Yes, I'm still here! I've had an action packed time of it during the past 10 days or so. Although I've had several long journeys and a reasonable amount of free time it's been quite precious for sleeping, catching up with washing or purely relaxing/socialising/enjoy the view. Sunday 31st August brought the beginning of an 8 day organised tour from Alice Springs to Melbourne and with it came early mornings and a packed schedule. It may take some time to recap all of the delights but hopefully it will all be covered in the not too distant future. I've decided to cut the trip, as well as my first days in Melbourne into a few manageable chunks.
Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.
Sunday 31st August 2014
Alice Springs certainly seems like the hub for travellers visiting Uluru but beyond that there seems to be very little more to it so I wasn't too bothered about leaving it behind. As I said, there are several tourists using it as a stopover so I was woken at 5am by a fellow backpacker's alarm. Pulling on my clothes and dragging all my belongings out of my room as quietly as possible, I was ready early to FaceTime home. Unexpectedly, I was greeted with birthday banners and homemade signs along with a rendition of 'Happy Birthday'. What a fantastic way to start my birthday even if it was still before 6am!
I wasn't too sure where it be picked up from, directly outside my hostel or from the hotel round the corner but after a few minutes of hovering around I heard my name being mentioned so soon found tour guide Sheldon and our bus.
After picking up the rest of our group we set off on our merry way. First stop after a couple of hours was a camel farm and a cheap ride. Clinging on tightly, it was quite a feat to get of lf the ground but it was quite an experience, if over a little quickly.
As well as camels there were also kangaroos at the farm and I managed to my first Joey. It was an exciting sight to see it hanging procairiously out of its mothers pouch, almost as if all of its limbs were broken - having said that, apparently its tail did have a break in it!
Further on into the journey we'd been warned that there was a mound which is often mistaken for Uluru before we reach the red rock itself. Unfortunately neither Susan (my next door travelling buddy) nor I had stayed awake so when we came upon said mound we weren't sure if it was the real thing or not! Turns out this was Mount Connor AKA Foolaru (or the toothbrush as Sheldon liked to call it).
We were now close to Uluru and Kata Tjuta and Sheldon encouraged the first person to see either of them to squeal 'I can see Uluru' or 'I can see Kata Tjuta' in a child-like 'I can see the sea' manner. I was lucky enough to be the first to see Uluru and after much mocking than I'd mistaken a sand dune as the icon everyone soon agreed that we could excitedly see what we were here for.
Kata Tjuta is the lesser known landmark in the area so it took Sheldon to point out the lumpy purplish boulders out to us for us to notice them. From here we continued into the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park and on to our campsite. I'd spent the morning trying to contain my excitement about my birthday so after a delicious lunch of burgers I produced a supermarket birthday cake from the bus.
The afternoon began with a walk in the Valley of the Winds - an impressive walk through Kata Tjuta. I wouldn't say the beginning was easy - it was slightly uphill - but it certainly wasn't difficult and we soon reached some amazing views.
Taking a short break in the shade, Sheldon gave us a geology lesson, explaining the different ways in which Kata Tjuta and Uluru were created and using the bright sand and a stick as his chalkboard. This was when we began to realise what a fantastic teacher and storyteller he was.
After this point the walk became a little trickier, with rocky paths and large sloping rocks to navigate. At the summit of one particularly steep and difficult rock face I decided I'd reached my limit and stayed to enjoy the view while the rest of the group, less one who hadn't attempted this climb, continued to another lookout point.
As we headed towards Uluru for sunset, we left the impressive formation of Kata Tjuta behind us.
By this point I was spectacularly excited. There were bus loads of crowds at the official sunset viewing point but instead of joining them at the fence along the car park, we headed up a sand dune to the side and found our own private viewing point. At lunchtime Sheldon had promised surprises so here he set up a table with sparking wine and snacks plus 'proper ' glasses - something not usually afforded on a camping trip. Yes, the view of Uluru at sunset was stunning but the view back to the sillouette of Kata Tjuta in the sunset was also worthy of our time and attention.
Thinking this was a fitting end to a memorable birthday, we returned to the campsite but there were more memories to be made. Dinner was camel sausages, beef steaks and kangaroo steaks and then my bed consisted of a swag, next to the campfire and under the stars. I was desperate to enjoy the view of the night's sky above but it had been a busy day and sleep quickly took hold. What a day!
