World Toilet Day was November 19, and I forgot.

Bummer!

Forgetting the biggest event on the loo lover’s calendar is a dunny detective’s disaster! A toilet tragic’s tragedy!! A convenience chaser’s catastrophe!!!

BUT …

… then I think about the 4.2 billion people without safely managed sanitation facilities and the 673 million people worldwide who practice open defecation. The 2 billion people whose drinking water is contaminated with faeces, the 432,000 diarrhoeal deaths per year, and the children in conflict zones 20 times more likely to die from sanitation-related illness than violence.

That makes my dunny disaster look like a s**t-storm in a teacup.

World Toilet Day

Check out the World Toilet Day official fact sheet HERE for some even more scary facts that’ll make you realise how lucky we are in Australia.

So while you’re admiring 10 All-Australian amenities, with the 10 amazing All-Australian adventure hot spots that go with them, spare a thought for those for whom doing their ‘business’ is SO not a pleasure. Then keep reading for ideas about how YOU can help!

1 Timber Creek, Northern Territory

Afloat on a small (and relatively unstable) structure surrounded by crocodiles on Australia’s wildest river is enough to make you want to – well, YOU know! Luckily, this croc-proof (we hope!) purpose-built pontoon has ALL the amenities to survive a Victoria River Crocodile Cruise – drinks and snacks while enjoying a Northern Territory sunset AND crazy-cool crocodile cruise conveniences if nature’s call gets a little bit too much.

That’s a relief in more ways than one!  Read more about cruising with crocodiles HERE!

2 Bruny Island, Tasmania

Bruny Island isn’t just the last stop off the Tassie coast before Antarctica! Dress up in some (REALLY unfashionable) heavy weather gear for a wet and wild ride over heaving seas, through keyhole rocks, past rugged islands adorned with seals and right under the second highest sea cliffs in the southern hemisphere before reaching the Great Southern Ocean!

En route to the cruise departure point, don’t miss this loo on the Neck (are you wondering why it’s called that?) far below Truganini’s Lookout!  Discover Beauty and the Beasts on Bruny Island Cruises HERE to see why it’s one of my favourite Australian adventure hot spots!

3 Mt Kosciuszko, New South Wales

Climbing Australia’s highest mountain is embarrassingly easy – you heard it here first!  It’s only 2228 metres (7310 feet) above sea-level, making it lower than the height above which lots of people live! BUT … ‘mountaineers’ like me who climb it can bag their first (and in my case only) ‘Seven Summits’ peak.

Although I don’t know from personal experience, I bet it’s the ONLY Seven Summits peak with a view over the highest Public Toilet in the land!!  But I’ll let the REAL mountaineers prove me wrong!  Go HERE for more about how I climbed Mount Kosciuszko!

4 Head of Bight, South Australia

Head of Bight – highest point of the distinctive bite-shaped coastal curve along the southern Australian coastline – isn’t easy to get to. But you’ll drive right past it on the 4100+ km (2500+ mile) road trip across the Nullarbor Plain between Sydney and Perth! At the 2300 km mark, just over half-way from Sydney, take a pit stop to watch whales cavorting with their calves under the longest line of sea cliffs in the world!

And visit the Head of Bight loo that overlooks it all!  Check out my story about seeing the Whales at Head of Bight HERE!

5 Point Quobba, Western Australia

Killer king waves, shipwreck stories, blowholes and extreme water sports make Point Quobba one of the wildest stretches of rugged, rocky coastline in Oz (above and top) – and one of the most picturesque!

If action adventure with a massive dose of danger isn’t quite your thing, just find a vantage point (away from the edge!) and you’ll probably see a whale.  When you’re not being distracted by the thrill-seekers getting a drenching at the blowholes, that is!

Alternatively, just take in all the action from the vantage point of this classic Aussie dunny overlooking the famous blow hole.  I promise that you won’t miss anything while you’re doing your business – because the door doesn’t close!

The famous Quobba Blowhole at Quobba Point is just one of the many superb Australian Coastal and Beach Holiday Destinations you can read about HERE!

6 Mt Hotham, Victoria

Whether it’s summer or winter, the view over this part of the Australian Alps is white.  Visible in summer, the white-bleached tree trunks killed by bushfires outline the many-layered mountain ranges surrounding Mount Hotham. In winter, they’re covered in snow.

It’s likely to be significantly cooler than the plains below at any time of year, so when you get there, admire the white view from the ski lift transit lounge loo AND appreciate the civilised conveniences plumber who installed just one tap – HOT!

Read all about the Mount Hotham loo (and surrounds!) HERE!

7 Richmond, Queensland

If you’re a keen prehistoric fossil-fossicker, the chances of striking it lucky on the Outback Queensland Dinosaur trail are better than average.  Especially at Richmond, where the soft Toolebuc formation on what was once an inland sea under 30-40 metres of water has given up world famous fossil relics like the Richmond Pliosaur, Minmi and Kronosaurus.

