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Saturday 12 November 2011

Alice to Adelaide: The Red Centre


Alice Springs:

On arriving in Alice Springs the first thing that I noticed was the heat. I had been warm in Queensland but that was nothing compared to the heat I was now experiencing. Thankfully my time in Queensland has instilled good habits in me. I was sure to drink plenty of water and my first purchase was a white sun hat to replace the one I had left in Queensland.

We arrived early in the afternoon and therefore had a few hours before we could check into our hostel. Whilst the receptionist informed my friend of the town layout and recommended a place for lunch I took the opportunity to change from my jeans in to my shorts. All set we headed into town for some dim sim and lychee tea. As we had an action packed week ahead of us my UK friend headed back to the hostel for a well deserved rest where as I wanted to explore the town whilst I could. The receptionist told my friend about a good lookout point called Anzac Hill so I headed that way stopping to purchase my hat on the way. The town was small but bustling with tourists and even some locals.  It was lovely to walk through it on my way to the lookout point. Once there it was a short walk up the hill and the view was worth the climb. I took many photos of the gorgeous surroundings then headed back to the hostel in the hopes of checking in and getting a shower. Once these tasks had been achieved my friend and I had an early dinner at the hostel bar before retiring to our room as we were up before the sun the next day.




Tour Day 1:

Early start for a 4:45am pick up. Our bus was late due to a computer error which meant our guide didn’t know where to pick us up until it was fixed. We were a wee bit worried but a quick phone call soon put us at ease. We signed into the tour with three other tourists then it was on to Kings Canyon in Watarrka national park.  On the way to the canyon we got our first glimpse of some Aussie camels at our first pit stop and then some lunch  at our second. Lunch was prepared by all of us under the supervision of our guide. Once at the canyon everyone on the bus chose to do the longer hour walk along the top of the canyon instead of the shorter walk along the canyon floor. It was hard work but worth it for the spectacular views. Unfortunately my UK friend slipped and hurt her ankle but she soldiered on and we finished the walk within the allotted time. Thankfully it was then time to get back on our lovely air conditioned bus for the drive to the camp site. Dinner like lunch was prepared by all of us and followed by a discussion of the activities for the following day and demonstration on how to roll and unroll a swag. We then cleared up the dinner things and after a quick shower it was another early night but this time under the stars! I have never been so glad to wear 24/7 contact lenses. I woke up in the middle of the night and there was Orion, upside down and clear as anything. It was pretty awesome.










Tour Day 2:

Our second day started with another early morning as we had a lot to fit in to our day. We started our day by driving a viewing platform near Uluru in the hopes of seeing sunrise over the rock but bush fires over the previous few days meant that the air was hazy and we were disappointed. Though the photography opportunity was not as impressive as it could be the haziness gave the rock a mystical look making my first look at Uluru more impressive than I expected. After the sun was well and truly up (even though we still couldn't see it) we drove to Uluru and walked around the base. Climbing Uluru is allowed but the Aboriginals dislike it as for them it is a deeply spiritual act which should only be attempted by elder men who have proven themselves worthy. There was no way I was going to attempt to climb it due to my low level of fitness but even if I was abler I am not sure that I would. I can understand why it was such a spiritual place to the aboriginals and I wouldn't attempt it just to say I had done it. On arriving at the start of the base walk we discovered that the climbing path was closed so my unfitness and opinions of climbing were immaterial. My main impressions of Uluru were that it was smaller than I thought it would be yet more interesting. At some points on the walk it towered over us at others the side gently climbed away from us towards the sky. We were privileged to hear the basic versions of one of the many creation stories associated with Uluru before we started on the walk and as I looked at it I could see why there would be so many. It wasn’t hard to see shapes an images in the rocks face and easier yet to understand why upon seeing Uluru the aboriginals would see the associated stories. I only wish that we were privy to more of them.

After visiting Uluru we were taken to another important aboriginal site Kata Tjuta, known also as the Olgas. Sadly my UK friends ankle prevented her from attempting the full base walk at Uluru but she managed to walk round the most interesting quarter of it and once at Kata Tjuta she also made it to the end of the small trail that wound between two of the massive rocks. I kept my pace slow to keep her company and used the opportunity to take many more photos of the rocks which were formed in a similar yet different way to Uluru giving the landscape a much difference appearance. Fortunately for my friends ankle it was as short walk and we were soon back on the bus and heading to meet our next our group and bus. On the way to swap buses it started to rain. We had been told the previous day that there had been a higher than usual amount of rain but it was still something to see it for ourselves especially as an impressive lightening storm accompanied it.

We had a short break away from the bus whilst our bags were swapped over and the buses refuelled. We had been warned that our next guide was a bit larger than life and we were soon able to experience this for ourselves as within the first hour on the bus he was throwing chocolate to us and playing games with us. Us newbies were also given paper, pens and stickers and told to make name signs for above our seats. We were also all convinced to hand over some form of ID as we were soon to cross from the Northern Territory to Southern Australia. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I am sure you will be unsurprised to find out that the ID was for our guides amusement. ID in hand he then had us all line up and step across the border together before returning our ID to us. Border crossed we then crossed back and got on the bus and crossed it again. On crossing the border it started to rain again and this time instead if a short storm it was evident that it was there to stay. On arriving at our camp site we hurried inside and after storing our possessions in the nearby permanent tents started making dinner. With twice as many people the task we divided in to those who prepared diner and those who cleared up. It was nice to have to only do half the work and a great opportunity to get to know the members of our new group especially as we had a later start the next morning so didn’t have to rush off to bed. Though sleeping in a tent wasn't as good as sleeping under the starts with all that rain I was glad of the shelter and am pleased to report that even with the inferior scenery I slept just as well as I had the previous night













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