Monday 1st September 2014
Struggling out of my swag at 4:40am to return to the National Park for sunrise wasn't the most pleasant experience but as soon as we started our base walk around Uluru I would've been happy to forfeit all of my sleep for this experience. The steady rise of sun seemed to be warming the rock as it made its way through awsome shades of red and orange.
Taking the full walk round the red rock enabled us to see it from all sorts of angles and being so close we could admire every nook and crevice.
I was lucky to share the walk with Maria, Susan and Jen and as we walked, Maria told us about her work as a Shaman. While she spoke a lot about aligning the body, mind and soul, I wondered whether there was a link between this and my previous thoughts of physical, academic and social confidence. Something to ponder over!
After around 2.5hours we reached the bus at our finishing point and it was still before 9am! Next we were lucky enough to have a guided tour with a local Aboriginal guide. As we'd walked around the rock, we had past areas that we weren't allowed to photograph as they were sacred/sensitive areas and this tour would give us more details about how the indigenous people interact with this special place. We visited the adolescent boys teaching area where their grandfathers would use the rock as a 'blackboard' to teach their grandsons skills to survive in the 'wild'.
We past through the men's camping area where they would rest and make sure no females entered the teaching area...
...and found part of the rock which forms a waterfall after rain.
Here, Sarah, our guide, was telling us a story of how another group had invited the local Mala people to join there ceremonial festivities but the Mala people had already begun their ceremonial procedings at the rock. When the other group got wind of their declination, they sent a monster spirit towards the Mala people who ran for their lives from this spirit.
Here in the women's area, they couldn't escape quick enough and the spirit ripped the limbs and head off one woman and threw her torso into the rock.
He then enlarged her foot and thumped it into the wall.
Back at the camp we enjoyed burritos for lunch before saying goodbye to the special place that is Kata Tjuta Uluru National Park and heading on towards Kings Canyon. En route we past Mount Connor once more (or Attila to use its local name), this time, with its square top, it was more obvious that is was Foolaru and we climbed the red sand of a dune to get a better view of the mount as well as Lake Amadeus. When I discovered the name of the lake I couldn't help repeat the 1980s 'Rock Me Amedeus' over and over in my head as we climbed the dune.
We arrived at our campsite near Kings Canyon a little before sunset. The campsites on this trip were really impressive with fixed tents, kitchen buildings and fire pits. The first two were owned by Adventure Tours sole use - a welcome addition to the trip which meant we didn't have to errect or dismantle tents and cookng areas every day.
Across a track from the campsite was an excellent viewing point for sunset where we perched on rocks but had to leave as soon as the sun had crossed the horizon so we could see to get down!
That evening we enjoyed some didgeridoo around the campfire before settling once again into our sways. I made the effort this evening to crawl in a little earlier so I could enjoy the constellations that Sheldon had taught us about including the Southern Cross and the Milky Way.
Tuesday 2nd September 2014
A 'lie-in' of 6am awaited us this morning to head to Kings Canyon 'proper'. Once wearrived we had the opportunity to do a 3.5 hour/6km rim walk but I opted out, instead taking the initial, steep incline steadily and spending 20 - 30 minutes at the first lookout. I was a special place and as I had the lookout to myself for a while, I soon found tears trickling down my cheeks, the time to stop and think got the better of me!
At
Uluru there was lots of quotes from the Aborigines about climbing the
rock, questioning whethere is was something to conquer or something to
admire, absorb the energy of and be with nature. Although these words
came back to me here, I decided to continue up to the second lookout,
more to take in the view than to 'conquer' the climb but as I shuffled
along the ledge I decided to turn back and walk along Kings Creek down
below.
Kings Creek is the area that stretches along the base of Kings Canyon and at the end is an awesome lookout from where you can see a small bridge that the rim walkers have to cross. I wonder if you can pick it out in the next photograph?
After 3 hours enjoying the area we were back on the bus and leaving along the George Gill mountain range. Amongst lots of periods of sleep, we hopped of the bus to capture a few sights - the signage, hat tree and a blue Datsun in the tree! The fun that road builders have eh? Apparently many broken down cars get left in the outback they aren't worth the towing fee back to the nearest towns.
Tonight we camped at Erldunda, where on the first day Sheldon had got excited about the right hand turn - the only major turn of the whole day's journey, and again slept in swags but got much colder than the previous two nights.
