Newsletter 28, April 2007

The rain has gone. Time to see what' it's done. Read on and find out what makes this year different.

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In This Issue...
Rain, rain and more rain

Since my last newsletter, things have been truly amazing.

Kakadu and the Top End

  • In February, Jabiru received an all time monthly record of 800 mm rain.
  • In March, the new record was smashed when Jabiru got 1139 mm.
  • Things have begun drying out nicely since then. It should be a great year at the Top.

The Green Centre

  • The Centre got its heaviest rains in the last few years in March. Central Australia isn't red this year, it's green.
  • Both our mid year Centralian trips are definite departures. Both are small groups. It's a great year to go.

The Kimberley

  • Although February was a bit drier than normal, the region had excellent rains in March.
  • It's already drying out nicely so this is going to be a good year for bushwalking.

"The Top End in the wet season is nothing short of hydro pornography."

The quote above is from the 14 April Weekend Australian Travel Section. If you didn't see the original, the link above is well worth a look.

If you'd like to see a few photos of the Kakadu floods in early March, click the links below.

  • Flood report no. 1. This is a 2.25 MB pdf. Sorry but I couldn't edit it down. If you've ever been to Cooinda, you'd appreciate just how much water was there for Cooinda to look like it does in the photo.
  • Flood report no. 2. This is a 230 KB Word document. The photos were taken a week to ten days after those in the first document.
Magic May

For the first time ever, we have five definite, overlapping departures in May. Kakadu Circle No. 1 is fully booked, but the others all have space available. As I said in the February newsletter, my greatest regret this year is that I can't possibly do two of the May trips myself. May is when the tail end of the Wet turns into the Dry, a time when rain is very unlikely, when the rivers and waterfalls are all still flowing well.

  • The Mitchell Explorer: 13 May - 10 June
    This trip will be led by long-time guide, Amelia Hunter. It consists of three sections, any of which can be done on its own. It combines the best of what we've been doing for years with an amazing river system we visited for the first time in 2006.
    Only three spaces left on the full trip or section two.
    Special Offer.The aircraft taking people in and out between sections are almost empty so ...
    • Do any one section and take 25% off the list price.
    • Do any two consecutive sections and take 15% off the list price.
    • Do the full trip and take 10% off the list price.
  • Kakadu Highlights No. 4: 20 May - 2 June
    The first section of this trip visits one of the greatest concentrations of Aboriginal art in Kakadu. The second section visits what, from the air, appears to be one of the most interesting parts of Nitmiluk National Park. Aboriginal guides will explain the things you see in a way that non-Aboriginal guides could never do. If I hadn't already committed myself to lead the Kakadu Circle trip, this is the one I'd be doing. It's a small group led by new guide Don Butcher.
    Special Offer. It's such a small group that we need another booking to break even on costs. Our loss is your gain. Book now and take 15% off the price of the full trip or either section on its own.
  • Carr Boyd Explorer: 20 May - 2 June
    This trip consists of two sections, either of which can be done on its own. A boat across Lake Argyle brings you to the beginning of a walk through fascinating gorges and past lovely waterfalls. A helicopter food drop in the middle means that you don't need to carry the full two weeks food.
    Special Offer. Buses, boats and helicopters -- we have empty seats on all our transport so book now and take 15% off the price of the full trip or either section. This trip will be led by Paul Benjafield.
  • Kimberley Highlights No. 1: 27 May - 23 June
    This trip gives you the ultimate taste of the different landscapes of the east Kimberley. It consists of five sections, any of which can be done on its own. Guide Cassie Newnes.
    Special Offer. We have empty seats on all our transport so book now and take 15% off the price of the full trip or any section.
Note. There are only one to three places available at the special offer prices above. First in wins.
Australian Rogaining Championships

For the first time ever, the Austrailain Rogaining Champtionshops will be held in the NT. They will be held near Alice Springs on 28-29 July.
In addition to the roagine, two orienteering events will be held in Alice Springs during the week before the rogaine.
Want more?
Our Watarrka (Kings Canyon) trip finishes the weekend before.
If a few people are interested, we'll offer a special six day East Macdonnells trip beginning on Monday 30 July.
If you think you might be interested in the East Macs, please send us an email and we'll send details.

Last Chance -- June and July

June
Other than some of the sections of the trips beginning in May, we have only four June departures still available.

July
July is the coolest and most comfortable month of the year. It is usually our peak season. For the first time I can recall, we have more bookings in August than July. The following two trips are our only definite departures.

All other July departures are still available but Kakadu Highlights No. 5: 1-14 July is the only other July departure which has any bookings.

Any trip leaving before 29 July which has no bookings by 4 May will be cancelled.
August Onwards

We've already got bookings as far ahead as July 2008. Four trips are either already definite departures or need only one or two more bookings to become so. All are still available at substantial advance purchase discounts.

  • Kakadu Highlights No. 7, Sec 2: 20-25 August. Our shortest walk with an Aboriginal guide. Note. We need only one more booking to guarantee departure. Section one of this trip does not yet have any bookings. (Given the nature of that walk, that's a real surprise.)
  • Mitchell Plateau No. 3: 19 August - 1 September. Not using helicopters makes this the least expensive of our Mitchell Plateau trips.
    Only one place available.
  • Kakadu Highlights No. 8, 26 August - September 8. Three separate walks, any of which can be done on its own.
    Special Offer. Book section two of Kakadu Highlights No. 7 in combination with Kakadu Highlights No. 8 and take an extra 10% off the combined price after all our normal discounts.
  • Kakadu Highlights No. 12: 25 October - 2 November This trip combines one of the nicest, most relaxed walks in Kakadu with a day and night on a houseboat on the Mary River. It's a trip I really enjoy so I've guaranteed the departure for a small group and will lead it myself.
Overseas Trips

I've just returned from 7 weeks in southern Africa. It was a fantastic trip -- but then again, all our Africa trips have been pretty amazing. But, as good as they are, they don't all run.
Our September trip to South Africa does not yet have the bookings we need to guarantee departure. If we don't have them by the end of May, we'll have to cancel it.

South America is where we began our overseas trips way back in 1990. We don't have enough Spanish speaking guides to run as many trips as we'd like. We've got a probable charter group for Peru and Chile. If that gets confirmed, we may or may not be able to offer our normal Patagonia trip. if you think you might be interested, get in soon so we can line up a guide.

We have two arctic trips on offer next year.

Things to do in Darwin

Some new local tours have just started up. I haven't had the chance to try them yet, but they are the kind of thing we've needed for a long time. If you find yourself in Darwin with a bit of time on your hands, you might want to consider one of the following.

  • Darwin Walking Tours
    A two hour walking tour of the central city area, lots of history from pre-European times to the present.
  • Darwin Bicycle Tours
    This three hour tour takes you a bit further afield, bicycles provided.
Work with Willis

Several of our long time guides have retired or are about to retire. There is no pattern as to which trips will get booked in which year. If we can't find more qualified guides who could be available for one or two trips per year, we may have to drastically cut back on what we offer. If you think you might be qualified to lead a trip and if you would be interested in doing so, please drop us a line and ask for more information.

I am especially keen to find at least one other guide who is fluent in Spanish.
Special discounts -- combine them and save even more.

Book now and save! As in the past, if you are one of the first three people who quote this newsletter when booking any Australian trip within two weeks of when we sent it out, you will get an extra 10% discount on any trip where your total discounts are 10% or less. You'll get an extra 5% off if your total discounts are 15% or more.

Note. There has to be a limit. The maximum total discount on any trip is 35%.

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Best wishes to all.
Russell Willis