Going the distance in the Australian Outback

By Herald photographer Nicola Topping

Queenslanders and Northern Territorians are proud of their aviation history and the birth of Australia's national airline. They'll tell you it was conceived in Cloncurry, born in Winton and grew up in Longreach. It seems only fitting that this vast, dry land should be toured by air.

This is the sort of travelling where you can safely leave your brain at home. I handed my suitcase to the Aircruising Australia fairies at Sydney and they - by the power of holiday magic - made sure it was in my room every night, no matter which luxury hotel I was in.

They made sure there was a cold towel or a slice of mouth-watering melon to freshen up with after a hot walk and they laid out champagne and platters of nibbles as the sun set at Cable Beach and Uluru. All they asked in return was that our seatbelts were fastened, our tray tables locked away and that our seats were in the upright position.

My trigger finger was itching in anticipation of the photo opportunities that lay waiting in the Australian Outback. But I have to confess to initial scepticism when 30 passengers clambered aboard the F27 Fokker - all my senior by at least 25 years.

Four days later, having shared another superb meal and a few bottles of wine, I'd learned the only difference between this bunch and my friends is that the cheeky jokes mostly involve Viagra.

On more than one occasion our pilots Ron Austen and Hugh Hopkins, with 85 years' flying experience between them, found themselves crushed against the controls after inviting keen camera wielding passengers to their tiny flight deck.

My own camera spent plenty of time pressed against the glass as we flew over some of Australia's most beautiful scenery - the breath-taking views over the Bungle Bungle National Park, the pristine waters of the Bonaparte Archipelago viewed from just 150m and, of course, the majestic Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

Katherine

Cruising the waters between the towering red walls of Katherine Gorge with a glass of Australian chardonnay in my hand and the sun at my back I wondered how some people could find travelling stressful - although when lunch was served on white tablecloths I experienced a little consternation, "Should I watch the passing scenery or my fork?"

I opted for the middle ground and looked up when someone else made "ooh ahh" noises along with excited pointing gestures.

I'm not sure if it was the wine or the heat, but a couple of hours later most of us were laughing and splashing in Katherine's waters like a bunch of teenagers.

Kakadu National Park

There is no tarmac at Cooinda, in the heart of Kakadu National Park, just a dusty landing strip bordered by smouldering scrub, evidence of the patchwork quilt fires which burn throughout the bush in the dry season. The land here has adapted to fire and flood, many plants are pyrogenic and new life quickly springs from the blackened earth. As we drove past the smoky and charred landscape I found it hard to picture the wet season's floods lapping at the tree trunks.

The area is rich in wetlands, where you can find a third of Australia's bird species. While exploring Yellow Waters we found more than just birdlife. As 30 tourists gathered port side to spy on a pair of yellow eyes in the lilies - the eyes belonged to a rather large estuarine crocodile - I briefly wondered how well-balanced the boat was before gluing my eye to the camera and firing off 20 frames.

Kakadu, which occupies 6000sq km, is also famous for its Aboriginal rock art. Ancient menu boards still visible on cave walls detail the resident food supply and figure drawings of legendary hunters immortalised for millennia.

It's a short walk to these historic caves but if you go a little further and climb Ubirr Rock, you'll gain a spectacular panoramic view of the wetlands. Our efforts were also rewarded with iced towels, cool water and air-conditioned coach on our return.

Broome

Cable Beach in Broome is opened for swimming on May 1 as by that time most, if not all, of the stingers (nasty little jellyfish) have left. This year someone must have neglected to serve the eviction and when we arrived one unfortunate swimmer had been hospitalised after a brush with a straggler.

A roaming salt-water crocodile wasn't so lucky. A danger to beach users, he had to be removed rather permanently from the 20km stretch of beach. Beach swimming kind of lost its appeal with that news, so I opted for one of the three, croc-free pools at the five-star Cable Beach Club resort.

The safest and most beautiful way to see Cable Beach is at sunset and what better way to get there than by camel train.

I picked the rear seat on Nigu, the front camel, who proved to be a pretty keen mount. Thankfully fellow aircruiser Kay Cramer was riding front seat and prevented me making a spectacular headfirst dismount.

