eandamj

[eandamj]

SINGAPORE 28-30 April 2025

We flew from Sydney to Singapore on 28 April on a day time flight leaving Sydney late morning and arriving in Singapore early evening. On the 29 April we decided to have a fairly quiet day ahead of the 13 hour flight to London on the 30 April.

We did take a walk along the waterfront opposite to where the Marina Bay Sands Hotel is sited. This area is reclaimed land. The Singapore business district dominates the skyline:

And here is another view from the waterfront pathway:

We found that we were walking in and around buildings making up The Fullerton Bay Hotel. We went inside and found this stunning entertainment space which is the original Clifford Pier which dates back to the 1930s and was involved in shipping trade:

Here is a view of a different hotel: The Fullerton Hotel which is an historical building next to the skyscrapers. It was the central Singapore Post Office up to 1999!

We also took a walk during the evening in this area, when buildings are beautifully lit. Here is the Marina Bay Sands Hotel:

This is the old Cavenagh Bridge:

This is the old Anderson Bridge:

And here is the old part of Singapore alongside the Singapore River with the skyscrapers dominating the view:

On the 30th April, we fly to London. Homeward bound!

[eandamj]

WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS - HAYMAN ISLAND 22-27 April 2025

We flew from Brisbane to the Whitsunday Islands on 22 April. This was the part of the holiday for some relaxation and rest after a hectic three weeks. On arrival at Hamilton Island, we made our way to the boat that would transfer us to Hayman island. This was the view of the hotel as we approached the island:

On the 23 April, we just relaxed by the pool. The weather was glorious:

During most of stay, we were able to observe some interesting wildlife. Late afternoon we were always able to watch some Wallabies just below our balcony:

In the evenings in the different restaurants, the local Curlews were always creeping in to see if there was any food on the floor:

The whole resort had lots of Cockatoos who were very curious and came quite close:

On the 24th April we took a trip to Whitehaven National Park. We had a 45 minute high speed boat ride which was very bumpy at times. On arrival at Tongue Point we walked up the hill for 15 minutes to the first of three look out points. We were astonished as we can honestly say that we have never seen anything like it. It was absolutely stunningly beautiful:

After spending quite some time admiring the view, we walked down the hill and took the path to the beach. Here is the beach from the look out:

The sand is pure white and very fine. We walked across the beach to paddle and do a little swimming. From the look out point we could see reef sharks and rays clearly in the water. By the time we got to the beach, although the reef sharks were still around, the increasing number of visitors had driven the rays away from the water’s edge.

On return to the hotel, we took a mid afternoon walk across the beach walking quite a distance away from the hotel as the low tide had left bare sands with rock pools. We spotted quite a bit of wildlife: starfish, sea slugs and even rays where the water was a little more extensive:

After relaxing day on the 25th April, on the 26th, we took a snorkelling tour to coral that is part of the Great Barrier Reef. Before we set off from the island’s marina, we could see lots of fish swimming near the boats:

The snorkelling tour started in Mantaray Bay of Hook Island. We became totally surrounded by fish in the water as the staff had brought fish feed. We had been told not to touch the fish but actually found the fish were at times bumping into us! We were then moved to another bay of Hook Island. Given the very low tide and remarkably calm sea conditions, we were amazed to see the coral sticking up above the water line. At times we found ourselves swimming just inches above the coral and the abundance of plant and animal life. We were very proud of ourselves as we swam to the coral from the boat and then back again, while others asked for a zodiac boat lift to return to the main boat. This photo shows the coral near the shoreline sticking up above the waterline:

The stay on Hayman island has been wonderful for relaxation but has also given us some great experiences. We fly to Sydney on the 27th April to begin the long journey home.

[eandamj]

BRISBANE 20-21 April 2025

The 20th April was taken up with travelling from Darwin to Brisbane. We left our hotel in Darwin around noon and arrived in a hotel in Brisbane around 7.30pm.

