Sydney (where we begin this continent-spanning epic) is farther from Darwin (Day 8) than Nashville is from San Francisco (by 76 miles, in case you’re wondering). Bottom line: Australia is large and getting from one end to the other, with inviting stops along the way, entails what we call in the office “much up and downing.” A problem we solve by cruising the continent in a 34-seat Dash 8, a twin-engined, turbo-propped, nicely air-conditioned beauty designed for maximum scenery gazing, a great, comfy, unwearying (flights average two hours) way to experience the island continent.

We’ll barbeque on the banks of the gorgeous Katherine River, commune with crocodiles in Kakadu, enjoy aerial sightseeing over the Bungle Bungle Range, watch an Indian Ocean sunset at Broome’s Cable Beach, and get a good look (from the ground and in a hot air balloon) at the Red Center: fabled Alice Springs and the magnificent monolith of Uluru, which rests on the desert sands like the mothership of some pangalactic civilization (which the local Pitjantjapjara and Yangkuntjatjara people essentially thought it was; newcomers unimaginatively named it for Sir Henry Ayers, a 19th century Aussie politico). And on the way back to Sydney, we’ll stop at Australia’s most famous Outback pub in Birdsville for a farewell pint or two.

Days 1 & 2: USA to Sydney • Day 3: Sydney • Day 4: fly to Longreach in the Outback • Day 5: visit Mount Isa Mines and onward to the Northern Territory • Day 6: cruise the Katherine Gorge, fly over Arnhemland • Day 7: Kakadu National Park, afternoon flight to Darwin • Day 8: tour Darwin • Day 9: Bungle Bungle National Park • Day 10: Buccaneer Archipelago, overnight in Broome • Day 11: Broome • Day 12: Uluru (Ayers Rock) • Days 13 & 14: Alice Springs and Standley Chasm • Day 15: Birdsville Hotel and its quintessential Outback pub, return to Sydney • Day 16: fly to USA, arriving the same day.

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