Wednesday 3rd September 2014
This morning was filled with a drive to Coober Pedy. The first spot was the Wedge-tailed Eagle, Australia's largest bird of prey with a wingspan of over 2m!
Then we crossed the border into South Australia and the signs reminded me of when we crossed the Equator in Kenya and Uganda.
 |
| Sheldon looking cool! |
Next stop was the Breakaways, mounds of different coloured sand created by different layers of sand and rock. Although I joked about it in my previous post, parts of Priscilla Queen of the Desert were filmed in this area which caused some on the bus to feel the need to watch the film once more.
The area around Coober Pedy in known for Opal Mining so there were lots of piles of dirt which had been created by similar trucks to those on the sign which were 'noodled' (searched) for precious opals.
Once in Coober Pedy we had a tour round the town including the sparkling new multiplex cinema which shows all the new releases (yes, it's a screen in a field and no, the film aren't that up to date!).
Then we put our luggage into our accomodation. Our nights under the stars had come to an end but we were under a new kind of structure - we were sleeping underground! Just behind the truck, under that shelter is the entrance to our dormitory for the night.
Adjoining the bunkhouses was an opal museum which we had a tour around. Encapsulated underground was a reconstruction of the houses that the first opal miners would've stayed in, as well as an apartment showing modern day living. 70% of Coober Pedy live underground and being in the outback this type of accommodation certainly has its advantages, keeping its occupants cool in the summer and warm in the winter, lowering their energy bills.
Further on in the tour I couldn't resist some arty pictures of the tunnels!
We we lucky enough to see what the precious opals look like before they are mined.
After the opal mine tour we visited Josephine's Gallery and Kangaroo Orphanage. I couldn't resist another piece of artwork called Seven Sisters Dreaming which was gorgeous purple colours. At 5:30 we were taken out the back of the gallery to meet the kangaroos and feed them dried fruit. I think there were 5 adult kangaroos and one in particular takes a fancy to Sheldon every time he visits.
Having heard all about the adult kangaroos, we met one of the orphaned Joeys which had been bought to their attention. How cute is he!?!
Thursday 4th September 2014
Today marked a long drive down to Adelaide (845 km/525 miles according to Google!) so the consisted mostly of driving and photo stops.
There are several of these windmills across the outback and there's a feel of the wild west about them. I can imagine the local bursting into a rendition of Oklahoma!
En route we stopped at Glendambo for a toilet stop - they have a population of 30!
By mid-morning we'd reached Lake Hart, the 2nd biggest salt lake in Australia. It was a very peculiar feeling to walk on the lake as it felt like ice that was about to crack at any moment. Interestingly this area surrounding Womera is used by the US, UK and Australia to test missiles. There is also an area locally called Ground Zero where they've tested nuclear warfare.
Driving into Port Augusta for lunch, Sheldon in particular got excited at the sight of water. As you can imagine you don't get to see much in the outback!
We had a short amount of time in Port Augusta to eat and explore and unsurprisingly I managed to squeeze in a visit to the art gallery in the former barracks. There was pleasant mix of local talent on show and a friendly guide keeping guard.
As we left Port Augusta and past the Flinders range I fell asleep and it was strange to later wake up to lush, green grass rather than the rusty, red dirt I had become accustomed to during the past few days. We past a lilac salt lake and a local town which had been remaned Lochie after the rubber tyre moster in the lake.
Arriving in Adelaide, most of us were dropped at the YHA to discover we had no booking but luckily we were able to check in and I shared a room with Mary Anne, Maria and Susan. After we'd settled in we regrouped and enjoyed an Indian meal together.
Friday 5th September 2014
After a reasonable lie in (taking advantage of the break in early mornings!) and a pancake breakfast I walked to the statue lined North Terrace. There were plenty of stunning buildings along this stretch so I got comfortable in a bus shelter to draw this beauty. The locals started chatting to me as I drew and let me know it was called the Leaning Tower of Pisa on account of its foundations being built on water!
The statue atop the war memorial reminded me of Robin Williams in Night at the Museum. Shame I can't find an image to back up my argument!
This evening marked a farewell to Hussein as he had completed his tour so we went for another group meal, this time an Italian before silly shenanigans with a statue! This is Tom and I.
Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions. — Peter Hoeg
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