Holiday Update

My latest holiday plan has gone flop – the back packing holiday is a no-goer. Reason? It would seem from all reports that the Tops to Myalls Heritage Trail has been abandoned, with parts of the route now so overgrown as to be unrecognizable. I have been told of walkers in recent times having to back track a fair distance when the way ahead was no longer able to be walked. So as disappointing as it is I have abandoned the trail myself and will now do something else.

With time running out for a settled option, I have decided to fall back on an earlier idea and that is to visit the Cathedral Rocks National Park and possibly do some further walks at the Dorrigo National Park. I have booked a vehicle (car rental) for the trip so things are fairly settled now as far as the destination is concerned. I am now going to put some meat on the bones of my idea and draw up an itinerary, Google Map, etc. So some real detail of what I plan to do will be coming over the next few weeks.

This isn’t going to be an expensive holiday or a long one, but is mean’t to be a simple time-out break and one that will allow me to plan some much bigger holidays for later in the year and into the coming year also.

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Destination: Back Packing Holiday

I have pretty much determined that my holiday is going to be a back packing trip through the wilderness along the ‘Tops to Myall’s Heritage Trail.’ Now I need to decide on just what part of the trail I’ll do, if indeed not all of it.

One of the determining factors for the trip will be the availability of transport. I would need to get to the Barrington Guesthouse in order to start the walk if doing the whole walk, or either get home from the Gloucester area or to the Gloucester area to start the walk. The start from near Gloucester wouldn’t be an issue – that would be fairly easy to solve with Countrylink and family I think (combo). I’m not sure about the Guesthouse option just yet, but looking into it a little. I could easily walk from where I live to the Gloucester area (and for that matter do a return walk if necessary – though I’d prefer to not do so). I also think that Countrylink could easily drop me off near the start of the walk up that way (along the Buckets Way) should that be necessary.

The most likely outcome is that I’ll travel to Gloucester with Countrylink and then get a lift to the walk starting point from my family the next day. I could try getting a lift to the guesthouse with the family also, but that is unlikely to be an option I would think.

Recycled Ink Cartridges to Build Bicycle Track in the West MacDonnell National Park

Here is a great recycling news story coming out of the Northern Territory in Australia – a 170km bicycle track is being built between Alice Springs and Simpson’s Gap in the West MacDonnell Ranges National Park, out of recycled plastics, including plastic from used printer ink cartridges. The bike track is a popular tourist destination in and around Alice Springs, so this upgrade is certainly a welcome one – especially given it that is being made out of recycled plastics. Full marks to the Northern
Territory government on this project – great news for all.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/13/recycled-ink-cartridges-used-to-build-bike-path-in-australian-na/

Visit Repeat Plastics Australia at:

http://www.replas.com.au/index.shtml

2010 Red Centre Holiday: Destination Videos

I have come across a few videos on YouTube of some of the places I’ll be going to during my upcoming holiday and thought I’d post them here. These include videos of Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park (Ayers Rock and The Olgas), Watarrka National Park (Kings Canyon), the West MacDonnell Ranges, Alice Springs and Cooper Pedy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holiday: Destination Decided

I’m fairly sure that I have now arrived at a decision as to my destination for my upcoming holiday. I’m fairly sure I’ll be going to Uluru, probably King’s Canyon and also some places around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. It seems like a fairly good time of the year to head that way.

I also have a date for the holiday and I will be away for two weeks.

More to come as I plan the trip.

Holiday: Time to Start Planning Again

It is time to start planning for my next holiday, which I am hoping to take sometime towards the end of June 2010. I’m not too sure just where I’ll be heading at this stage, but I am beginning to think that it might be good to head out west again (either to the Broken Hill area or to Uluru region) or to head north to the Daintree region.

So, in the next week or so I need to settle on both a date and a destination.

Holiday Planning: Progress is Being Made

I have been doing a little work on the planning side of things for my holiday. There have been some changes and these will be explained below.

Firstly, I have decided to push the holiday back a bit. There are a few public holidays during January 2010, so I think I can cope with a few extra weeks at work before needing the break. So instead of taking the holiday at the start of February, I am thinking of taking the holiday for two weeks in late February – early March 2010, or maybe a week or so later than that.

The later time for the holiday will also allow me to save for the trip and ensure I have everything I want for the holiday. I may even be able to get a digital video camera by then, which will be a great plus.

Secondly, the destination has also changed. I won’t be going out west as temperatures out that way are sure to be very hot and somewhat unbearable for any bushwalks I would want to do. The out west option will need to be looked at for a winter holiday (even though night temperatures are bound to be quite cold then). I do have a plan underway for that option also, which will probably mean a holiday in about August – September 2010 (but that is another story for another time). So to make sense of these two possible (probable) holidays in my Blog posts, the earlier holiday will be called the summer holiday 2010 and the later the winter holiday 2010.

So instead of going way out west for the summer holiday 2010, I’m thinking of going west a little (and to the south), before heading back to the southeast and travelling through the far southeast of New South Wales.

Are there any solid plans? Solid may not be quite the word for it, but I am settling on what I’d call a fairly sure itinerary for the first couple of days of summer holiday 2010. The date is certainly not fixed and that is really quite flexible at the moment. The itinerary for the first few days will probably be:

Day 1 Destination – Dubbo

Day 2 Destination – Conimbla National Park

Day 3 Destination – Wagga Wagga

So the next stage of planning will be to iron out the itinerary for these first three days before moving on towards my planned far southeast New South Wales travels.

For information on Conimbla National Park:

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkHome.aspx?id=N0053

Holiday Planning: Must get Moving on This

I am yet to come up with any real destination for my next holiday, despite saying it was time to plan back in August 2009. I do however, have a possible timeframe in which to have the holiday, so planning must now begin with some earnest.

I am hoping to go on my next trip at the start of February 2010 and it will be for about 2 weeks I think. I have no solid plans on just where to go, but I am thinking out west somewhere (New South Wales, Australia). I may even go to the Northern Territory.

So now it is time to really begin planning.

THINKING ABOUT MY NEXT TRIP

It has been quite some time since my last holiday. I expect I can do a day trip or two before my next holiday. However, it is time to start planning a more substantial holiday. I need to do this in order to get myself motivated and to have something to work towards. My holidays have always been better when I have planned ahead for them.

So, step number one is to come up with a destination or perhaps a route. I need a planned itinerary, a place to go or some plan for my holiday. So that is the first step.