Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Billy Tea & Damper
Any tours in the Outback aren't complete without the traditional bush-
man's meal of billy tea and damper. Billy tea is made from tea leaves, and
sometimes eucalyptus leaves, put into water (traditionally from a water
hole or river) and boiled in an open-topped canister on an open fire. You
don't have to stir it; the trick is to pick up the canister by the wire handle
and swing the whole thing around, sometimes over your head—gravity
keeps the liquid in (don't try this at home though). Damper is simply flour,
water, and salt mixed up into a dough and thrown in the ashes of the fire
to cook into bread. Yummy.
Fun Fact
Dreamtime creation era; a gentle bush tucker walk; a chance to throw a
boomerang and spear; talks about tools and weapons over billy tea and damper;
and a dance performance at which you can have a go yourself, and have your
photo taken with the dancers. You may have seen these dancers performing in
the opening ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Threaded through
all this is an ongoing discussion of Aboriginal culture, beliefs, family relation-
ships, and a view of history both ancient and modern through Aboriginal eyes.
You have a chance to buy art during the morning. The experience wraps up with
a didgeridoo lesson at 1pm. The tour departs daily at 8am and costs A$83
(US$54) adults and A$44 (US$29) children under 12 (including hotel pickup).
CAMEL SAFARIS
You might not associate camels with Australia, but the
camel's ability to get by without water was key to opening up the arid inland
parts of the country to European settlement in the 1800s. With the advent of
cars, they were released into the wild, and today there are more than 200,000
roaming central Australia. Australia even exports them to the Middle East!
Fron-
tier Camel Tours
(
&
1800/806 499
in Australia, or 08/8953 0444; www.camel
tours.com.au) runs a 1-hour
Camel Ramble
down the dry Todd River bed.
This is followed by a tasty three-course meal of kangaroo sausages, smoked
camel (we hope not the one you rode on), wattle-seed beer bread, and seasonal
“bush tucker” samples like peppercress or native mistletoe, barramundi, or steak;
and dessert, plus wine and beer. Dinner is served at the company's camel farm,
where you can browse its camel museum and shop. With hotel transfers and din-
ner, it costs A$100 (US$65) for adults and A$75 (US$49) for kids 5 to 12. It
departs daily at 4pm April through October, and at 5pm November through
March, and gets back around 5
1
⁄
2
hours later. Kids under 6 can join the ride if
the cameleer on duty agrees. A breakfast ride costs A$75 (US$49) for adults and
A$45 (US$92) for children, leaving at 6:30am and returning at 9:30am.
HOT-AIR BALLOON FLIGHTS
Dawn balloon flights above the desert are
popular in central Australia. You have to get up 90 minutes before dawn, though.
Several companies offer flights.
Outback Ballooning
(
&
1800/809 790
in
Australia, or 08/8952 8723; www.outbackballooning.com.au) is one of the most
upscale. A 1-hour flight followed by champagne breakfast in the bush costs
A$290 (US$188), with a 20% discount for kids under 17. A 30-minute break-
fast flight costs A$190 (US$123). Kids under 6 are discouraged from partici-
pating because they cannot see over the basket. Don't make any other morning
plans, as you probably won't get back to your hotel until close to noon.
