Southern Cross safari : around Australia by bus and train / Bruce Gall.

Contain biographical information.

Join Bruce Gall on the trip of a lifetime, as bus and train drivers safely chauffer you 26,000 kilometres around amazing Australia. Think of all those places you've ever wanted to visit, and this journey will take you to most of them. We visit all the capital cities and many regional centres as well. But what else do we do? World Heritage areas? - how about Kakadu; the Wet Tropics; Shark Bay; Naracoorte Caves and Tasmania's wilderness to name a few, not to mention Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building and Sydney's famed Opera House. Adventure? - how about jungle surfing - racing through rainforest on a steel cable, or a heart- pounding climb up a 60 metre fire-spotting tree, or ka-thumping down Tassie's east coast in an open boat through an icy gale. Tours? - we take many day tours, by boat and bus. We also do sleepovers: swag camping through Australia's ancient Centre; exploring Fraser Island's majestic landscapes; and tracking down koalas on Kangaroo Island. Speaking of wildlife, we see mammals most of us will only ever read about: the black and white striped possum (a Collingwood supporter?), purple-necked rock wallaby, and the fawn-footed Melomys amongst them. History? - travel can be a great history lesson. We read Aboriginal legends; become familiar with early Dutch and French seafarers; and find stromatolites and thrombolites that help explain the beginnings of life on Earth. Most important of all, we meet 'strangers', hundreds of them, from all corners of the globe. And for a short time, they become 'friends' as we travel together.