Hi,

I returned from Oz about three four months ago. I had an 11 month
stint down there. I was working in Sydney and Brisbane. I went on a
whirl wind tour of Australia which included. Sydney -> Alice Springs
-> Darwin -> Cairns -> Sydney. All this was done in 2 and 1/2
weeks. I don't know what you mean by travelling solo, exactly. I
considered myself to be travelling solo during this but I would hook
up with tour groups in each place that I went to. I would not go
into the outback or the rainforest, etc. without some sort of guide
but Australia is reasonably civilized. Your main enemy is not going
to be people but the harsh environment.


I do not recommend that you try and see Australia in 2 and 1/2 weeks
like I did. The reason that I did that is because I was trying to
fit it into my regular holidays. What I did in that time was well
filled but it would nice to have the luxury of time to contemplate
what you want to do and where you want to go. How does she plan to
travel? Bus? Train? Coach (Bus)? If she plans to go to Alice
Springs by Plane, I suggest that she organize here stay there so that
she is not there for too long. I was there for about 5 days and that
was about 2 days too long. It's the middle of the desert and the key
landmarks there are Ayer's Rock, the Olgas, and King's Canyon. If
she is planning on taking a tour, I would organize the tour first and
then organize flights to get there the evening before the tour and
leave the morning after. If she is travelling by some other means
she might have more flexibility in scheduling her travel.


I definitely recommend seeing Alice Springs. The rock is
spectacular. I went on an AAT Kings tour but if I was to do it
again, I would either go on a younger or more adventure based tour
(AAT Kings is for the blue rinse set :->). . Or else organize
transportation to the major places and just hike around (that would
be far cheaper than taking a tour and I don't think that you miss
much by skipping a tour.) In the desert it is very important that
you carry lots of water. It is very easy to get dehydrated. Also, I
would recommend going to Alice in the Winter (which is the same time
as North American summer) if at all possible.


In Darwin, I went on a 5 day tour of Kakadu with an adventure
back-packing company called Backpacker's Australia (or something like
that. There's another tour which is shorter but similar by Saratoga
Safaris (there is more of an emphasis on wildlife on this one. It is
run by an ex-zoologist). . I organized my travel out of Darwin through
Top End Travel. They are excellent! I was in Darwin during the dry
season (which is the same as the North American summer)


Cairns, I found, to be very touristy. There's a million things to do but
they all cost money. Definitely get out on the reef. There's
tons of cruises out to the reef to suit any type of lifestyle. You
can snorkel or dive and there are tons of certification courses
available if you are interested in getting certified. (I couldn't
because of my asthma)


I guess that's all I have to say for now. If you (or anyone) has any
questions, please feel free to contact me by e-mail (I can't guarantee how
often I will read this group)