G'Day Mates!

We are refining and putting some finishing touches on our plans for a three and a half week jaunt in Australia. This will be our fifth trip Down Under and we wanted to make sure we made it out to the west coast this time. We've heard great things about Perth and have a friend who was born/grew up there who told us wonderful stories.

So here is our itinerary outline so far:

• Fly to Sydney, stay a couple of days and say hello to some friends
• Fly to Perth, stay and explore the area for about a week
• Fly to Alice Springs, explore Ayers Rock
• Drive to Kings Canyon, stay the night and return to Alice Springs
• Take the Ghan Train from Alice Springs to Adelaide where we catch a plane for Kangaroo Island
• Enjoy the nature preserve on Kangaroo Island for a couple of days and return to Adelaide
• Drive from Adelaide to Melbourne, stopping along the way several nights and enjoying the Great Ocean Road and its views
• Spend a couple of nights in Melbourne taking in the lovely old city--and probably wishing we could stay longer. We love Australia.

Now if you were ever wondering how to put together a trip on your own without a tour guide, without a travel agent, and without getting bused everywhere with 50+ other people, stay tuned. I'll give you some tips over the next couple of days.
Until then, I'm humming, "Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda. . ."

Next: Where in the world. . .?