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Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic EvolutionSM
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Kangaroo Sunset Australia Part Two...

For my 50th birthday, in November '05, Tami and I drove over 5,800 km (3,600 miles) along the west and north coasts of Australia. Our plan was to cover about 10,000 km but Tami broke her leg so we came back to the States a bit early to finish up her surgeries. Nevertheless, it was an interesting road trip and these three web pages cover about 10 percent of the photos we took!

 

 

Yellow Arrow Pointing Right Click Here for my main Australia page...
Yellow Arrow Pointing Right Click Here for Tami's broken leg in Australia...

 

Australia is a huge, wonderful country that's nearly the size of our lower 48 states. They're very lucky in that they don't have our gigantic population problem so there's plenty of elbow room for everyone. However, Australians always seem eager to give up their personal freedom and liberty as evidenced by citizens allowing their government to take away guns. Australians generally feel entitled so they happily endure high taxes and the "nanny" state. Also, like everywhere else on the planet, Australia's indigenous peoples received a thorough screwing but there's a very conscious effort underway to right those wrongs throughout the country...

 

(Click on any "Thumbnail" image for a larger view)

 

Australian Road Trains:

Tami and I certainly encountered a lot of Road Trains - many of which were nearly 150 feet in length! Apparently length restrictions vary around the country - conducting a quick Internet serach I discovered there are some Australian Road Trains with 98 wheels!!
Australia 50 Metre Long Road Trains - November, 2005 Australia Road Train Back - November, 2005 Australia Road Train Blue - November, 2005 Australia Road Train Yellow - November, 2005 Doon Doon Roadhouse, Australia - November, 2005

 

Australian Signs and Related Road Stuff:

Outback, out west, and up north we found that the speed limit was either 110 km (68 mph) or unlimitted! The second photo below, featuring the sign with a black circle and slash, is the Australian "No Speed Limit" sign. Although I like the idea of no speed limits it can certainly be dangerous - especially in the hands of foreigners who aren't accustomed to driving on the left-hand side of the highway while dodging Kangaroo!!
Australia 110 km Speed Limit - November, 2005 Australia No Speed Limit - November, 2005 Australia 24 Hours Stopping - November, 2005 Australia 26th Parallel - November, 2005 Australia Give Way - November, 2005
Australia Coastal Highway - November, 2005 Australia Endless Road - November, 2005 Australia Single Lane Bridge - November, 2005 Australia Floodway - November, 2005 Australia Free Coffee for Driver - November, 2005
Australia Cattle Grid - November, 2005 Australia Grid for Cattle - November, 2005 Australia Highway One - November, 2005 Australia Limited Water 423 KM - November, 2005 Australia Mobil Last Fuel for 200 km - November, 2005
Australia National Highway - November, 2005 Australia Tropic of Capricorn - November, 2005 Australia Pardoo Roadhouse Regrets - November, 2005 Australia Pardoo Roadhouse - November, 2005 Australia Pardoo Roadhouse Tami Wendell - November, 2005
Australia Overtaking Lane - November, 2005 Australia Peawah Sign - November, 2005 Australia 80 KM to Next Stop - November, 2005 Australia Rest Area Locations - November, 2005 Royal Flying Doctor Service Emergency Airstrip on Highway - November, 2005
Australia Single Lane Bridge - November, 2005 Welcome to Western Australia - November, 2005 Australia Shire of Roebourne - November, 2005 Australia Stuart Highway - November, 2005 Northern Territory Road Deaths Total 46 - November, 2005
Australia Right Hand Drive, Tami - November, 2005 2 Metre Flood Zone - November, 2005 Australia Vehicle Roo Bar - November, 2005 Australia Dead Kangaroo Along the Road - November, 2005 Australia Kangaroo Sign - November, 2005
In the third photo, bottom, is a typical Australian vehicle sporting a "Roo Bar" - metal guards to bounce Kangroo and other animals away from your vehicle while speeding down the Outback... Also, if you look closely (by clicking on the thumbnail image) you'll see the air-intake sits way up high above the windshield - the idea is to allow a quick run across flooded highways without drowning-out your engine. You can see Tami, in the adjacent photo, standing next to a 2 metre flood zone marker - very typical throughout the state of Western Australia and the Northern Territory...

