Part II: Planning Your Trip to Australia in VS .NET

Generating UPC Code in VS .NET Part II: Planning Your Trip to Australia

The Indian Pacific, run by Great Southern Railway, is a glamorous train linking Sydney, Broken Hill, Adelaide, Kalgoorlie, and Perth in a threeday Outback run twice a week Slightly less glam, but still comfortable, the Ghan (named after Afghani camel trainers who traveled the Outback in the 19th century) travels between Adelaide and Darwin twice a week via Alice Springs, with connections from Sydney and Perth on the Indian Pacific and from Melbourne on Great Southern Railway s third train, the newly refurbished Overland It travels in daylight between Adelaide and Melbourne three times a week All three trains offer a choice of economy seats and second- or first-class sleepers Queensland Rail s Traveltrain operates two trains on the Brisbane Cairns route: The Sunlander runs twice a week from Brisbane to Cairns, offering a choice of the premium, all-inclusive Queenslander class; single-, double-, or triple-berth sleepers; or economy seats Two services also run as far as Townsville on this route without Queenslander class The high-speed Tilt Train operates two weekly trips on the same route in less time by about eight hours with business-class-style seating Tilt Trains also serve Rockhampton daily (except Sat) from Brisbane Traveltrain also operates trains to Outback towns All Traveltrain and most Countrylink long-distance trains stop at most towns en route, so they re useful for exploring the eastern states

Rail passes are available from Rail Australia, through its overseas agents Passes are not valid for first-class travel, but upgrades are available The Austrail Flexipass is good for economy seats and second-class sleepers on all long-distance trains (except PTA service in Western Australia) and is even good for suburban city train networks It allows you to travel for 15 or 22 days, consecutive or not, within a 6-month period Prices range from A$862 (US$690/ 345) for a 15-day Flexipass to A$1,210 (US$968/ 484) for a 22-day Flexipass This pass, and the Great Southern Railway Rail Explorer Pass, which gives you six months of unlimited travel aboard the Ghan, the Indian Pacific, and the Overland for A$590 (US$472/ 236) must be bought before you arrive in Australia Queensland s Traveltrain Holidays (% 1300/131 722 in Australia, or 07/3235 1133; wwwtraveltraincomau), has the Wanderer and Stopover rail passes The Wanderer pass costs A$266 (US$213/ 106) and provides six months of unlimited one-way travel in economy seating on Queensland s coastal trains, with departures from Brisbane or Cairns Pass holders also receive up to 50 percent discounts for return journeys on any of the Queensland s Outback rail services The Stopover fare lets travelers choose to stop up to four times in four weeks when traveling on the Tilt Train Prices vary depending on the number of stops Great Southern Railway, Countrylink, and Queensland Rail Traveltrain all offer rail packages that include accommodations and sightseeing

Australian bus or coach terminals are centrally located and well lit, and buses are usually clean and air-conditioned, with adjustable seats, TV monitors, and sometimes toilets Drivers are polite and sometimes even give a bit of a commentary Buses are all nonsmoking Australia has one national long-distance coach operator, Greyhound Australia (% 13 14 99 in Australia, or 07/4690 9950; wwwgreyhound comau) not to be confused with Greyhound in the United States The company does not operate in Tasmania, which is serviced by Redline Coaches (% 1300/360 000 in Australia; wwwredlinecoachescomau) In addition to point-to-point services, Greyhound Australia also offers a limited range of tours at popular locations on its networks, including Uluru, Kakadu, Monkey Mia in Western Australia, and the Great Ocean Road in Victoria Fares and some passes are considerably cheaper for students, backpacker cardholders, and Hostelling International/YHA members Several kinds of bus passes are available, including day passes (for between 3 and 30 days), preset itinerary passes, and distance-based passes You may need to book the next leg of your trip 12 to 24 hours ahead; during school vacation periods, which are always busy, booking as much as seven days ahead is a good idea If you know where you re going and you re willing to obey a no backtracking rule, consider Greyhound Australia s Aussie Explorer predetermined itinerary pass This allows unlimited stops in a generous time frame on a preset one-way route (you can travel the route in either direction) There is a huge range of itineraries to choose from For example, the Aussie Reef and Rock pass takes in Alice Springs, Katherine, Darwin, Mount Isa, Cairns, and the whole east coast down to Sydney The pass is valid for six months and costs A$1,293 (US$1,034/ 517) from Sydney, including tours to Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kakadu National Park, and Kings Canyon You don t have to start in Sydney; you can start at any point along any of the pass routes, in which case the pass may be cheaper In the case of the Reef and Rock pass, you could start in Brisbane (in which case the pass costs A$1,176/US$941/ 470) or Cairns (from where the pass costs A$943/US$754/ 377) The All Australian Pass costs A$2,827 (US$2,262/ 1,131) and is valid for a year The Aussie Kilometre Pass allows unlimited stops in any direction within the distance you buy Passes are available in increments of 1,000km (620 miles) Prices range from A$360 (US$288/ 144) for 2,000km (1,240 miles) enough to get you from Cairns to Brisbane to A$2,597 (US$2,078/ 1,039) for 20,000km (6,200 miles)