On the 21st April we tried to see as much of Brisbane in a day as is possible. We set off to catch the bus to the look out point on Mount Coot-Tha. While waiting for the bus in Ann Street we realised we were very close to the Anzac memorial and gardens:

The bus came on time and took just about 30 minutes to arrive on the summit of Mount Coot-Tha. The view was good and showed us how far Brisbane spreads out from the high rise city centre:

There were lots of people who had come to see the view or were enjoying breakfast or brunch at the cafe. We had an ice cream before getting back on the bus into the city centre. (The bus fare was only 50 cents!)

We then walked from Adelaide Street into Wharf Street and made our way to the Brisbane River and caught the Cityferry (again fare 50 cents!). We got great views of the city centre from the boat:

We were intrigued by the architecture of this building built with a huge gap in it:

We got off the boat to walk along an area called the South Bank. We were interested to see that it was very similar indeed to the South Bank in London UK as it is home to arts and culture centres as well as areas for general entertainment and lots of places to eat. Given the Easter Holiday Bank Holiday, there were many people enjoying the facilities. There was even a “train” for families to enjoy along the South Bank area:

After having some lunch, we strolled along the South Bank, passing a Nepalese pagoda and walked on to a pedestrian bridge to cross the river. Here is a picture from the start of the pedestrian bridge:

This reminded us of the Royal Festival Hall area of London! Once we had crossed the river, we walked to see the Parliament Building of Queensland:

Quite close to the Parliament House was the Old Government House:

Between these buildings are now a number of buildings all belonging to Queensland University of Technology. Next to the Parliament House are the City’s Botanical Gardens. Here are fountains in a pond in the gardens which are surrounded by skyscrapers:

We walked from the Botanical Gardens back to our hotel through the area with shopping centres. We stopped to see the City Hall and the square in front of it:

We felt we managed to see quite of Brisbane in a day. We were tired after all the walking and so had an early meal and early bed.

[eandamj]

DARWIN 19th April 2025

On the morning of 19 April we took the “Hop on Hop off” bus tour around the city to gain an overall impression of Darwin. Given it was Easter Saturday the whole city seemed very quiet. Here is the main city shopping area with huge awnings for shelter from tropical sun and torrential rain:

At an area called Larrakeyah, we noted sturdy sea wall defences. Later in the day we learnt about the devastating Cyclone Tracy which hit Darwin on Christmas Day 1974 with little warning. The city was almost destroyed and 66 people died. Clearly sea defences have been rebuilt and improved since 1974.

There was a stop for the Darwin Art Museum which was a modern building:

There was a great deal of open green space around the area called Fannie Bay:

We got a great view of the city centre across the marina:

After the bus ride we walked a short distance to the Esplanade coast area and went to the Bicentennial Park and visited the War Memorial. There was a great deal of information about the involvement of Australians in conflict. We were not aware that Darwin was badly bombed by the Japanese in February 1942. Here is the War Memorial:

We walked towards the waterfront again but this time passing the Northern Territory’s Government House which was built in the 19th Century by European prisoners and Chinese labourers and is the oldest European building in Darwin:

We walked past the Parliament Building of the Northern Territory again ( see night time photo of the building on previous post). We had learnt on the bus that local Australians refer to this building as “the wedding cake” as it is white with a flat roof, has ornate decoration and is full of fruit and nuts and alcohol!! We then walked to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory:

Next door to the Supreme Court was the Old Court house and Police Station:

These buildings had to be reconstructed after Cyclone Tracy in 1974.

We had lunch on the waterfront. Fortunately we had gone inside a cafe as while we were eating, there was 30 minutes of utterly torrential rain. We were able to eventually return to the hotel when the rain had stopped. On the way back to the hotel we came across extensive street art down a side road. This is an example:

Late afternoon we gathered with our fellow travellers from the Outback Spirit tours and went by taxi to the Stoke Hill Wharf on the waterfront. This was for a sunset dinner cruise. Sadly it drizzled with rain and so we didn’t see the sunset! However all had a good time. When we returned to the hotel, thirteen of us went across the road to the pub for farewell drinks as everyone was bound for home or for other destinations the next day.

