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Tags: On Walkabout / Australia Travel / Qantas / Tiger Airways / Train Travel / Driving / → All Tags

Getting Out To The Aussie Outback

The Australian outback is a strange beast: Part desert, part simple empty land, it covers most of the country. But it's also, some say, one of the most beautiful places on earth, and we want to tell you how to get there.

The first thing to remember is that you can't just take a day trip to the outback, like many tourists plan. It'll take a day just to get there. The easiest way is to fly into Alice Springs, pretty much smack bang in the middle of the country. Aussie airline Qantas flies in from all major Australian cities and curiously, Tiger Airways has started up a Melbourne to Alice Springs route.

A great way to get into the Outback without flying is to take the Ghan Railway from Adelaide to Darwin via Alice Springs--a great way, but not a cheap way.

And for stubborn travelers who insist on driving into the outback themselves, the motto is to be prepared. Stock up on extra fuel, a lot of extra water, make sure your car's reliable and basically get a ton of advice or you'll risk frying up in the middle of nowhere. No matter how beautiful it is, you don't want it to be the last place you see.

Related Stories:
· And Now, An Even More Expensive Way to See the Desert [Jaunted]
· Won't Get Fooled Again [Jaunted]
· Australia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: anniemullinsuk]

Tags: Australia / hiking / tourism / dumb tourists / → All Tags

Won't Get Fooled Again?

Australia's a really big and really empty land, so getting lost is understandable. A 50-year-old Briton had this problem last week in a station a couple of miles north of Alice Springs where he went bushwalking without a hat or sunscreen and with hardly any water. Three days later, when he was still definitely lost, he called for help on his cell phone, and was located after an air search. A bit of a bill for taxpayers, a lot of sunburn, and a whole lot of embarrassment was the result.

What would you do next? Well, our friend here decided to take one last walk in the outback before flying home. The result? He got lost again. This time three helicopters were needed before he was found, and now he's resting in the hospital with dehydration.

To head out there twice, we think he must have really been looking for something. Perhaps one of those killer big bananas or the nightmarish giant koala? We highly recommend taking a more regular tourist route when you're in Oz, or at least remembering your hat and suncream.

[Image via faz./Flickr]

Related stories:
Outback Tourist Rescued Twice in a Week [Sydney Morning Herald]
Koalas: Cute When Small ... [Jaunted]
This is a Banana [Jaunted]