Newsletter 31, October 2007

In This Issue...
The Slide Show

Frank and Micky Whitehouse, two of the clients on our May 2007 Kakadu Circle trip, have produced a really great slide show with background music and captions. It beats any single slide show I've ever done. Better still, it gives you a completely unbiased view of what our trips are like.

The show includes pictures of Aboriginal art sites. Publishing pictures of art sites is a sensitive issue so I've had to clear it with the Kakadu authorities. They've given me permission to use it, so here it is.

It's not a small file. The downloadable Windows Media Player Version is 23 MB, so it will take several minutes to download with the fastest web connections available. It will take longer with slower connections.

The original is 300 MB and was designed to be played on a TV via a DVD player. I'm happy to send out a copy to anyone who wants it. Unfortunately, I'll have to ask for $5 per disk to cover the cost of postage plus the DVD. You can have my copying time for free.

Bushwalking keeps you young! It must. Frank and Micky were over 60 when they did their first trip with me in 1992. They've been coming back regularly ever since. They are currently the oldest (but not by much) to go down the Cascades Creek waterslide. Give them a few more years and they may break the record for our oldest client (80), a record which has stood since 1988.
The Most Laid Back and Relaxed Trip We Offer

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.

The main walk will be in the Graveside area. This is an area full of cascades and waterfalls, of deep shady gorges and fern-lined pools. We've even got the best natural water slide in the park. If you'd like to see more photos, have a look at our Kakadu Circle No. 1 photo gallery and scroll down to days 14 to 16.

The houseboat is a completely different experience. We cruise slowly along the Mary River, watching the hundreds of birds that line the river banks and enjoying the changing scenery around us. Those who wish to try their hand at catching a barramundi have a chance to do so. Camping on a houseboat on the water will give you the coolest night of the trip.

Bid on this trip. As an experiment, we are offering to auction one place on this trip with bids starting at $875, a 50% discount. We tried listing it on eBay but they removed the listing because it mentioned our website. We believe that it is very important for people have never done any overnight bushwalking to visit our Is it for you page before they place a bid. We don't think it would be fair for us to accept bids from people who might not realise what they are bidding on so unless eBay changes their mind, we will accept email bids sent to walkabout@ais.net.au before 5 pm AEST on 11 October. We will list the current high bid on our Tour Availability page.
Note.There is only one place up for auction, but it's a very small group so we can accept up to three people at a "Buy It Now" price of $1395, a 20% discount.

5, 6 or 7 Seasons at the Top

Talking about the Wet and the Dry does no justice to the complex and sometimes subtle nature of our seasons. I've revised our Top End and Kakadu page to include links to the

The Wet -- Trip Reports From Our Clients

I've been extolling the virtues of walking in our wet season for years. Wet season? In northern Kakadu you'd call it Gudjewg. Further south you'd call it Jiyowk. Over in the Kimberley the early part of the wet is Wundju while the later part is Maiaru. Call it what you will, it's a spectacular time for a bushwalk. It's not the most comfortable time for a walk, but it's not the most uncomfortable time either. But, what's it really like?

For a completely impartial opinion have a look at what others say. Five of our clients have written up wet season trips that they did with us between 1992 and 2007. A sixth has prepared a photo gallery. Have a look at their stories and photos and decide for yourself.

Some of our wet season trips require a lot of advance preparation. Our Kakadu Super circle No. 1 which begins on 13 January can't run unless we have put out a food drop in November. If you think you might like to do this trip, you should start thinking about it now.

The 2008 wet season trip which excites me the most is the Bungle Bungles in the Wet: 17 February to 1 March 2008. Two people from the UK who did our last New Year in Kakadu trip liked it so much that they want to come back and do this one. Three other people have booked as well so it's definitely going to run. It's true that it will be hot and that it will be humid, but it will be spectacular! Our Bungles in the Wet Photo Gallery gives you a hint of what you can expect.

If you fly to Darwin in peak season, you often can't get really cheap airfares. If you fly up in the Wet, the prices can so low they're almost unbelievable. Our newest airline is Tiger Airways. They've got direct flights from Melbourne for less than $100. Jetstar is matching Tiger's prices. If you get in early, you're going to be a big winner on the cost of the flights.
Light Pack Bushwalking Update

I mentioned this in Newsletter 29 but I've got even more info now.

The last couple of years have seen a tremendous growth in light-pack bushwalking with more and more light items appearing on the market. If you think carrying a full pack is going to be so heavy that you couldn't enjoy a long distance trip, you ought to think again.

In February this year, the VMTC, a Melbourne Bushwalking Club, held a special light-pack weekend walk. Not including water, five people began the weekend with packs weighing 7 kg or less. After eating all their food (again not counting water), seven people finished the walk carrying 6 kg or less. This was in Victoria. It should be even easier in the Top End.

In August, the Coast and Mountain Walkers, a Sydney Bushwalking Club, published a good article on ultralight walking. The authors recently did a one week winter walk in Tasmania with amazingly light packs. Read this new article on ultralight bushwalking to see how they did it. The many web links make it easy for you to find or make the gear you need to join the ultralight movement.
Arctic Adventure

The High Arctic Summer trip which will run in July-August 2008 is looking promising. We are considering two possibilities

  • Hiring a car and doing 1 to 5 day walks in the Yukon and along the Dempster Highway
  • Baffin and Ellesmere Islands. We'll charter aircraft and get as far as 80º N if we do this. If it runs, it will cost at least $10 000 in total and we'll be doing at least one walk of 10-14 days.