Even the dunny gets in on the act – but while you can make your ‘deposit’ at the future coprolite drop zone (aka the loo), chances are good you won’t be around when it’s unearthed as a fossil!

Discover more about Queensland’s famous Richmond fossil fields HERE!

8 Warraweena, South Australia

For a taste of what’s on offer in one of the top Australian adventure hot spots, the ancient wonderland us South Aussies call the Flinders Ranges, head out to the privately owned Warraweena Conservation Park.  In the less well known northern Flinders Ranges you’ll find rugged 4WD tracks, mountain climbing, wildlife, stunning scenery, historic sites and eco-tourism all in one handy location.

You’ll also find the only combination scenic public toilet/visitor information centre I’ve ever seen at the historic Sliding Rock Mine site!

But that’s not all!  Go HERE for a LOT more things to do throughout the amazing Flinders Ranges.

9 Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

This tiny sub-tropical paradise 600 km (370 miles) off the east coast of Australia has so many world exclusives it’s hard to know where to start. First up, there’s Balls Pyramid – highest volcanic rock stack in the world. Then there’s only golf course on earth on World Heritage turf and world’s southernmost tropical reef. Even the wildlife gets in on the act with the endemic Lord Howe Island Woodhen and Phasmid, a large stick-insect.

And then there’s this awesome view – clearly visible from what has to be one of the most scenic loos downunder! Australian adventure hot spots don’t get much better than this!  A Lord Howe Island Holiday can be awesome – read about mine HERE!

10 Tunnel Creek, Western Australia

Although the Gibb River Road has claimed countless tyres, axles, windscreens and suspensions over its 660 km (410 miles) length full of tyre-shredding rocks, perilous creek crossings, red dust and bone-jarring corrugations.  But it’s still a popular Aussie road trip, most likely because of the stunning Kimberley natural attractions scattered along its length!  Take a short detour to Tunnel Creek and go underground for a different perspective of the Kimberley Region.

And while you’re there, detour into the even more welcome attraction you’ll find under the rocky cliffs.  There’s more about the amazing Kimberley region HERE!

We’re very lucky down here to have so many Australian adventure hot spots with amazing attractions and awesome amenities in some of our most remote and adventure-filled locations.

So while it’s easier for us (read: me!) to forget World Toilet Day even though it’s been an official UN day since 2013, we can contribute to the impact it’s having around the world on any day!

How to get involved:

World Toilet Day is about working together to eliminate the life-threatening hazards caused by poor sanitation in places where the ‘adventures’ many people face in doing their business are a lot less welcome.

If you’re not sure how you can help, here’s a few ideas:

• Who Gives a Crap:  Buy your toilet paper (and/or tissues and kitchen paper) from this innovative company, and 50% of profits are donated to building toilets for those in need (the other 50% mostly goes to growing the company).  Get in quick and you could order the wicked Gift Edition Loo Paper to make Xmas REALLY fun!
• Toilet Twinning:  Your £60 donation (about $AUD114 on 20/11/19) funds a community loo project, and you’ll get a pic and the coordinates of your toilet ‘twin’ to hang in your own amenities! Can’t afford that?  Check out the website for other fundraising products and ideas.
• Sanitation First:  Send a Shitty Gift (their words, not mine) for any occasion – check out the graphic range of gift cards – and you’ll be helping this organisation tackle poverty one toilet at a time (again, their words, not mine)!!
• TEAR Australia:  Sanitation is just one of several initiatives this organisation has to reduce poverty.  Check out their collection of Really Useful Gifts!
• World Toilet Day official website: more information and ideas, don’t forget to mark the date on your calendar for next year.

Got more ideas?  Put them in the comments below!

The post TOP 10 All-Australian Adventure Hot Spots for World Toilet Day! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

I was WAY too young to remember much detail from my first Aussie road trip.

I’m a road-tripper from WAY back!

But the photo of me and my sister on the Mt Kosciuszko summit in the good old days when you could actually drive almost to the top of the highest point in OZ is a dead giveaway.

That trail-blazing family adventure holiday was the first of many Aussie Adventures on many thousands of kilometres on roads covering much of Australia I’ve had since then.

SO … that gives me some serious road-tripper cred, right? RIGHT???

Well, not quite.

Because although I’ve been on lots of different variations of the great Aussie road-trip, there’s one version missing from my repertoire. That’s the great Aussie sea-trek – and it’s all about cruising in Australia.

What makes a good road trip?

Australia’s vast distances make turning your holiday into an Aussie Adventure easy.  It’s absolutely the best way to a) see a LOT of Australia up close; b) see a LOT of your travelling companion/s up close; c) see a range of attractions from the ridiculous to the sublime as you trek from A to B; and d) make unforgettable memories – all in one (sometimes life-changing) (and mostly BIG fun) journey.