[eandamj]

LITCHFIELD NATIONAL PARK 18th April 2025

We left the Kakadu crocodile hotel early for the long drive to Litchfield National Park. We stopped for a morning break and then had a lunch at the Litchfield Cafe which opened especially for us. So it was early afternoon when we arrived at Wangi Falls in Litchfield National Park. The Wangi Falls were a short walk into the bush. The waterfall is double one:

For some of the year, swimming is allowed. However, swimming was not allowed during our visit as the water was very high due to recent rain and there is a risk of crocodiles in the water pool at the base of the waterfalls. We noted the crocodile trap next to the viewing platform ( which had a small lizard on the top:

Apparently crocodiles are trapped here regularly. Wangi Falls run all year, even in the dry season as some of the water comes from an underground source.

Our next stop was Florence Falls which was a complex waterfall:

As Wangi Falls was closed to swimming, and it was the Easter weekend, there were lots of people swimming in the plunge pool at the base of the falls. We walked to see one of the creeks feeding water to the waterfalls:

We left Florence Falls and were taken to the Termite Mounds, an area of the National Park. We learnt there are two types of termite mounds: cathedral and magnetic. Here is a Cathedral termite mound:

This was several metres high and is created by the Cathedral Termite, an amazing achievement from such a small insect. A different termite creates the Magnetic termite mounds which all align on a north-south axis to ensure one side of the mound is in the shade during half the day to regulate the temperature within the mound. The magnetic mounds look like tombstones in a graveyard:

On the way from Litchfield National Park to Darwin, we drove through a small town called Batchelor. During World War II, soldiers were stationed in this town and there are still obvious reminders of this heritage:

Batchelor is now a major centre for Aboriginal higher education. We arrived back into Darwin with no traffic problems as it was Good Friday and everything appeared shut for the Bank Holiday. We said goodbye to our Outback Spirit guide Pascal who had been excellent.

We took a walk out of the hotel in Darwin to the waterfront area. The sun was setting as we had a wander through the area:

On our way back to the hotel we stopped to admire the Parliament building for the Northern Territory which was beautifully lit:

We returned to the hotel for dinner and an early night.

[eandamj]

KAKADU NATIONAL PARK 17 April 2025

We started early and arrived at Jabiru Airport before 7am. We then took a scenic flight for an hour above Kakadu National Park. We had been divided into groups and we were in a very small airplane with room for 8 passengers. Very soon after take off, we got a great view of our hotel which showed the shape of the building as a crocodile:

During the flight, the massive size of Kakadu was apparent:

We saw some superb waterfalls:

By visiting Kakadu towards the end of the wet season, there was a huge amount of water cascading over the cliffs of the escarpments. Here is another waterfall:

From the air we got a great view of the escarpments. Here is one part:

And here is another:

During the flight we learnt about the fact that the National Park is the site of a hugely rich uranium source. While there has been mining on the land, this has now stopped as the Aborigines who own the land do not want further mining.

After the flight, we were driven to Nourlangie to see Aboriginal art on rocks and to climb to a view point. We walked through the bush to an area of huge rocks where we found several Aboriginal paintings from the last 1000 years. The different paintings have been used to communicate key skills and messages about how people should live. So for example, there were paintings about hunting for meat to eat. There are also warnings in the paintings about digging the land and people becoming ill. This has been interpreted as passing on knowledge of the uranium in the ground! Here is an example of one of the paintings:

We then climbed up a steep slope to see the viewpoint at Nourlangie:

We then visited the Cooinda Lodge for lunch. After this we walked through the Lodge’s grounds to the “Yellow Water” at Jim Jim Creek. We then had another boat trip. We saw more crocodiles and lots of birds. Here is a crocodile (bottom right) approaching where an egret was standing:

We saw areas of river with huge numbers of water lilies. We also saw lots of birds: eagles, hawks, egrets, a snake bird (named because it has a long neck) and some “Jesus” birds. The latter are so called as they appear to walk on water. Here is a father bird caring for three younger ones as the females leave the nurturing to the males:

We were told that in a couple of months time the river we had travelled on would be completely dry. The change between the seasons is remarkable.

