Litchfield National Park is actually a more popular National Park with territorian locals than Kakadu – why? You can visit all it’s sites in one day, you can swim without fear of crocodiles, and you don’t have to pay fees to get in. of particular note are it’s swimming holes and waterfalls.
The Grove Hill Hotel is a real outback boozer 16 km’s off the main road. Every month the publicans Stan and Mary put on a free bbq.
Had a great night, met some interesting locals, enjoyed the pre 1970′s music Stan was playing…and even had a dance.
Katherine’s major tourist attraction is the Katherine Gorge which consists of 13 natural gorges carved through sandstone by the Katherine River.
We interviewed a French Helicopter Pilot, William Massart, who takes joy flights over the gorge.
Wycliffe Well Roadhouse is known as Australia’s premier U.F.O. sightings location. Numerous people have reported seeing strange lights in the sky while staying a Wycliffe.
I interviewed Lew Farkas, owner of the roadhouse about the U.F.O. sightings.
In Alice Springs we enjoyed trying crocodile, kangaroo, camel and emu at Overlander Steakhouse and let our hair down at Bojangles Saloon
Situated 117 km’s West of Alice Springs. Wallace Rock Hole is an Aranda Aboriginal community which runs Aboriginal Culture Rockart tours which cover such things as bush medicine, bush tucker, the history of the Aranda people and visits to ancient rock art sites
We interviewed Benjamin, a local guide about his community.
In Coober Pedy we interviewed Jenny Gough from the Old Timers Mine
Jenny is a long term resident of Coober Pedy and in the video talks about how a stoke of good luck resulted in finding and funding the Old Timers Mine.
In Adelaide we interviewed Anna Pak Poy from nomads world – Australia’s finest chain of backpacking hostels
Anna helped organise our accommodation for the trip. She was born and bred in Adelaide and has such a passion for the place, we couldn’t go past interviewing her.
Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory is a great base Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory is a great base from which to explore the Top End’s many attractions. While in Darwin make sure you visit museum and it’s fascinating Cyclone Tracey exhibition (Darwin was demolished by a cyclone in 1974) , catch a movie at the open air deck chair cinema, feed the fish at aquascene, have a feed at the wharf precinct and check out one of the many fantastic markets.
Darwin has a unique population mix with 75% of people aged under 25 years. It is also very multicultural, having over fifty different nationalities living harmoniously together. To capture the face of darwin, I interviewed Bow Chooiam a 17 year old first generation Thai girl who I met working at her parents stall at the Parap markets. Click on the pic to the left to hear her story.
Between Darwin and Kakadon’t is the Point Stuart Wilderness Lodge Catch a barramundi, take a cruise and see a croc in the Mary River, watch a great Aborigine culture show, or just take it easy. Well worth checking out
100 kms east of Katherine, Manyallaluk is an Aboriginal owned and operated tourism business. Visitors can do tours where they learn various aspects of Aboriginal Culture. The emphasis is on having fun and getting involved in the activities.
The first thing that I noticed about Manyallaluk is how happy everyone is who is lives out there.The guides love their work and really enjoy passing on their bush knowledge to the ‘white fellas’.
A true cultural experience and one I advise every visitor to Australia, and every Aussie, should experience. A beautiful gem of a place
I interviewed Peter Bolgi about his job as a guide.
Mataranka has some great natural springs where you can swim safely without becoming a crocodiles dinner. We stayed at the Territory Manor where they feed tame leaping barramundi twice a day.
Out here in the outback, pubs and petrol stops are the hub of the universe. It is not unusual to travel 300 km between fuel stations. Renner Springs is one such stop, slap bang in the middle of nowhere. It is sustained by a natural spring. All fruit, vegetables and meat come from Adelaide 2,206 km south and petrol supplies are freighted 836 km from Darwin. I interviewed Jasmine, a bar maid at Renner for the last two years. What sort of woman lives in such an isolated location?
Thirty minutes drive from Mt. Isa, West Leichardt station is a 310,000 acre cattle station. Up here there are two seasons, the dry and the wet. Currently it is the end of the dry season, a time of maintenance and repair. It’s also a time of waiting…waiting for the first rains to hit. The land is harsh and dry, having gone up to 40 weeks without rain. I interviewed station owner Ron Croft about life in the outback.
Ron has his dams stocked with a variety of fish including Barramundi and Sooty Grunter. We had a go with the rods and caught two Sooty Grunters with the first two casts.
Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria, is renown for it’s great sport fishing. It is currently the build up to the wet season with temperatures soar above 40 degrees, with humidity around 75%. You really have to be here to understand how draining this sort of climate can be. People tend to get a bit stir crazy this time of year, waiting for the first rains of the wet to fall. And when the wet does hit, Karumba can be cut off from the rest of the world for up to 12 weeks due to flood waters cutting road access. During these times food drops are made by helicopter for stranded Karumba residents
Local police officer Jason Jesse is a keen fisherman who took us out on his boat to catch some barramundi, Australia’s premier native sports fish.
The Undara lava tubes were formed one hundred and ninety thousand years ago when a volcanic eruption spewed lava along creeks and riverbeds to form the lava tubes left today.
I interviewed Savannah Guide Val Speedie. Savannah guides is a network of professional tour guides with an in-depth collective knowledge of the natural and cultural assets of the tropical savannahs of northern Australia. Val has been a guide at Undara for the last ten years and has a vast knowledge of the area. Click on pic to the left to see her video.
We tried doing some night driving to beat the intense day time heat. Not a good idea in the outback, the roads were thick with kamakazi kangaroos and roaming cattle. During a 150 km journey the carnage toll was three kangaroos and one unidentified flying bird. Without a roo bar we would have been in for some serious damage to the car. In the end we only lost a headlight.
Only one hours drive from Cairns, the tablelands feature some magnificant waterfalls, crater lakes and rainforest. We also dropped into the Crystal Caves at Atherton which feature a great collection of crystals and fossils from around the world.
Join Australian filmmaker Mark Shea as he continues traveling up the East Coast of Australia meeting local people and exploring their hometowns.
In this episode he meets -
*a Socialite Publisher on the Gold Coast,
*a Magician in Noosa,
*a visit to the World’s Largest Sand Island,
*an Irish Backpacker at Airlie Beach,
*the unique wildlife of Magnetic Island,
*Great Barrier Reef diving at Cairns
*living off the land at Cape Tribulation
Join Australian filmmaker Mark Shea as he travels the East Coast of Australia meeting local people and exploring their hometowns. The whole half hour program, visiting locations from Melbourne to Nimbin.
Stories include:
*Musician Wendy Rule in Melbourne,
*Paddle Steamers in Echuca,
*an Aboriginal Sacred Site called Mumbulla Mountain,
*the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra,
*a performing Drag Queen in Sydney,
*a Beachcombing Artist in Byron Bay,
*a Forest Dwelling Hippy in Nimbin
Cultural Ambassador, Paul sings a song to the backpackers at a hostel in Cape Tribulation. His Greendoor song tells the story of a country boy who moves to the city, and stops the country pursuit of ferreting.
