No Pockets in Shrouds #7: October 8th Letter

I have had a number of e-mails asking me how I have planned my trips and also how I came to choose the hostels that I did. Other people have asked me to rate the hostels and also let them know if there are any decent pubs nearby. So, I will backtrack and cover the places I have visited.

As I stated in my first article, the best way to find and contact the YHA is to go into the Australian YHA web site. Use the search engine in the site for the towns that you want to visit and all the rates and contact information is there.

Melbourne

N.B. I decided to stay in a single room as I would be tired and felt that I would sleep better after my journey from the UK. It was the only time that I’ve stayed in a single room since I got here and I won’t do it again. Quite simply, when you go in a single room you are exactly what it says – alone.

When you go in a dorm for 4, 6 or 8 people the first thing you do is introduce yourself to everybody and immediately you have got people to go out for a drink with that night. Remember – there is nothing worse than being alone in a crowd. I didn’t find any pubs nearby as I was suffering from jet-lag and couldn’t keep awake during the day.

I went on numerous tours whilst I was there. There are plenty of brochures in all the hostels advertising tours and I sat down with my Rough Guide and looked at all the brochures and decided where I wanted to go. I have also learnt a lot by asking other guests and also the staff where they would recommend I visit.

I have found that being a member of the YHA has given me a lot of discounts, so I would recommend everyone to join even if you are not going to stop in YHAs. I did two tours in one day in Melbourne and got a reduction of nearly A$20 – quite a saving.

Adelaide

Friday, October 8th and Saturday, October 9th

I decided that for the last two days of my stay in Adelaide that I would have a laze. I did very little apart from visit the town and generally just passed the time of day. I was saying to someone how nice the weather had been in Adelaide after the thunderstorm on my first day – but I spoke too soon.

On the Saturday, the heavens opened again and we had an almighty storm. Me and my big mouth. I thought as I went to sleep on the Saturday night that as I was going to Alice Springs the next day, at least I could look forward to some dry weather. Me and my big mouth.

Sunday, October 10th

Got up nice and early for my flight to Alice Springs. It had stopped raining and was, in fact, a lovely day. Ansett were on time with their flight and I had a trouble free journey to Alice Springs.

On leaving the aircraft and walking across the tarmac, the thing that hit me was the heat – boy was it hot. I picked up my luggage and boarded the transit bus for the YHA. The first thing that struck me was how green the place was. When I got to Alice Springs I was surprised that it was not what I was expecting. I realise now that it was very na�ve of me, but I thought there would be dirt roads and a few shops and houses and that would be it. In fact, it is a small town of 20,000+ people. You would not think you were in the middle of Australia’s outback when you’re walking round the shopping mall.

The YHA is an old outdoor cinema and is quite novel in its setup. The situation could not have been better and I had no sooner dropped my bags in my room than I was off wandering the streets of Alice Springs. I think everybody used Alice Springs as a starting point for Ayers Rock, and you can include me in that category as well. It is only when you get here that you realise that there is plenty to see here as well. I, unfortunately, never gave myself enough time but I have been told that the MacDonnell Ranges are fantastic. I have put this down as another excuse to come again.

I went for a drink to a bar called Scotty’s, which is just round the corner from the YHA. Had a great night. Cheap food and a good resident band who play bongos, drums, guitar and didgeridoo. They also get the audience involved and everybody has a great time.

I had booked a balloon flight for the next morning after a recommendation from a fellow traveller on the Great Ocean Road (thanks Ruth, you were right, it was brilliant). I was picked up at 4.00am (that is not a spelling mistake) and we proceeded out into the desert. It transpires that they have to find a suitable launch site depending on the wind. They like to be airborne to catch the dawn.

It cost me approx A$130 and it was well worth it. You have an hour in the air travelling at heights from 10 metres up to over 1,000 metres. You could see kangaroo, horses, cattle and I also saw a wedge-tailed eagle and a flock of budgerigars. After the flight we sat down to a champagne breakfast out in the bush. I was back in my room for about 9.30am. I flew with Balloons Down Under but there is also another company called Spinifex. Both are pretty much the same from what I can gather.

This was my last day in Alice, so I spent it looking round the shops and just trying to take in the history of the place. Went to Scotty’s bar again and had a few beers with some of the lads out of the room and then to bed. I hadn’t been in bed long when the thunder and lightning started. I couldn’t believe it – why me?

It rained all night and when I left for the bus station the next morning it was still raining. I was travelling to Ayers Rock by Greyhound Pioneer using my kilometre pass. You buy a pass for a certain amount of kilometres. There is a 10% discount if you are a member of the YHA and they are also giving 10% extra kilometres until the end of November. It cost me A$261 for a 3,000 kilometres pass, which in effect gave me 3,300 kilometres. The beauty of the pass is that you can use if for the Ayers Rock Tours and this can save you a lot of money.

We set off for Ayers Rock and it was still raining. In fact, it rained all the way to Ayers Rock. We had two tour guides – Hans and a new driver to the area, Scott, who was learning the ropes. They were a couple of great guys and they certainly knew their stuff about the country of Australia.

Alice Springs

Thanks to the people that have e-mailed me at golf.diving4fun at virgin dot net.

Please keep sending messages.

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