OUTBACK
 

My family will be visitng Australia in Dec., we plan to spend three days in the outback, going to Ayers Rock, Alice Springs and Kings Canyon. Suggestions are welcome.

Hi Cecilia,<BR><BR>Well you have certainly picked one of the hotter months to visit us here in the territory. <BR><BR>A few suggestions to bring are:<BR><BR>1. Good comfortable walking shoes, ones that allow your feet to breath.<BR><BR>2. Wide brim hat, fly net to go over hat, sunglasses, sunscreen 15+, and seeing as you will be doing some walking at Kings Canyon and the Olgas it is advisable to carry a hip canteen of water, it is very easy to become dehydrated in the Territory heat.<BR><BR>3. Don't just rely on insect repellant to keep the flies off as the ones out here eat it for breakfast. That is why the fly net is so important.<BR><BR>4. You will probably not be able to climb Ayres Rock as the climb is closed on days when the temp goes over 40 degrees celcius or there are strong winds. Both of these factors are likely to be experienced in December.<BR><BR>I am not sure how you are doing your trip but it sounds as though you are going with a tour operator, most of them here are quite good.<BR><BR>If you would like any further help or details just e-mail me direct and I will endeavour to help you.<BR><BR>Cheers<BR><BR>Paul S

Hi Paul,<BR><BR>Thanks for your suggestions, I will certainly keep them in mind. Unfortunately Dec. is the only time we can go as a family, hopefully the weather will be nice when we're there.

You might consider using one of the package tour companies. We use Sahara Outback Tours. We stayed in already set up camp sites and all meals were included. It saves you driving from place to place (about 5 hours from Alice Springs to Ayer's Rock through very boring terrain). Our tour left from Alice Springs, spent a day at each Uluru, Kata-Tjuta, & King's Canyon. The guide was an expert on the area & aboriginal customs plus knew the trails well so he could recommend which ones to take based on fitness level. We had walked about 15 miles by the end of trip. Definately bring good hiking/walking shoes, tennis shoes did not do well on the rocky terrain.

I would seriously think twice before going Outback in December because it will be just aweful. The temperatures will be very, very hot and probably the flies will also be trying too. <BR>There are many better places to go in the summer than to fry in the outback.

Do the night time astronomy tour.