Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
taken these tours recommend them,
saying they are extremely well organ-
ized, with lots of time for the land-
based sightseeing, some free time, and
a maximum 2 hours in the air most
days. Accommodations are usually the
best available, and the itineraries
include “fun extras.” Fares in 2003 for
a 12-day Great Australian Aircruise
around the Outback, departing from
Sydney, were A$9,994 to A$10,450
(US$6,496-US$6,792) per person,
twin-share,
depending on the season.
The
Captain's Choice
Tour
(
&
1800/650 738;
www.captains
choice.com.au) offers a program of air
tours through some of Australia's best-
known outback towns, traveling
aboard a beautifully restored 24-seat
historic Douglas DC-3 airliner. In
2003, two “Back of Beyond” tours
operated between Sydney and North
Queensland in alternate directions.
A typical tour includes stops at Bro-
ken Hill, Australia's biggest inland
city, where visits include a local gallery
featuring “The Brushmen of the
Bush,” Australian painters including
Pro Hart and Jack Absalom; 2 nights
in South Australia's Flinders Ranges,
including a Mountain Tops four-
wheel-drive tour; a scenic flight over
Lake Eyre, sometimes a massive salt
pan, and sometimes an inland sea after
heavy rains; the Queensland Outback
towns of Birdsville, Longreach, and
Winton, where “Waltzing Matilda”
was written; Undara, home of the
longest lava tube system in the world;
Cape York, 400m (1,312 ft.) from the
northernmost tip of Australia; and a
short cruise across the Torres Strait to
Thursday Island. Two Top End tours,
from North Queensland to Darwin,
with a 3-day East Timor extension, are
also available. The 10-night tours are
priced from A$8,985 (US$5,840) per
person, twin-share.
You may not think of Antarctica as
part of your Australian vacation, but
Antarctica Sightseeing Flights
(
&
1800/633 449
in Australia, or 03/
9725 8555; www.antarcticaflights.
com.au) offers once-in-a-lifetime visits
to the icy continent. The 12-hour
journey offers spectacular viewing
over the frozen beauty of Antarctica—
a truly memorable experience that
comes at a high price for a day trip.
Flights are seasonal (Nov-Feb, includ-
ing a New Year's Eve flight), with most
leaving from Sydney or Melbourne,
with connections from Brisbane and
Adelaide. The tours have been run-
ning for 9 years, operated by Croydon
Travel with chartered Qantas jumbo
jets carrying 350 passengers. You reach
the Antarctic coastline after about 4
hours flying and spend the next 4
hours above some of the world's most
pristine and spectacular territory.
Below are magnificent glaciers, moun-
tain ranges, soaring coastal cliffs, and
ice floes. There's no problem viewing
all this, despite the fact that you might
not have a window seat—everyone
moves around and takes turns, and a
rotating seating system works well. In
2003 and 2004, fares ranged from
A$899 (US$584) in economy to
A$4,499 (US$2,924) in first class—
but this is unlike any other flight
you've been on.
BY TRAIN
Australia's trains are clean, comfortable,
and safe, and for the most part service
standards and facilities are perfectly
adequate. The rail network in Australia
links Perth to Adelaide, and continues
on to Melbourne and north to Can-
berra, Sydney, Brisbane, and right up
the coast to Cairns. There's also a line
from Adelaide to Alice Springs and
Darwin, and some rural towns, such as
Broken Hill, also have rail services.
Trains generally cost more than buses,
but are still reasonably priced. The
exceptions are two trains promoted as
“experiences” rather than a mere mode
of transport—the
Indian Pacific
and
The Ghan
(described below)—that can
be frightfully expensive.