 

Dive Flag Coral Bay (Western Australia):
We enjoyed a few hours of snorkeling and
sightseeing from this glass-bottom boat
in the warm and pure waters of the Indian Ocean...
Roger Snorkeling in Coral Bay, Australia - November, 2005 Shore of Coral Bay, Australia - November, 2005 Coral Bay Glass Bottom Boat, Australia - November, 2005 Coral Bay Glass Bottom Boat, Australia - November, 2005
Coral Bay Glass Bottom Boat, Australia - November, 2005 Coral Bay Glass Bottom Boat, Australia - November, 2005 Coral Bay Glass Bottom Boat, Australia - November, 2005 Coral Bay Twin Motor Glass Bottom Boat, Australia - November, 2005

 

Darwin Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts Club:

This very large and active club was located just a couple blocks from the Capricornia hotel where I stayed waiting for Tami at the hospital...
Darwin, Australia Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts Club at the Old Qantas Hangar - November, 2005 Darwin, Australia Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts Club - November, 2005 Darwin, Australia Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts Club, 'Mind The Step' - November, 2005 Darwin, Australia Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts Club Model A Ford - November, 2005 Darwin, Australia Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts Club Model T Ford - November, 2005

 

Australia Miscellanea:

Our flight from Los Angeles to Sydney was pretty darn comfortable since it was only one third full! Once the captain turned off the seat belt sign passengers immediately jumped to cover two and three seats at a time for maximum sleeping comfort - it was a great flight - despite its 15 hour duration!
Darwin, Australia Traffic Calming Scheme - November, 2005 Qantas Flight to Australia - November, 2005 Qantas Flight to Australia, Tami Wendell - November, 2005 Qantas Flight to Australia, Roger Wendell - November, 2005 Left Hand Drive Australia - November, 2005
Darwin, Australia Botanic Gardens - November, 2005 Darwin, Australia World War II Slit Trench - November, 2005 Darwin Airport - November, 2005 Pinnacles National Park, Western Australia - November, 2005 Pinnacles National Park, Western Australia - November, 2005

 

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Northern Australian WIlderness Protected
The Nature Conservancy, Winter 2007, p. 19

"The Nature Conservancy has provided major funding to help the Australian WIldlife Conservancy acquire Wongalara, a 472,000-acre wilderness area in the Top End of Australia's Northern Territory. The remote landscape includes a suite of threatened ecosystems such as monsoon rainforest, wetlands, sandstone communities and streamside vegetation. It is also home to more than 200 bird species, 40 mammal species, and a variety of amphibians and reptiles. An endowment made possible by The Nature Conservancy will finance the long-term management costs of this habitat and allow nationally endangered species like the northern quoll and Gouldian finch to flourish."

 

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Links:

  1. Aconcagua (Argentina)
  2. Africa (Eastern) - Kenya, Tanzania, and my Kilimanjaro climb
  3. Africa (Southern) - Our trip through Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
  4. Amazonia
  5. Argentina and Brazil
  6. ABC the Australia Broadcasting Corporation
  7. Australian Slang Dictionary
  8. Australia - my main Australia page
  9. China
  10. CIA World Factbook on Australia
  11. Climbing
  12. Climbing Photos
  13. Ecuador
  14. France
  15. Hawaii
  1. Hiking
  2. India
  3. India Two
  4. Japan
  5. Mexico
  6. New Zealand
  7. Russia
  8. San Francisco
  9. Silk Road
  10. Tami's Broken Leg - in Australia!
  11. The Australian - Australia's National Daily Newspaper
  12. Tibet
  13. Travel and Travel Two
  14. United Kingdom
  15. Werrong Lane - Sydney, Australia

 

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