Our last stop of the day was at the Warradjan Aboriginal Cultural Centre. No photos could be taken inside. The displays reiterated what our driver and guide had told us about Aboriginal customs. We returned to the Crocodile hotel for the night.

[eandamj]

KAKADU NATIONAL PARK 16th April 2025

We were collected by a new Outback Spirit Driver from our hotel in Darwin. We were driven out of Darwin through a town called Palmerston . At a place called Humpty Doo we turned on to the Arnhem Highway. We turned off this road mid morning to visit a “jumping crocodile experience on the Adelaide River. We saw several crocodiles over an hour. Here is one:

We then watched as a member of the boat’s crew held a chunk of meat on the end of a string on a long metal pole. Each crocodile leapt out of the water to grab the meat using the powerful muscles in its tail:

We saw a much smaller and younger crocodile jump for food too:

We saw a large number of Black Kites flying around the river. They were also interested in any tiny scraps of food from the boat:

After the boat trip we continued the journey to Kakadu. Eventually after a stop for lunch, we finally crossed into this National Park in the early afternoon:

We stopped at the entrance and were immediately surrounded with cockatoo birds. Here is one which was very vocal:

As we were visiting Kakadu in April, we knew it was the end of the tropical rainy season. We were told that recently there has been a great deal of rainfall. So as we were driven further into the National Park, flooding was evident. This was the flooding on the flood plain from the South Alligator River:

The name of this and the West Alligator River were wrongly named by an American explorer in the 19th Century who thought the crocodiles were alligators! We then stopped at Magellan Creek to see the how much the road was flooded:

Apparently there was recent media coverage in Australia about someone who tried to drive through this flood. There is UTube footage of the driver managing to get the car out of the river so no one was hurt but the car was ruined. The depth marker for the water level could not be clearer!

We next stopped at the Bowali Visitor Centre and saw exhibitions on the wildlife in the National Park and how the landscape changes between the wet and dry season:

By the end of the afternoon we arrived in Jabiru to stay in the Crocodile Hotel. It looks like a crocodile!

[eandamj]

RETURN TO ALICE SPRINGS & TRAVEL TO DARWIN 14 & 15 April 2025

On the morning of 14th April we travelled from Yulara towards Alice Springs in order to catch the Ghan train to Darwin. We stopped for a break at the viewpoint for Mount Conner ( see earlier post) and this time crossed the road for a view of salt flats:

We stopped again for a quick lunch and after eating, visited some emus in a paddock:

We reached Alice Springs by mid afternoon and went straight to the Ghan terminal. The train was in the station. Here is the locomotive:

The original railway track was built by immigrant workers and it is thought that the train’s name came from the Afghan contingent. In the station a commemorative plaque and statue are in place to mark the inaugural passenger train in 1980:

We boarded the train to have dinner. We slept on the train overnight and had a better night’s sleep compared with the last train journey as the track between Alice Springs and Darwin has been renewed giving a much smoother journey, compared to Adelaide to Alice Springs.

On the 15th April, the train stopped around 9am in Katherine. We went on a trip from the train to Nitmiluk Gorge. We were then taken on a boat trip:

At the start of the boat trip, the river banks were very green. The river level was high given the recent heavy rain in the region:

However, the scenery changed to show more rock face:

The scenery was dramatic:

The boat turned around at some rapids as clearly we could go no further:

By the banks of the river as we left the boat, we saw lots of bats hanging in trees:

After returning to the train, it proceeded to Darwin. We were picked up from the Darwin Ghan Station late afternoon and we were taken to our hotel for the night.

