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or a smoky barbecue of kangaroo and buffalo
- you'll sleep well, but don't be surprised if you
wake later to the sound of munching outside
and the magical sight of animal silhouettes as
wallabies, wild horses and perhaps a feral pig or
two pass by.
478 kakadu naTional park,
ausTralia
As you bump along in a 4WD on the way to
Kakadu National Park, a World Heritage
Site 150km east of Darwin part-managed by
Aborigines, your guide Gerry mentions that the
park alone is half the size of Switzerland and
that over the next three days you'll cover over
a thousand kilometres. Things in this part of
Australia are clearly done on a large scale.
Gerry left home at 17 to work on a cattle-
and-sheep station in the outback followed by a
ten-year stint building houses and schools for
Aborigines in the Northern Territory. “Cities are
too tame for me,” he explains. Now he leads tours
with Connections, drawing on his encyclopaedic
knowledge of the region's geography and
indigenous culture, as well as his cooking skills.
A couple of hours later, you're working up a
sweat as you walk along a trail to Ubirr Rock to
view three Aboriginal art sites. Australia has one
of the world's oldest indigenous people - their
culture dates back fifty thousand years - and
they pass down their teachings, beliefs and laws
through the Dreamtime stories represented in rock
art. One “gallery” at Ubirr Rock is particularly
impressive - a massive wall beneath a rocky
outcrop covered in 1500-year-old drawings of fish,
possums and wallabies, drawn in the Aborigines'
distinctive skeletal manner known as “x-ray” style
(see pp.352-353).
Much of the three-day tour is spent hiking
steep paths, climbing over rocks and walking
through steamy tropical forest - but each time
you're rewarded with abundant wildlife or
tranquil waterholes for a cool swim. At the end
of each day, Gerry drives you along a sandy track
to Connections' exclusive tented bush camp in
the heart of a remote Aboriginal community. On
the way you help collect firewood but that's the
end of your “work” for the day, since back at the
camp there's a permanent kitchen, showers and
toilets, and tents boasting wooden decks with
canvas chairs overlooking a billabong.
After dinner - citrus-infused perch perhaps,
Need to know Connections runs the three-day
Kakadu Dreamtime Safari in the dry season (April-
Oct). Tour costs cover all transport, accommodation,
meals and entry tickets. For further info see W www.
connections.travel; T +61 282 525 300.
479 in search of The real fiji
For many people a visit to Fiji simply means lying
on a beach interspersed with snorkelling trips and
evenings spent drinking cocktails. While this can
be fun for a few days, it is completely detached
from the real Fiji beyond the resort gates - a
land of dramatic mountains, raging rivers and
traditional villages, still governed by a fascinating
tribal culture.While many resorts offer “village
tours”, these are generally stage-managed affairs
that only visit the nearest villages, which in turn
become over-dependent on tourism. You are much
better off heading to one of the more remote
communities and staying directly with a Fijian
family. This way you'll be welcomed as a guest
rather than a souvenir hunter and gain a genuine
insight into island life. One of the most beautiful
villages in Fiji is Navala, set deep in the hills of
the main island of Viti Levu. All the homes in the
village are traditional bures , built with woven
bamboo walls and thickly thatched roofs. Several
offer accommodation but perhaps best of all is
Balou's Retreat, perched on a riverbank a few
minutes' walk away. Here you can stay in your own
en-suite bure , enjoy authentic Fijian food with the
family and try out activities from guided treks to
drifting down the scenic Ba River on a bamboo raft.
In Navala and other villages it's possible to just
turn up and find somewhere to stay, though you
should be aware of a certain amount of etiquette;
this includes dressing conservatively, removing
hats and sunglasses and presenting your host with
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