OUTBACK ADVENTURE - Afterthoughts

Afterthoughts

I can't possibly recommend this tour enough to anyone who is going to, or thinking of going to Australia. It really was the adventure of a lifetime and I suggest to everyone that they consider it should they ever find themselves in or near Adelaide.

Daniel, our expert guide, was just phenomenal. Though I'm sure the other tour guides that run this trip are also great I would seriously suggest planning the trip around whenever he is running it. I should also mention that Daniel is strongly considering setting up his own tour with a similar itinerary, when this happens I'll put the details up and recommend it to everyone I meet!

There were many reasons why Daniel was so great. He was about as knowledgeable as you can get about flora, fauna, history, geology, Aboriginal art, history and culture. Quite ridiculously well informed in fact! He was also extremely friendly, sociable, easy going and always up for a laugh. He also had the eyes of a hawk when it came to spotting wildlife, including some tiny little reptiles or bugs. But what really made him special as a guide was the fact that he didn't act like an expedition leader or scout-master, giving orders and leading the way at all times. Instead he supervised, quietly but never obviously, walking among us and generally letting us do our own thing when we were cooking, setting up, lighting fires or other things. This was wonderful because it made us feel like we accomplished so much more since we weren't being hand-walked through every step. Of course we would still have been hopelessly lost without him but he didn't make it obvious.

Hanging with Aboriginals was also fun, and quite different to anything I'd done before. Sleeping under the stars was just sublime and there really is something unutterably wonderful about being so far away from civilisation, deep in the outback and away from the crowds. Then of course there are the sights, too numerous to list in full. Highlights were Kings Canyon, the Flinders Ranges, Western MacDonnells and of course the extraordinary Uluru. We also experienced some fantastic wildlife spotting: birds, kangaroos, wallabies, dingos, camels and lizards to name a few.

The other members of the group were just wonderful also. Of course this will be different for others and it's just luck of the draw but nevertheless, all of the people on the trip were fun to be with, adventurous, cheerful, positive and an absolute delight to camp with. Take a group of your friends with you and you'll have the time of your life.

Finally, the weather on this trip was also perfect, which brings us to the most important thing to consider if you're interested in doing this trip. I went in April/May which is one of the best times to go. The days are warm and the nights are cool. I mentioned this in the introduction but I'll say it again now, unless you can endure days of up to 56 degrees then don't go in summer. Winter is also apparently less fun because nights are frigidly cold and days are short. So keep that in mind.

So to anyone interested in this trip, head on over to the website below and take it from there. And when Daniel starts his own tour company I'll put up that link as well. Enjoy!

www.headingbush.com

from left to right: Daniel (Australia/Germany), Bob (Canada), Andrea (Switzerland), Kylie (Australia), John (USA), Saki (Japan), Pippin (Netherlands), SaxyDan (UK), Roberto (Italy), Hanas (Germany), Marcell (Switzerland), Suzan (Netherlands), Sandra (Switzerland)