[eandamj]

ULURU - 13th April 2025

We set off after breakfast for a closer look around Uluru. We started at the spot where people use to climb Uluru using chains held by poles drilled into the surface. The walkway was shut on 26 October 2019 given the sacred nature of Uluru to the Anangu Aboriginal people. Over the years many people died climbing Uluru either falling or from heat stress or heart attack. Here is the area of Uluru where people used to start the climb:

From this point we did what is the Mala walk. Although from a distance Uluru looks like a huge single rock, in reality close up there are many boulders. The rock geological was wonderful to see:

There are examples of Anangu rock art in shallow caves. Here is the Mala men’s cave:

There was also a “teaching cave” where grandfathers taught their grandsons how to track animals and catch food. The grandparents did the teaching of the grandchildren while parents were out gathering food. Further along the Mala walk we were able to walk into some shallow caves. Again the geological of the rocks looked fantastic:

We were able to climb into a small cave which was beautiful:

After visiting the Kantju Gorge, we were taken to the start of the Kuniya walk. The rocks in this part of Uluru are meant to be the home of the ancestral water snake. This area was also the site of the deadly battle between two creation snakes - one of the key stories of the Anangu people passed from generation to generation.

We then walked to the Mutitjulu Waterhole. Apparently last week groups were having to walk through ankle deep water on the paths here following heavy rain. The waterhole was picturesque and showed us the rock where early explorers attempted to climb to the top of Uluru:

As we were driven around other parts of Uluru, there were some fascinating rock features. They look as though the rock has been attacked with spears:

It was wonderful to see Uluru from the walking paths. The whole place is very beautiful.

We then returned to the resort for lunch and a quiet afternoon. In the evening we were taken out to the dunes between Uluru and Kata Tjuṯa. Here we had drinks and canapés before a sit down served meal watching the sunset over Kata Tjuṯa. We were also entertained by the playing of a Didgeridoo and a talk from a star gazer. We also had a period of time when we sat in silence and there wasn’t any other sound to be heard! Here is a photo of the man playing the Didgeridoo. It took huge amounts of energy and breathe to play this for several minutes:

And here is the sunset over Kata Tjuṯa:

We returned back to the hotel on a coach with a very merry crowd full of wine! The adventure in Uluru now ends and tomorrow we travel back to Alice Springs.

[eandamj]

ULURU - KATA TJUTA NATIONAL PARK 12 April 2025

We spent the morning exploring Kata Tjuṯa rock formation which is 50km from Uluru within the National Park. It is a very striking landmass. This was the view from a look out point to see the whole extent of the rock formation:

The different parts of this land form can give the impression of being made in the likeness of certain animals eg dogs or manatees. We were then taken to walk the Walpa Gorge which is at one end of Kata Tjuṯa . The walk took an hour. We walked into the gorge as far as allowed and then had to return. The start of the walk looked like this:

This shows what a later section of the walk looked like:

On the return journey the walls of the gorge were reflected in the stream:

The walls of the gorge were stunning in their colour and geological features:

After finishing the walk we were taken to see Kata Tjuṯa from one end:

We then visited the Aboriginal culture centre near Uluru:

Here we learnt more about the traditional stories of the Anangu Aboriginal people and the basis of their culture. We also saw some handicrafts including some stunning dot paintings. We were not allowed to take any photos inside the cultural centre.

We were then taken to a viewpoint for a picnic lunch. We were the only group there even though there was quite a large car park. We sat and ate our lunch gazing at Uluru. It was amazing:

We then visited the Art Gallery of Central Australia back in the town of Yulara. It had further examples of Aboriginal dot paintings and carvings with burn markings to create models of creatures and objects to use, like boomerangs. We were greeted at the entrance to the gallery with the word “Palya” which is the local greeting word:

In the evening we were taken to another area to watch another sunset over Uluru. This time we went to see the enormous light installation by the British artist Bruce Munro called the “Field of Light”. These lights are spread on the plane near Uluru. So as the sun sets and we were given drinks and canapés, the lights of the Field of Light came on. Once it was totally dark we were able to walk around and through the light installation on paths. This was the view just before darkness before we started the walk around the whole light installation:

We then returned to our hotel for dinner.