IMHO.

Changing the top three trip variables – Transport, Accommodation, Budget – will majorly determine the type of journey you have. The secondary trip variables – Distance, Stopovers, Travelling Companions – will determine just how life-changing and fun it really is!

Of course I don’t know how far you want to travel, how many stopovers you’ll take, and with whom you’ll choose to travel – that’s all up to you. But take a quick squiz at this snapshot of five Aussie Adventure trip variations – all with different choices of transport, accommodation and budget.

Yep, they’re all several kinds of fun, but only YOU will be able to tell which would be the MOST fun for you and your travelling companions.

#1 – The Relationship-Tester

Self-drive, take your own accommodation – tent, camper, caravan – and save money by staying in no- or low-budget camp-grounds for a ‘no frills’ Aussie Odyssey. Long days on the road, then setting up camp with limited facilities and planning meals each night means you and your fellow travellers will be together 24/7.

Lower costs make this option good for a longer trip, or even a Big Lap (right around OZ, geddit?) but it won’t take much to turn ‘Relationship-tester’ into ‘Relationship-breaker’ if your travel buddies aren’t as committed to pitching in and helping out as you are!

#2 – The Cop-Out

Self-drive, but when you’re done driving for the day, stay in a motel, cabin, cottage, B&B, farmstay, guesthouse – or go glamping! Staying in smaller towns will help keep costs down AND you can contribute to the local economy by eating out at the local pub, cafe or bakery. Or all three. You’re still spending 24/7 with your travel companions, but there’s not so much post-driving work to be done at the end of each day.

Try this option for trips with more accommodation choices in towns along the way such as Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, especially if you don’t like booking ahead.

Actually, this one’s only called the ‘Cop Out’ by people who’ve survived #1. That’s because they want YOU to suffer by roughing it as much as they did.

#3 – The Half-and-Half

Yep, this is exactly what it sounds like. Fly/train/bus there, then hire a car and drive back. Or vice versa. You can even use your own car if you drive across the Nullarbor then put it (and yourself!) on the Indian Pacific to get back home. Or fly to Darwin, hire a car and drive home.

This one’s best if time is limited, because although it’s more expensive, you can fit a LOT more sightseeing into your adventure because you’ve got a LOT more time on the road!

This option is also sometimes called the ‘Cop Out’ by people who’ve survived #1 or #2.

#4 – The Outsource

When your own vehicle isn’t up to the road standard of your proposed adventure route, there’s no shame in saving it (and costly repairs) by outsourcing the transport and booking an all-inclusive tour in a suitable or sometimes purpose-built vehicle. This one’s best for treks like the Gibb River Road – 600 km of tyre-shredding rocky road surfaces, rugged river crossings and endless bull dust – impassable in a standard car.

It’ll cost more, but you won’t have to do any planning as meals and accommodation are provided. Sure, you can’t choose your travelling companions, but you won’t be with them 24/7 unless you’re sleeping in a dormitory!

This option is also known as a ‘Major Cop Out’ by people who’ve survived #1, #2 or #3.

#5 – The Sea-Trek

Switch your transport from car to ship, your tent for a stateroom and the dodgy highway for the sea when your Aussie Adventure is an Australian cruise.

You’ll still travel thousands of kilometres and have sightseeing stopovers in interesting places along the way.

BUT …

your transport is an all-purpose eating, entertainment and exercise area, purpose built for recreation while you’re on the road at sea!

If, like me, you know very little about cruising, take a look at Celebrity Cruises 13 day/12 night Great Barrier Reef Cruise from Sydney to Cairns and return as an example of what to expect.

With stopovers in Newcastle, Airlie Beach, Cairns, Port Douglas, Willis Island and Brisbane, the cruise covers a good cross-section of the east coast and offers a range of shore excursions.

What’s the Difference?

In comparison, spend the same 13 days driving the 2400 km (1500 miles) each way from Sydney to Cairns, and at 400-500 km per day you’d spend 9-10 of those days in the car.

Afraid you’ll max out the budget?

Compare the total costs for fuel, accommodation, food, entertainment, vehicle wear and tear and sightseeing you’d have on a 12-night road trip with the one-off up-front cruise cost covering everything (except on-shore excursions) and you’ll find the gap isn’t as large as you think.

There’s only one way to find out if the Sea-Trek really IS the new road trip – so next time you’re aboard, look out. That redhead languishing in the lounge, champagne cocktail in hand, just might be me!

Disclosure: This post was prepared in partnership with Celebrity Cruises and contains a sponsored link. All cruise photos are courtesy of Celebrity Cruises.

The post Road Trips, Sea Treks and your next Aussie Adventure! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.