Alice Springs - Outback

Trevor playing the Digeredoo, an instrument crafted and played by the indigenous Aboriginal people of Australia.

Signpost in Todd Mall in the center of Alice Springs.
Random pub in Alice Springs.
Annie's Place - hostel we stayed at in Alice Springs. Very sparse accomodations. The boys weren't impressed the first night, but after the outback trip, it seemed quite nice.
Dinner in the pub at Annie's Place before the Outback trip. Trevor - Damon - Cody

Cody and Trevor with some of the gals from Annie's Place.
Trevor, Leigh Anne, Damon and Cody - night before the Outback trip.
Cody tried lots of new things on this trip, but vodka was one he did not care for.
First night camping in the Outback - Curtain Springs. We had to gather firewood on the way and tie it to the top of the trailer.
Trevor at the campsite.

Everyone pitched in helping to cook all the meals - the guy next to Trevor is our guide - Beej.
Cody's turn.
Trevor and LA by the campfire.
Trevor and Cody - outback camping, Curtain Springs.
Damon and Trevor - Curtain Springs.

Cody and LA - he likes beer a little better. We stopped at the pub in Curtain Springs and bought beer for the bargain price of $60 for a case. Damon was in beer price shock for most of the trip.
We slept around the campfire in swags, shown below. It was freezing at night - below 32 degrees F - crazy. Getting up in the middle of the night, not so fun. (Cody)
But we fell asleep watching the stars, which was awesome. (Trevor)
Up before dawn the next morning, shivering by the fire. Curtain Springs is a cattle station that has more than one million acres.
Sunrise at Curtain Springs.

Sunrise at Curtain Springs - absolutely gorgeous.
Camp the next morning before rolling up the swags.
Curtain Springs cattle station - reminded us of West Texas.
This is the bus we drove in six hours on the first and third day and plenty in between.
After the Outback trip, we had dinner with our group in a pub called Toddy's. Trevor and Cody both entered a contest for playing the Digeridoo - being in band back home helped, I think.

Back at Annie's Place after the Outback trip was over, we partied with friends from the trip from Ireland, Germany and France.
I LOVE this picture - Damon getting his beer on in a pub at Annie's Place.
We both were a bit hungover the next day.
Bar at Annie's Pub - decorated with real front pages of the local newspaper. Probably worth clicking on the pic for the larger view to read some of them.

Tropical Cairns

This is sunset on Trinity Beach. We stayed in a condo about a three minute walk from here. Trinity Beach is about 20 minutes north of Cairns (pronounced "Cans") on the North Eastern coast of Australia.

Weather was balmy, mid 80's during the day and upper 60's at night. This is Damon on the first night we arrived.
Trevor on Trinity Beach.
Cody on Trinity Beach.

Leigh Anne on Trinity Beach - no way I'm posting swimsuit pics.
Sunset on Trinity Beach.

View from the loft in our condo.
We went to the beach this day and pretty much had it to ourselves. School holidays were just around the corner and that's when they are overrun with tourists. It would have probably been more fun for Trevor and Cody then, but we couldn't get plane tickets during that time.
Another view of the beach.
This is the pool area at our condo - this is what our balcony faced.
This is on a boat called the Poseidon, going out to the great barrier reef. Trevor and Cody were going to do an intro dive, so they were getting ready for that. Look thrilled, don't they?

View from the Poseidon out of the Great Barrier Reef.
Trevor and Cody getting dive instruction.
Getting information about the reef from the marine biologist on staff.
Damon on the deck of the Poseidon.
Damon and Trevor with the captain of the Poseidon.

Catching some sun on deck of the Poseidon.
This is Millie, Jo, Jim and Ella Jarvis. Jim is the son of Chris and Murray Jarvis, who hosted me when I was an exchange student in Australia in 1987. So this is my brother Jim's family.
This is the guys boarding our flight in Cairns to Alice Springs. We go from tropical to Outback desert.

We walked through the Sydney Botanical Garden and this is one of the biggest gum trees I've ever seen. Gum trees are indigenous to Australia.

Love this photo, shows a really old building in Sydney sandwiched between two modern buildings.
This is D, Cody and Trevor in front of our hotel in Sydney - Pensione

After we climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Tuesday, 7/10/08, this is the first pub we went to - The Australian Hotel. That's me and Damon.
This is the other side of Darling Harbour in Sydney - with the Sydney Harbour Bridge behind us. The very top where you see the teeny tiny flags is where we climbed to that morning. My calves were screaming for a week.
This is the Opera House from close up.
Another pic of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.