[eandamj]

TRAVELLING FROM KINGS CANYON TO ULURU - KATA TJUTA

After leaving Kings Canyon, we stopped for an Aboriginal cultural experience. We had presentations on different aspects of Aboriginal life. After showing us plants which are used for medicinal purposes, they explained about their “bush tucker” foods and how they go about finding things to eat. We saw a display of fruit and other plant foods:

We then saw how they use seeds and nuts to make jewellery:

We were shown a “dot” painting. Paintings like this are created by the women. This one marks the importance of the Witchetty grub in their food.

This painting celebrates the importance of the Witchetty grub in Aboriginal food. The grub is found in the roots of certain Acacia trees:

We were then shown examples of weapons for hunting:

When we were back on the road we saw wild camels. At our coffee stop we saw the camels they keep at Kings Creek Station:

We next stopped at the roadside for a view of Mount Conner which we had not heard of:

We stopped for lunch at Curtin Springs which is a million acre cattle station. We were completely enthralled by a talk from the owner on the challenges of running this business including dealing with rainfall only once in about 10 years! The toilet facilities at this place were interesting:

Back on the road at the end of the afternoon, we caught our first sight of Uluru:

We were actually taken to have drinks, canapés and a picnic hamper for dinner while watching the sunset over Uluru. The rock became distinctly redder as the sun went down:

The evening ended with a light and sound show. Sadly the drone display could not take place as the wind was too strong.

[eandamj]

KINGS CANYON - 10 April 2025

We had an early start to the day. This meant we were able to start the Kings Canyon Rim walk just before 7am. The start of the walk was very challenging as it has about 500 steps to get on to the rim. Here are the early morning walkers ahead of us:

Sadly, A found that the uneven nature of the steps meant he decided it wasn’t for him. E continued with the group. The view of the sun rising across the canyon from half way up the steps was glorious:

At the top of the rim the path was quite uneven and challenging at times. The geology evident in the surrounding landscape was superb:

There were parts of the walk where we had to climb up and then down, clambering over the rocks. At times the path was very narrow:

There were times on the walk when we were surrounded by rocky features and then at some points the view opened up to show the view beyond the canyon which was lovely:

During the walk we had to descend down some man made steps which were extremely steep to reach an area known as “The Garden of Eden” which was full of trees and other plants with water on the valley floor:

The climb up the other side of this garden area was challenging! We also came across an area of water on top of the rim. Recent rain would have added to the volume of water in this pool:

As the walk progressed. The temperature rose and the walking was very tiring. We descended down to the canyon floor after 3 hours with no injuries and we were all very pleased with ourselves!

A had joined a different group which had started the walk along the canyon floor: Kings Creek walk. They had set off not long before the rim walkers finished. So E set off to catch up with this second group and found them at the turn around point. So we were able to walk back along the creek together. The views looking up to the Kings Canyon Rim were very impressive:

And here is another example:

We were able to relax for the afternoon. In the evening we were able to enjoy watching the sunset over Kings Canyon and then a light show with light towers as part of a Bruce Munro installation. This photo shows the sunset causing the rock to become red:

After the light show we were given a different sort of BBQ with camel, kangaroo and crocodile among the meats!

[eandamj]

MACDONNELL MOUNTAINS: ELLERY CREEK AND ORMISTON GORGE - 9th April 2025

We were on the road by 7.45am to explore more of the MacDonnell Range. There were several times in the day when the coach had to drive through flood water on the road due to recent heavy rain. We also saw several groups of wild horses. Here was one of them:

We stopped quite early for a viewpoint of the MacDonnell Range:

We were driven to Ellery Creek so that we could take a walk. There is a permanent water hole. It was truly beautiful:

The landscape again echoed why our tour is called the Red Rock Tour! Here is the rock on one side of Ellery Creek:

We were next taken to Ormiston Gorge where there were two walks available. We tackled first the strenuous one with 240 steps. It was quite challenging in the late morning heat but the view of the gorge was great from the top:

After returning to ground level, we took the shorter walk to the water hole:

During the afternoon we came across more flooded roads like this one at the Finke River:

We stopped at a view point for this view of the mountains:

Another viewpoint at Tyler’s Pass was really interesting showing the flat land away from the mountains: Gosse Bluff.

