go there when visiting central Australia. Missed the sunset, as some clouds spoiled the iconic red rock in the late evening.
On my way south I visited the Simpson Desert before staying for one night in a opal cave in Coober Pedy. After the opal capital, I was spending a couple of days in the Flinders Range, before driving past Adelaide down to Kangaroo Island, where I stayed for a small week. On this page I have displayed some photos from the trip, from Sydney, the desert region of Northern Territory and of wildlife from Kangaroo Island.  

Canyon, East MacDonnell Range

Black-footed rock wallaby Petrogale lateralis

  

Gallah Eolophus rosicapillus

Kings Canyon

  

Wilderness

Rainbow bee-eater Merops ornatus

  

Australian hobby Falco longipennis

Ayers Rock

  

Dingo

Spinifex pigeon Geophaps plumifera

  

Riverbed melons

Outback camping with some locals...

  

Australian ringneck Barnardius zonarius

Dry lake

  

On the road. Desert oaks and spinifex grass

Outback gas station

  

Road train

Wedge-tailed eagle Aquila audax eating sheep

  

Serious roadkill

Red kangaroo Macropus rufus

  

Red kangaroo Macropus rufus

Stromatolite, the worlds oldest fossils

  

Finders Range

Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae

  

Spiny-cheeked honeyeater Acanthagenys rufogularis

Short-beaked echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus, one of three egg-laying mammals on the planet (Monotremes: Short-beaked echidna, Long-beaked echidna and the Platypus)

  

Koala Phascolarctos cinereus
     

Australian sea lion Neophoca cinerea

  

New Zealand fur seal Arctocephalus forsteri

Southern giant-petrel Macronectes gigantus

  

Pacific gulls Larus pacificus

Little penguins Eudyptula minor

  

Admiral Arch, Kangaroo Island

Australian pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus

  

Tawny frogmouth Podargus strigoides

Cape barren goose Cereopsis novaehollandiae

  

Crimson rosella Platycercus elegans

Nankeen kestrel Falco cenchroides

  

Old opal mine near Coober Pedy

 

Long-nosed potoroo Potorous tridactylus

 

Variegated fairy-wren Malurus lamberti

 

Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae breaching

  

Adelaide

Mojito at Manly, Sydney

  

BHH with a mojito at Manly, Sydney

Taipei at night

  

Taipei dining