AUS-88 My second visit of Australia and the first by myself of this country
Date of travel: Sep 15 – Sep 9, 1988
ITINERARY:
On Sep 15 a train from Oceanside to Los Angeles and a shuttle to LAX. From there flight by Qantas via Honolulu on Hawaiian Islands to AUSTRALIA, where (thanks to 180 meridian) on Sep 17. Between Sep 17 and Oct 9 I visited the following places in Australia: Cairns, Queensland (with Kuranda train and a boat ride to Fitzroy and Green Islands), flight to Brisbane, Queensland (EXPO 88 and a trip to Gold Coast with a local travel company), flight via Sydney and Melbourne to Hobart, Tasmania (a trip to Port Arthur), flight to Melbourne, Victoria (sightseeing the city), flight to Perth, Western Australia (a bus trip do Fremantle), flight to Adelaide, South Australia. Then by overnight bus from Adelaide to Alice Springs, Northern Territories (here sightseeing and a trip outside to a group of aborigines). Continuing by bus to a group of mountains called Olga’s and Ayers Rock (which I climbed). Returning by bus south and a stop for a day in Coober Pedy, where opals are mined. In Adelaide, South Australia (a bus trip to Hahndorf and Barossa Valley). Flight to Sydney, New South Wales (sightseeing and a trip to Blue Mountains). On Oct 10 flight from Sydney via Tahiti to LAX. From here by shuttle and train to Oceanside.
Travel office: A Czech travel office of Mr. Mach in Los Angeles arranged all my flights to, in and from Australia. I arranged accommodation and the bus tour on the spot.
Who took part: I traveled by myself.
DU-16 Down Under (Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand)
Date of travel: Oct 14 – Dec 5, 2016 (total 53 days)
Australia Cruise – present position
ITINERARY:
Late in the afternoon on October 14, 2016 I drive in a rented car from Vista to Los Angeles airport. Qantas plane Boeing 747-400 takes off before midnight. After 13 hours early in the morning it lands in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia on October 16, thanks to the 180th meridian. Later that morning another flight to Alice Springs in Northern Territory of Australia. Here I spent 3 days getting familiar with the town in the center of Australia, where I spent some time in 1988. Then on October 18 short flight to Sydney, NSW for 2.5 days on my own.
At noon on October 20 in Sydney I boarded the Holland America ship Maasdam (almost 56k gross tons, over 1100 passengers and some 600 crews) for a 43 day cruise circumnavigating Australia and visiting the islands of New Zealand from the Milford Sound in the southwest, the major places of the east coast, to Auckland in the north.
Sailing counterclockwise the Australian continent with some days just cruising, we visited Brisbane, Hamilton Island and Cairns in Queensland, Darwin in Northern Territory, Komodo and Bali islands in Indonesia., Geraldton, Fremantle, Perth and Albany in Western Australia and Adelaide in South Australia. Due to high waves we could not visit the Kangaroo Island. Then Burnie in Tasmania. Tasmania is the only island state of Australia. Melbourne in State of Victoria followed and on November 18, after 29 days of sailing we were back to Sydney, NSW.
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