It took the rest of the afternoon to drive to the Kings Canyon through the Watarrka National Park. We were on an unmade dirt road for a long time. The scenery was very different:

We arrived at our hotel late afternoon for an early dinner ahead of a major walk for the 10th April.

[eandamj]

ALICE SPRINGS 8 April 2025

We set off for the day at 7.30am. We first visited the grave and memorial to Rev John Flynn who died in 1951 as he was the founder of the Australian Flying Doctor Service. The memorial was unusual in using a huge stone from Aboriginal homelands as John Flynn was thought to have contributed to improving the health of remote communities. The scenery was also stunning:

We then drove to a place called Simpsons Gap where we did a 20 minute walk. The conditions were really cool as the gap was still largely in the shade. The scenery was lovely:

The water was so still it showed the reflection of some of the rocks very clearly:

We saw several Rock Wallabys busy feeding along the water and running over the rocks:

Our next stop was another gap in the MacDonnell Mountain range: Emily’s Gap:

After walking in Emily’s Gap we were taken to the Alice Springs Desert Park. After lunch we were able to walk around the park. From a rise on the Desert Rivers Trail we were able to see a view across the park showing how green it is after recent rain:

We visited a couple of aviaries and the Nocturnal House to see a variety of birds and animals. Here is an example of birds:

We also attended a talk about dingos and saw a couple of young animals:

We saw an emu and some red kangaroos. We also attended a display of birds of prey. We saw several who flew across the audience in response to the trainer providing food. We were amazed to watch a buzzard break an emu’s egg with a stone. Apparently this is a totally innate natural action of buzzards and not a learned behaviour.

After a short break back at the hotel we were taken out to a “Bushtucker” Outback BBQ. We had great fun. The area we went to was surrounded by the vivid red rocks of this central part of Australia. The colour deepened as the sun set:

So after the sunset, we were entertained by an interesting talk on how cattle ranches have been run in Australia. The huge size of these operations is amazing. We were provided with a delicious BBQ steak with rum bread as a dessert which we saw made and then cooked over an open fire. There was great entertainment from a singer of traditional Australian songs. Fellow travellers assisted with one song having been given some interesting instruments to play:

The evening finished with all the lights being turned off so that we could gaze at the stars and the Milky Way. The Southern Cross constellation was very bright. It was brilliant to see and gave us a taste of how beautiful the sky is, which is an advantage of camping out in this region. On the way back to the hotel we saw several kangaroos hopping out of the road in response to the lights of the bus.

[eandamj]

ADELAIDE AND THE GHAN TRAIN 5-6 April 2025

We arrived in Adelaide after a 6 hour overnight flight from Singapore. After a rapid transit to the city centre and a few hours napping, we took a walk around the city centre. As we had visited Adelaide last year, we did not try to visit anyway specific, but we just reacquainted ourselves with the main area and in particular the pleasant green spaces. This is a picture of one of the attractive arcades in the shopping area:

Our main task for the day was to pack our small soft bags for the next part of the holiday on the Ghan train and the centre of Australia. Our suitcases with some of our belongings were going into storage.

On the morning of 6 April we transferred from the hotel to the Adelaide Parklands Terminal. We dropped our suitcases off so that we just had a small carry on bag and a rucksack for several days. We boarded the Ghan train and were shown to our small cabin which had a sofa and a shower room. (The sofa turns into a bed for night time and a top bunk is pulled down from the wall cabinet.) The train was very long with 28 carriages:

The train started at 1200 on the journey to Alice Springs. We watched the scenery go by for the rest of the day. Once out of the suburbs of Adelaide, the scenery was a bit desert like, but we were surprised how much green vegetation was present. Apparently there has been considerable rain for the past couple of weeks which shows in the green plants now across the landscape. Here is a photo showing the landscape but also the Southern Ocean in the distance. We broadly followed the coastline until the train turned into the interior:

We had a very interesting time chatting to fellow travellers in the lounge and over lunch and dinner.