You can't visit Broome without at least a peek at some of the pearls produced by the region.

Before leaving see the guy known as "Salty Dog" at the Pearl Luggers Museum for a first-hand history of pearling in Broome. Salty spent 16 years walking across the ocean floor collecting pearls and by the time you leave you'll swear you walked with him. You'll find it hard to leave Linny's - a few doors down - without some Broome pearls, Argyle diamonds and Western Australian Gold.

Uluru and Kata Tjuta National Park

Pick up any Australian promotional material and it is bound to include gorgeous images of Uluru burned red from the setting sun, a photographer's dream. It wasn't until I found myself standing at the foot of the world's largest monolith with the hairs prickling on the back of my neck that I understood why the local people discourage climbing of the rock - apart from the fact that 39 people have perished in the national park since 1960, not including those who died later from heart attacks - there is an awe-inspiring sense of spirituality that you won't get from a travel brochure.

At sunset as I sipped my champagne with 30 other buses full of tourists doing the same, I couldn't help feeling a little hollow, that we were watching the beauty but missing the meaning somehow.

Alice Springs

As our coach driver John pointed out the River Todd, I found myself scanning the passing scenery ... and scanning. I'll be blowed if I could find any water.

He went on to tell us that they were famous for their boat race, Henley on Todd.

"They had to cancel the race in 1993 because the river had water in it."

Finally I spotted the river, or rather the dry, dusty river bed dotted with red river gums winding its way through the town they call Alice. Even springs in Alice are dry; of course they never were springs at all, just a water-hole which dries out for most of the year.

A dry riverbed is just the place for a fair dinkum bush barbie at Denise and Geoff Purdie's place. Geoff will show you how to throw a boomerang and he's pretty good at tossing snarlers on the barbie. He happily shared his damper recipe with us: a couple of metric handfuls of flour, a couple of carefully measured sloshes of water and salt. Cook it in a camp oven then drizzle with Cockies joy (golden syrup) and wash it down with a mug of billy tea while sitting on a log under the Southern Cross.

Birdsville

After a flight over the Simpson Desert we made a quick stop in Birdsville (population 101) for a dig around John Menzies' Working Museum and lunch at the famous Birdsville pub where the beer is cold and the flies stay outside (trust me when I tell you that is a good thing).

Then, as if it were in the blink of the eye, with barely time to brush the red dust from my shoes (with the complimentary shoe polishing cloth of course) it was back to Sydney, and for the first time in 12 days, to carry my own bags.

CASE NOTES

The tour

Bill Peach Journeys Great Australian Aircruise all inclusive package priced from A$9994 ($11,088). Tour leaves from and returns to Sydney, stopping in Longreach, Mount Isa, Katherine, Cooinda, Jabaru, Darwin, Kununurra, Broome, Uluru (Ayers Rock), Alice Springs and Birdsville.

Bill Peach Journeys, freephone from New Zealand: 0800 445700

What's included

All flights, transfers and tours. (Camel ride in Broome is included only in the September 16 departure.)

All meals and limited wine. Eleven nights in quality accommodation - bags delivered to your room. Museum entries; entry to the Territory Wildlife Park, Darwin; Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park; Katherine Gorge cruise; Yellow waters Wetlands tour; East Alligator River tour; Ord River cruise; Bush BBQ, Alice Springs.

When to go

Bill Peach runs tours during the dry season (April - September).

Places are still available for this year's tours departing August 6, September 3 ($1000 discount offered on this tour) and September 16 (this tour includes $1000-worth of adventure extras: balloon ride over Alice, camel ride in Broome, dinner under the stars at Ayers Rock and two nights at Seven Spirit Bay (instead of Darwin).

Highs in Darwin reach the early 30s year around but cool off slightly in the middle of the year. Alice Springs will see lows of 4C or 5C in July and August but during the day is a comfortable 20C. Broome temperatures reach the high 20s or early 30s, lows around 14C.

Pack a jacket and pants along with shorts, lots of cool cotton and sunscreen. (Don't forget the corked hat or fly net for Birdsville.)

Bill Peach Journeys

* Nicola Topping was a guest of Great Australian Aircruise.