buying a didjeridoo in australia

[bosone]

hi!
i will go to Australia on october - november in honeymoon...
and i would like to buy a nice didjeridoo or other typical musical instruments (if possibile...)
we will visit sydney, melbourne, ayers rock/uluru and cairns.

does someone have any experience??

i would like to avoid the "typical" tourists things/shops but also i would like not to spend 1.000 $$

any idea!?

thanks!!

[sqigls]

Damn, the best place is in Perth, Fremantle to be exact... Didgeridoo Breath

I can ask around and let you know. Any good didj is gonna cost you a few hundred tho.

[bosone]

no, perth is outside our trip!
thanks for the interest, any info can be helpful.
a couple of hundred dollars are ok for my budget. the important would be that they are well spent and not thrown away in a tourist didjeridoo souvenir made in china! :D

do you any other typical ethnical musical things that i can find?

thx!

[nix808]

The only other thing I could think of is Koori clapsticks, just hardwood stick shot type thingys.
That and a possum--
they sound freaky

[sqigls]

Traditional Aboriginal Australian music composes of 2 instruments [apart from the voice]... the didjeridu, and the clapsticks (clicksticks). Different nations (aboriginal states) have their own variations but generally these two instruments are it. Try Brunswick Street in Fitzroy Melbourne, you might fid a good shop there? I will ask around, i can't remember where the good shops are in Melbourne... my last didj i bought at Digeridu Breath (great shop and cool dudes).

[rp314]

The only other thing I could think of is Koori clapsticks, just hardwood stick shot type thingys.
That and a possum--
they sound freaky

Making music using a possum and Koori clapsticks?

Furrrreal???

[Tricky-Loops]

We have also Didgeridoos in Bavaria, they're called "Alphorn"...

[bosone]

I know the alpenhorn from the sample library "rare instrument"

[Sample Katra]

Damn, the best place is in Perth, Fremantle to be exact... Didgeridoo Breath

I can ask around and let you know. Any good didj is gonna cost you a few hundred tho.

Bless you, sqigls. I'm a Freo boy! But I don't live in Western Australia any more. Nearly fell off my chair when I read your post, he he. Fremantle's great, full of life & culture. Port town, historic buildings, vibrant, cultural diversity & all that.

Re didges: From memory, you'll be lucky to find anything under $600. Didges aren't cheap.

There's plenty of glitzy tourist shops in Sydney & Cairns that sell them but why would you buy one from there, when you're going to Uluru? Love it out there BTW. I've been there a few times. I used to just stare into the milky way (advantage from the southern hemisphere) and watch the satelites float buy. And look out for the Southern Cross . About the best view of the night sky you could ever have. I find the Northern Territory intoxicating. I like it a lot out there. Something about the heat, the redness, the towns, the roads, the sky, etc - and probably the only part of Australia that's uniquely Australian. It's the outback, digger!

If you're going to Cairns, see if you can head up to Port Douglas (about an hour North of Cairns). Beautiful up there. Ideal honeymoon settings. Great pub & resort as I recall too. I jammed with the Guns n Roses dudes at the resort up there about 20 yrs ago. Ah, that takes me back. Seriously, Port Douglas, honeymoon, google now.

Forget Melbourne for a didge, thats where I live now. Luv Melbourne in every way, but it's more like Europe down here (to me). More about the food, cool bars, dudes & dudettes, night life, great coffee, culture & a bit of footy. When you get to Melbourne, head to Fitzroy & St Kilda. Both iconic social hubs in Melbourne. Brunswick St (in Fitzroy) is possibly one of the most vibrant streets in the world. It really is. Food, music, shopping, night-life, funk. St Kilda's great too but a bit more 'latte'. Luv Melbs! Mid week is when you generally get the real vibe of said areas. Weekends can get ugly (but not always) when all the bogans come in to 'party' from the suburbs and get arrested & vomit everywhere. Word.

Buy a didge in Uluru or anywhere in the Northern Territory - then, you've bought a real didge from the real outback! That's my call. But they aint cheap - even out there.

Enjoy your honeymoon, bosone.

Cheers,
Craig
http://www.samplekatra.com

[sqigls]

Well said. Yes probably better off buying at ayers rock or cairns.

When is your honeymoon?

[Sample Katra]

The only other thing I could think of is Koori clapsticks, just hardwood stick shot type thingys.
That and a possum--
they sound freaky

Oh yeah, those f**king possums!

I remember shitting myself at the sound of some undescribable, loud hiss, right outside my door at a snow-resort-gig I was doing years ago. I ran back into the bar that I'd just played at to tell the staff, where they proceeded to laugh their guts out at me for being scared of a little possum. Never heard one until then. I decided to stay & have a few more 'staffies' until I deemed it safe to go back to my room.

F**king possums.

[bosone]

thanks for the suggestions!
so i'll avoid sydney and melbourn and will look for something at cairns or in the red center. I honestly hope to spend less than 600$... that would be definitely too much! :-/

thanks also for all the suggestions regarding the places to visit, kindly appreciated!
we will surely go to port douglas, that is in our plans

i will be in australia since mid october to the first week of november!

[Sample Katra]

Cairns is coastal & more about tourism. They'll probably have some didges, but it's not the outback. Just wait until you get to Alice or Uluru.

If you want to get one under $600, you could try to hook up with a "local" to see what they can do. Speak to staff at the resort (there's only one resort at Uluru). Ask around. There are plenty of characters out there who are 'in the know'

And be careful if you climb the rock. Make sure you're fit, switched-on & take plenty of water.

Best wishes for your honeymoon trip, bosone. Will be awesome. Watch out for those possums. They freak me out.

[bosone]

it's really nice to meet such wonderful people here!
thanks again for the info!
we are joining an organized 3day tour from alice springs to Uluru and we will camp under the star, so i will not be in any resort... but following your suggestion i will try to contact in advance the tour member to see if they can help in any way.
maybe should i look for something at alice springs? i dont know if we will have time to spend to shop at uluru!
...and i don't think we will climb the rock since the natives do not want, so i feel we must respect their decision...


... and i will have with me a portable zoom h4n record. i hope to catch some weird animal noise around!

[Sample Katra]

There's plenty of authentic, Aboriginal art & crafts in the Alice. No probs. Your guide will likely be very much 'in the know'. Just ask him/her.

One thing you might want to think about is bringing it back home. Make sure you're allowed to bring it into your home country. There might be rules about bringing in organic materials (food/wood/minerals/etc) so maybe you should check that out. I know I've had to just about strip off at the airport coming back to Oz from the UK where my shoes still had mud embedded in them from traipsing around the Avebury area. They're prety weighty too & a decent size. Bare that in mind also.

Fair call about the climb. Perhaps see how you feel when you're standing at the foot of it. It's certainly something to behold. You can see the Olgas (more big rocks) from the top of it.

I'm excited just thinking about it all again, he he. I luv it out there.