We had a broken night of sleep as the train movement was really quite rocky and crossing pints made it noisy at times. On the morning of the 7th April the train stopped for an hour for passengers to watch the sun rise at 6am:

The train journey continued through the morning passing from South Australia into the Northern Territories. We were surprised to see cattle grazing alongside the train track very far from any farm. We also saw further evidence of recent torrential rain in that there was some standing water in holes in the landscape:

Although the landscape was generally very flat, there were the odd area where it changed:

We crossed the Finke River which can run as a torrent following heavy rain, but today it was dry:

We arrived in Alice Springs around 1.30pm after a great brunch. We were collected from the train by a tour company. We will be in a group of about 26 people for the next week. We were taken for a short tour of the town of Alice Springs which has a population of about 28000. We were driven up a hill where the town’s ANZAC memorial is found:

It was also a great opportunity for us to see the views across the town. The town nestles beneath the MacDonnell Range of mountains:

We also got a great view of the gap in the mountains where the main road from the south and the railway line come through the mountains:

We are now staying in a hotel in Alice Springs for two nights.

[eandamj]

AUSTRALIA 2025

SINGAPORE STOPOVER 2-4 April

We flew from London to Singapore on 1 April, arriving early morning on the 2 April. We were through border, got our bags and in the taxi within 30 minutes. We were in our room at the hotel before 9am. After a couple of hours sleep and lunch in the hotel, we took a walk to see some sights. Here is the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel and shopping area on the other side of the Singapore River:

And here is the Merlion, a strong symbol of Singapore:

We then crossed the Singapore River using one of the old iron bridges to Esplanade Park and saw the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall with the Sir Stamford Raffles statue outside:

We noted that this statue used to be by the River’s edge but must have been moved. We walked along the river bank and found several sculptures depicting Singapore history and culture. This was one showing early trading activity:

We walked further along the river to see the view of the original old Singapore buildings now overshadowed by immense skyscrapers:

In the evening we watch the daily evening light show using the Marina Bay Sands hotel as the backdrop. On 3 April, we spent the morning in the National Museum of Singapore where we visited the exhibit on the history of Singapore. It was interesting in explaining its foundations as a free trade centre to the struggles over independence from the UK but also then Malaysia. The exhibit also showed how the country is organised and how much it has flourished. After lunch we made our way by Metro to the Gardens in the Bay:

We specifically went to visit the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome. The Cloud Forest is very impressive from the moment you enter:

We were interested that we found a permanent display of Chihuly glass among the plants:

In the Flower Dome with gardens from across the Globe, we enjoyed in particular the temporary Japanese Garden:

The photo above shows a very clever water feature which used the weight of water to force the striking of the gongs.

On 4 April, we visited the National Gallery of Singapore. We actually found the building more interesting than the art work we saw displayed. This is because one half of the Gallery is the old City Hall and the other is the old Supreme Court. The whole complex is huge. So within the building we found some old custody cells, an imposing foyer, a court dock for prisoners and a judge’s desk and chair. Here is the foyer:

After returning to the hotel, walking in the rain with newly purchased umbrellas, we prepared for our onward journey later today to Australia.

[eandamj]

OSLO 20 February

We finished our cruise in Oslo. We had decided not to extend our stay in Norway as we had visited Oslo in 2017. It was a short walk from the ship to the railway station when we disembarked. As the ship was docked in the city centre, we got a couple of great views. First we admired the Oslo Opera House:

And we also spotted the Munch Museum which displays the art work of Edvard Munch, who produced the world famous painting “The Scream”:

From the railway station we had an easy journey to the airport for our flight back to London.