australia: maps

political:

physical:

schedule

					fri 3 arrive!	sat 4 sydney
sun 5 sydney	mon 6 sydney	tues 7 byron bay	wed 8 byron bay	thurs 9 brisbane	fri 10 brisbane	sat 11 brisbane
sun 12 fraser island	mon 13 fraser island	tues 14 townsville	wed 15 townsville	thurs 16 townsville	fri 17 cairns	sat 18 cairns
sun 19 cairns fly to darwin	mon 20 darwin	tues 21 kakadu	wed 22 Ghan leaves Weds or Sat	thurs 23 Ghan Alice Springs	fri 24 uluru	sat 25 uluru
sun 26 uluru Ghan leaves in afternoon	mon 27 Ghan	tues 28 adelaide	wed 29 adelaide	thurs 30 adelaide	fri 31 melbourne	sat 1 melbourne
sun 2 sydney	mon 3 sydney	tues 4 sydney	wed 5 leave

not sure what's up with the big space up there.
Thinking about booking my airplane ticket from cairns to darwin...

itinerary, version two

• Fly into Sydney. Hang out in Sydney. Wait for Naomi to arrive. Walk around to see fancy buildings, historic houses, botanical gardens, Jewish Museum, parliament, Manly Scenic Walkaway, Bondi to Coogee Clifftop trail, football or rugby game, home hospitality, Royal National Park. (4 days)

• Train/bus (Country Link) up to Byron Bay. Enjoy the beach and possibly the Splendour in the Grass music festival (British spelling). Nevermind, that is happening July 25. (2 days.)
  

• Bus/train (Country Link) to Brisbane. See City Hall, Museum of Brisbane, more fancy buildings, Commissariat Stores Building which offers "thorough insight into Brisbane's gruesome penal history," botanical gardens, more museums, biking in the South Bank Parklands, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (the world's first and largest), bicycling, lawn bowling, rugby or AFL game, Moreton Bay. (3 days)
  

• Gold Coast. Lamington National Park. (2 days)
  

• Slowly meander up the Sunshine Coast, Capricorn Coast, Whitsunday Coast, and the rest of the coastline up to Townsville. Australia Zoo, surf lessons, Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola), Rainbow Beach, Fraser Island camping (UNESCO), Dunk Island. Great Barrier Reef. Islands, beaching, snorkling, drinking, reading, koala spotting. Undara Volcanic National Park. Gondwana Rain Forest? (UNESCO) Stoney Creek Farmstay? Pick bananas? (7 days)

• Cairns. Botanical gardens, Crystal Cascade waterfalls, Scenic Railway and Skyrail to Kuranda, Wooroonooran Safari day trek, Cape Tribulation Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. (3 days)

• Fly to Darwin. Or fly to Jabiru because Darwin isn't that exciting. Kakadu National Park backpacking. (3 days)

• Take the Ghan train to Alice Springs. (Get Great Southern Railways Pass which allows for unlimited travel on this line?) Kings Canyon and Uluru. (3 days)

• Ghan train to Adelaide. (1+2 days)
  

• Train to Melbourne on Southern Railway train. World Exhibition Building (UNESCO). Not sure what else there is to do here yet. (2 days)
  

• Back to Sydney. (14 hour train ride) Take the train through the Blue Mountains (UNESCO), Katoomba. See Red Hands Cave, Echo Point, Three Sisters Rock Formation, lots of waterfalls, Jenolan Caves. (Beware/yay Yulefest celebrations in Blue Mountains.) Shop for souvenirs. (3 days.) Fly out of Sydney.