The trip notes have been updated since the last newsletter with a link to a lot of new information about Ellesmere from Parks Canada. Please have a look if you think you might be interested. Both options have people who want to do them. (The Baffin-Ellesmere option has slightly more so far.) We can't do both. Have a look at the web page and see if you might be interested in either one. Whichever goes, it is likely to be the only time we ever run it.

Sadly, we didn't get the bookings we needed to run our Western Arctic Spring trip so it's now been rescheduled for March 2009. If you'd like a better idea of what it's like, see the photo galleries.
Southeast Alaska, March 2006
Yukon Dogsled, March 2006
Great Walks of South Africa

We've already got two tentative bookings for our Great Walks of South Africa trip which is scheduled to begin next September. Many of the walks we'd like to indclude need to be booked 6 to 12 months in advance so if we don't have the bookings we need to run the trip by Christmas, we'll almost certainly have to drop one or more of the highly popular walks in the list. If you think you might be interested, please have a look at the trip notes and see if this is the kind of trip you want.
Our 2008 Program and Prices.

Times are changing. Our program needs to change too. I am not, however, sure how to change it.

Here are some of the things that we need to consider.

  • New requirements in Kakadu. From 1 April 2008, no one will be permitted to lead a tour of any kind in Kakadu unless they have completed an online tour guide training course. It's not particularly difficult, but it's not incredibly easy either. It's a lot of work for someone who might lead only one or two Kakadu trips per year as has been the case with many of our guides. A lack of qualified guides may force us to cancel some Kakadu trips.
  • Aboriginal rock art. Many of our trips visit a large number of Aboriginal art sites. A number of people have chosen particular trips based on the art sites those trips visit. We could offer more but we don't know if there is enough demand to make it worth while.
  • Aboriginal guides. We've had seven trips with Aboriginal guides in the program for the past few years. We've never managed to run more than two. I thought that more people would be interested in these trips. Do I give up or would a different kind of promotion make them more likely to run?
  • Drive or fly? Time or money? Many of our Kimberley trips use light aircraft and/or helicopters to cut down on the driving time and/or the amount you have to carry. Light aircraft are expensive and helicopters are even more so. How much would you pay to save a day sitting in a car?
  • Fewer trips? Predicting which trips will and won't run in a particular year isw almost impossible.Only one section of one trip has run in each of the past five years? Half of the trips which have run have run only once in that time. After ten years in the program, the Bungles in the Wet trip will run for the first time next year. If I were to offer fewer trips, how should I decide which ones to cancel?

I need help! I need help so badly, that I'm going to offer a voucher which could be worth up to $3000 for people who fill in and return a questionnaire. I had hoped to have the questionnaire ready to go out with this newsletter but preparing that questionnaire has proved much harder than I thought.

If you would be willing to help by having a look at and commenting on the draft questionnaire, please send me an email and say so.

And if you would like to go into the prize draw, please look for the questionnaire which will come out in a special newsletter later this month.
Other Tours We Recommend.
  • John Sinclair's Go Bush Safaris
    John Sinclair has been organising and leading safaris to Australian World Heritage areas since 1968. He is a strong advocate for nature conservation and appreciation of cultural heritage and was named Australian of the Year for 1976 for his leading role in protecting Fraser Island. His trips are not as active as ours but they are highly educational. Those of our clients who have done one of John's trips recommend them highly.
    Last chance. Time catches up with all of us. John has announced that 2009, the year he turns 70, will be his last season. Have a look at the Go Bush website and see if one of his trips might suit you. If so, you'd better get in sooner rather than later.
  • Tarkine Trails offers walks in the Tarkine forest in Tasmania. Their web page links to other operators offering walking tours in other parts of the state. Like us, but unlike most of the other Tasmanian tour operators, you are not likely to see anyone else on their walks.
  • Gecko Canoeing offers canoe trips on the Katherine River as well as walks on the Jatbula Trail. Their website has a vriety of information and is well worth a browse.
  • Wilderness Expeditions. One of our former guides, Tim Daniel, runs donkey supported treks in North Queensland. If you like animals and prefer to have them carry your gear, Tim's treks are worth a look.
Our Office Will Be Closed 25 Oct - 2 Nov

It's school holidays in the NT. I'm going bush on Kakadu Highlights No. 12 and Joanne is taking her kids on a trip. It's the quietest time of year, so I'm closing the office for nine days. If you want to contact us about anything, please do so before or after that time.
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%.

News About This Newsletter

Since the last newsletter, I've spent many hours updating our newsletter email list. Because of some computer hassles, I suspect it still needs some work. If I've managed to send you two newsletters, if I've sent one to an address you'd prefer me not to use or if I've accidentally added you back after you asked to be deleted, please accept my apologies. Let me know and I'll correct it for the next time.

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Best wishes to all.
Russell Willis