The Banana Republic of Cairns

I’ve finally arrived in Cairns. Total damage done: nine days, four World Heritage Sites, and 3,030 km (1,882 miles). I’m staying in Cairns for five days to catch up on my photos and get my things together for Papua New Guinea. I’ll also be able to spend ANZAC Day in Australia, which should be interesting. …

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Magnificent Desolation

Buzz Aldrin described the surface of the moon by saying it was “Magnificent Desolation”. That phrase could probably be used to describe the part of Western Australia I’ve been driving through the last three days. Since I’ve left Darwin, by my trip odometer, I’ve put on about 2,200km (about 1,400 miles). Western Australia is EMPTY. …

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December in Australia

I’m happy to report that I’ll be spending most of the month of December in Australia! Starting in early December I’ll be embarking on a 3-week long tour of Australia with G Adventures. This tour will be the 5th continent I will have traveled to with G Adventures and my longest trip with them to …

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Sydney’s Second Chance and How You Are Never “Done” With A Place

In February of this year I was invited by New South Wales tourism to attend the Australian Open of Surfing in Sydney, Australia. I’m not a surfer and I had been to Sydney several times before, so I wasn’t really that interested in attending and suffering through a 16 hour flight. However, having read my …

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Thoughts on Australia

Over the course of the last five years, I’ve been able to explore more of Australia than most Australians have. I’ve been to every Australian state and territory and have driven over 20,000km throughout the country. My recent trips to New South Wales and Victoria this year have given me a new opportunity to see …

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Theory of Travel Evolution

I’m off to Darwin in a few hours to begin the western half of my Australia adventure. I’m going to miss Cairns because the weather here is so amazing. This is the second nicest weather I’ve encountered on my trip (#1 being Honolulu). I get bombarded by advice from Aussies when I tell them I’m …

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Travel and Tragedy

If you’ve paid attention to the news in the last several days, you’ve probably heard about the brushfires in Australia. I’ve been paying closer attention to that story than I normally would have because I’ve been to many of the places which have been damaged by the fire. I’ve driven through country Victoria, I’ve seen …

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Hey, Hey We’re The Bungles!: Purnululu National Park

On my swing through Western Australia, I made a stop at Purnululu National Park, home of the Bungle Bungle mountains. When I told people I was making the drive from Darwin to Perth, everyone told me I had to stop at the Bungle Bungles. I wasn’t really prepared for how remote and hard to get …

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Kakadu National Park

In the United States, there are three parks which are considered to be the crown jewels in the National Parks system: Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon. If you had to make a similar list for Australia, I don’t know what two of the parks would be, one one of them would have to be …

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