Happy Australia Day to Aussie Grady owners

[richie rich]

Alice Springs? Going to climb Uluru? Hot as Hell is an understatement.....115F mid day....they won't even take you on a tour if you don't have enough water or don't drink enough......the hikes normally happen around 5 or 6am.....if you're not on Uluru by say 8am, they will not let you go up.....too hot.....but it is a great view!! The sunset trips are nice as well.....during the day you'll be watching a lot of cricket because you are very isolated from the rest of the country....good night time star gazing....sounds like a great trip......

 

[LUNDINROOF]

Richie:
We are going to Uluru but its my understanding that we will not be allowed to climb it. Its seems that the natives have asked that we show respect for what they consider a sacred place.
We will do a lot of hiking in the area, all of it guided and supervised so hopefully we will not get in too much trouble.
The problem we are having is that on our cruise around New Zealand we expect some cool weather, high 40's and low 50's at night. We have to pack for winter and summer weather.
I know some of you guys from up north are going to laugh at my considering upper 40's to be cold but anything below 70F is cold to us.

 

[richie rich]

Too bad you can't climb...its really interesting up there......even though you're not used to colder weather, at high 40's and 50's I don't think you need Artic Parkas or skiing gear....just good quality layers to put on and peel off when hot....stuff a mountian hiker would use...anyway, you didn't mention the Barrier Reef....you gotta check that out....dives and snorkling is awesome...the water color and life is amazing

 

[jekyl]

Cairns is only 4 hours up the road from us. It will be like your summer hot and wet I guess. Whereas Alice will be hot and dry and yes NZ could be cool if you are circumnavigating the south island. Certainly a good jumper and windbreaker should be enough at this time of year tho'.

If you need a guide or answers to questions whilst in NQ my phone 0410 684891

 

[KingJ]

Hey guys,

This website is amazing. In case you don’t already know about it:
http://www.vpike.com/
I was able to spend the afternoon driving around my Australian hometown of Melbourne, reminiscing. It’s been 10+ years.

But, I also enjoyed “driving around” Townsville! Jekyl, I tried to spot the marina to see some boats, but will need to spend more time. An actual visit would help.

In the early 90s, I flew up to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef once, but didn’t get around much from there at the time. (I have to say that I snorkeled with fish bigger than a car, sharks, squid, and so many fish-tanks full of amazing earthlings, that it is beyond my words.)

A mate of mine lived in Townsville in the 70s/80s and he gave me the impression that all the houses were on stilts due to the moisture. But from this afternoon’s “drive”, there appears to be heaps of high ground, and I can see how that is wrong and/or has changed a lot. You learn something new every day.

 

[jekyl]

In the years past houses were built on stilts to keep them cool and also to avoid the wet when it flooded. Most developments have much better drainage now and ther are weirs in the rivers . Plus it is quicker and cheaper to build with brick these days so that is what most of us get.

We had an old timber "high set" house and we loved it but the maintenance can prevent you from having time for a boat!

 

[Kenlahr]

Cheers Mate and a bleated happy Aussie Day. Tonight we are getting 30+ inches of snow ... Would't minde being on Maggie in the morning vice facing a long drive way to shovel!